Each and every single day a man, woman and child becomes a victim of Human Trafficking. It is estimated that there are more than 40.3 million victims trapped in modern slavery, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO).
To break the statistics further, 24.9 million people are in forced labour and 15.4 million in forced marriages. When it comes to gender women and girls represent 71% of trafficking victims while boys and men accumulate the remaining 29%.
The story of Diana Chepkemoi the 24 year old Kenyan who was rescued from “enslavement” in Saudi Arabia, paints the picture of realities of trafficking and forced labour victims. Upon her arrival, she pleaded with the Kenyan government to help more Kenyans trapped in Saudi.
“I left Kenya to go to Saudi Arabia with the hopes of getting a better life and to be honest, mine was just the tip of the iceberg, people are suffering there. My friends are suffering. I plead with the government to rescue our people. They are psychologically and mentally tortured. It’s a shame being told that there is nothing the government can do,” Diana stated in an interview upon her arrival.
Earlier today, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), rescued 18 victims of human trafficking. The victims, “who had been harboured at a house in Athi River enroute to a destination in the Gulf where they were to be sold as slaves. In a raid conducted by sleuths from the transnational government but end up sneaking out immigrants without proper documentation. The trio are currently in custody at Muthaiga Police station being processed for arraignment,” the DCI stated.
The rescued victims are in protective custody as DCI detectives continue with their documentation.
