The Chinese's mischief in mistreating the Kenyan workers under the government's SGR mega project has been a point of discussion which went wild on social media after a photo of Kenyan workers being canned was uploaded on social media.
Even after the Kenyan government promised to investigate the matter, we visited Ngong SGR Station which is still under construction under the SGR Phase 2 project.
Our weekend interviews with some Kenyan workers who requested anonymity due to fear of losing their job or ‘getting canned’ were really heartbreaking due to the hustles our Kenyan brothers are undergoing in the neo-colonialism.
A day starts at 7.30am where all the workers required to be at the site. They work all through till 6.30pm where another shift of workers signs in for the night shift work and till 7 in the morning. This means they work for more than the ordinary 8 to 9 hours a day.
With a pay of Sh30,000 which might sound good to many jobless youths, it comes with the real racism and oppressions; Kenyans have been denied the access to the Chinese make cafeteria that they have constructed and therefore it is guarded by two Kenyan police officers to ensure no African sneaks into the hotel.
This means that have to source food from ‘vibandas’ which are rare in that place due to its remoteness.
“Chinese people are inhuman here. We work for close to 12 hours in a day which is obviously tiresome. When it is lunchtime, you cannot even purchase food from their cafeteria. It is meant for the Chinese workers only,” said a worker.
The government should chip in and manage these people. We are overworked and this pay is not equivalent to what we do. Working for more than 10 hours a day is torture. We are in our country and we don't need to be colonised again. After all, they are not donation the SGR, we are paying for it!" sais another worker.
Lack of jobs and desperation has made many Kenyans undergo harsh conditions in the hands of the Chinese.
Last week Chinese diplomat to Kenya, Sun Baohong, admitted that there is a conflict between Kenyan workers and their Chinese counterparts, but explained that some of the things taken as mistreatment are part of "Chinese culture."
Our efforts to hear from the Chinese representatives at the site bore no fruits
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