Cascading Of The Oversight And Community Feedback Mechanism Trainings At County And Community Levels Report

Background

CHTEA is a member of a technical advisory committee appointed by the minister for Labour to steer a project called, “Fostering Recruitment Agencies’ Ethical Practices and Accountability & Supporting the Government of Kenya to Pilot a Recruitment Oversight Mechanism to prevent trafficking in persons”. This project is funded by IOM and it takes a multi-stakeholder approach that will contribute to the transformation of the recruitment industry in Kenya towards ethical recruitment practices.

The project is expected to support the creation of sustainable business models for recruitment of migrant workers that are consistent with international ethical recruitment standards. It will also address the drivers of human trafficking by enhancing ethical recruitment services on the supply side, while piloting an oversight mechanism with the National Employment Authority (NEA) to monitor and report unscrupulous practices by recruitment agencies.

In order to achieve the purpose of this project, IOM has been running a series of trainings to create awareness at the community level. CHTEA is currently identified as a trainer in this project, (among others organization) to offer skills transfer to a target audience that includes local administration (the chiefs), the Community Health Volunteers (CHVs), the clergy and Community based organizations.  The first such training took place at the Sarova Stanley hotel on April 21st – 22nd 2022

Qatar Migrant Workers Describe ‘Pathetic’ Conditions.

By Stephen Fottrell
BBC News

Image source,
AP Image caption,
Working and housing conditions of the 1.5 million migrant workers constructing buildings in Qatar ahead of the 2022 World Cup have been heavily criticized.

The Gulf state has made little progress on improving migrant workers' rights, despite promises to do so, according to the rights group Amnesty International. Qatar disputes the claims and says improvements have been made. Here, we speak to three construction workers who have worked on sites in Qatar recently. They describe the conditions there as "pathetic" and "oppressive".

'Frank' (not his real name), 30, from Kenya

"I came to Qatar from Kenya last June to work on the construction sites here.I got the work through an agency. I was paid $350 (£223) a month when I got here, which was a lot less than I was promised. I also spent a lot to get here - over $1,000.

I worked at sites building government schools near [the capital] Doha from June to November last year. There are a lot of infrastructure projects going on here, alongside the World Cup venues”.

 

Image caption, "Frank" sent this picture of the construction site he worked on near Doha

The main site that I worked on was not a good environment. The majority of the workers are uneducated, and the companies take advantage of them, so they cannot negotiate. They just become helpers and are badly paid. Many just end up accepting it, as they cannot go back to their home countries, because they are supporting their families.

I am sending money back to my family. They are all looking to me, but I can't tell them what it is like here, or they would tell me to come home. When I arrived, I was told that I would be working as an electrician, even though I am not trained, which is dangerous. I got an electric shock on the site once, but thankfully I was OK.

Conditions on the sites are very bad. You work all day out in the open in extreme heat. You start at 04:00 and work all day. There is no cold drinking water on the site, just hot water. It is very oppressive.

Image caption, "Frank" working on a site near Doha, Qatar

No-one will listen if you complain. We once went on strike because we weren't paid for a month. We were eventually paid, but the management didn't care about our complaints. Life in Qatar is very expensive. The accommodation is provided through the company, but food and general living expenses make it hard to save anything. I try to send home what I can.

As for the accommodation, I would describe the conditions as pathetic. In the first place I stayed, Al Khor, there were 10 people to one small room, with five bunk beds and nowhere to put anything. The toilets were outside. It was all very inadequate and uncomfortable. You also have to hand over your passport on arrival, so you can't leave. You feel trapped, like a prisoner.

Media caption,
Mark Lobel reports: ''Our arrest was dramatic - eight cars drove us off the road'' I am now staying in a place called Industrial - where most of the migrant workers live. The hygiene here is very poor. There are five to a room, which is a bit better, but it is not hygienic. I now work in a mall in sales after being allowed to leave my job at the construction sites. It is a bit better, but still not great. Life is very hard here. I would like to see the lives of migrant workers here change. It's just a sacrifice now. There need to be improvements made to safety, salaries and accommodation."

