Episode 75: Why Saudis continue to murder Kenyan immigrant workers

~ Edwin Okong'o

We look at why African governments stand by and do nothing when their citizens get abused, tortured, and murdered abroad.

A group of women Saudi returnees wait for their turn to disembark for their respective home areas after receiving orientation by by UNICEF staff.
Women returning from Saudi Arabia wait at a UNICEF center after arriving at Bole International Airport in Ethiopia. Photo: UNICEF Ethiopia

In the past two years, for example, at least 89 Kenyans working in Saudi Arabia have died under suspicious circumstances. Many were domestic workers, whose bodies had clear signs of torture. What is really going on, and why is it so difficult for the Kenyan government to get an explanation from the Saudis?

When you compare that to the way we Black Africans treat people of Arab descent, or any foreigner with light skin, you notice that there’s something seriously wrong with us. What would it take for us to stop this self hate and stand up for ourselves?

Published by Edwin Okong'o

Edwin Okong’o is not your typical, stereotypical African. He is a storyteller by any medium necessary™. Okong'o is an award-winning journalist, humorist, satirist and memoirist. He received his master’s degree from the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied radio, newspaper, magazine, and online multimedia storytelling and editing. Okong’o’s journalistic work, provocative commentaries, and stand-up comedy performances have appeared in numerous media across the world. He is the winner of several honors, including a Webby Award for his short documentary, "Kenya: Sweet Home, Obama", which he made for the PBS program, Frontline.