'John' (not his real name), from Ghana

"I am a truck driver working on the site of a new port project near Doha. I came here from Ghana a year and a half ago. Honestly speaking, we are suffering badly at the hands of our employers, especially in the summer time, as it is now. It is 40-50C here during the day, but there is no air conditioning in our vehicles, and we are breathing sandy air. At times the dust and sand flows in the air like snow.

There is nobody to fight for us. For almost two months now, my company has refused to pay our salaries. Our company is killing us because they don't want to give us the little reward we deserve.

My salary of $550 a month is very low for a driver like me. We have no days off to rest. This not only applies to me - it is the same with every worker at my company.I start at 05:00 and work until 19:00, with two hours of transportation to the site and back each day.

Image source, AFP Image caption, There are an estimated 1.5 million migrant workers currently in Qatar

Qatar has a labour office, but if you report your company, they will definitely send you back to your country. So everyone is too scared to report any problems. I'm an orphan from a poor home. I couldn't finish my secondary school education. I have been living in cabins in camps, separated by plywood. Almost all of the workers staying in these camps, are poor and come from countries in Africa and Asia, like Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. We all experience the same problems.

About 15-20% of the workers here have achieved some quality of living standard, with a good salary, due to their educational background, or they have been able to get work through good foreign companies. But for the rest of us, the payment of salaries is a real headache. How I wish I could save enough money to leave here to get to Europe or the US.

That's my ambition, because in Ghana, even graduates don't have work, so imagine how hard it is for people like me who had to drop out of school."

Stephen Ellis, from Widnes, UK, worked on a World Cup site in Doha in March

"I worked on one of the World Cup sites in Doha at the end of March. I left after two weeks, because the conditions were an absolute disgrace. I work as a pipe fitter and supervisor and have been on construction sites all over the world. These were the worst conditions I've ever seen on any site. Most of the workers at the site where I worked were Indian. They are treated very badly, and the conditions in which they live and work are terrible.

Image source, AP Image caption, The Qatar Foundation stadium in Doha is one of the venues for the 2022 tournament

There is no drinking water available, there is no air conditioning in their cabins - and this was in 45C heat. They have filthy sanitation, and the food is dished out like in the Oliver Twist movie. However, what's even worse is the on-site safety, or lack of it. It does not exist, and my friends and I, who went to work there together, were horrified at the risks taken every day on the site.

We were told that before we started there, one Indian worker had been killed.

The site was run totally by Indians, and they were treating their own people very, very badly. But the upper management did not seem to care. They were just turning a blind to it all. We were told by English managers that if we didn't like it to leave, so we did. There were also other Brits, along with myself, who were treated just as badly.

We were paid a lot more than the Indian workers - they were on about $50 a week, and we were on closer to $33 an hour - but we were still ripped off because we left early."

 

‘Lest We Forget’: Commemorating The International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade

Introduction

As the global counter trafficking in persons’ institutions ready themselves for the commemoration of their efforts on 30th July, it would be refreshing to be reminded of our own human history that informed this criminal practice. It is our hope and desire that we shall continue to pull together and deal with both the pull and push factors which seem to sustain the criminal endevours of perpetrators.

A historical perspective

25th of Mach 2022 was set aside by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The objective of this day is to enlighten the general public about the tragedy of the slave trade and to engrave the tragedy of the slave trade in the memory of all peoples; The day is viewed as an opportunity to reflect on those that suffered and perished at the hands of slavery, but also as an occasion to raise awareness to the world’s youth about the dangers of racism and prejudice.

The Genesis of Transatlantic Trade

In 1441, Prince Harry of Portugal sent Gonçalves, his captain to the coast of West Africa to bring back a cargo of seal skins and oils. The captain was inexperienced and hence was only sent to bring mundane things. However, he was ambitious; as the ship approached the coast of Mauritania in West Africa, Gonçalves decided to impress the prince by taking back what he knew was his true desire-Slaves. He expected that the prince would reward him highly. And so on his way back, Gonçalves together with his men loaded the caravel with the captives as well as the skins and oils they had been sent to gather, and sailed back to Portugal.

This episode marked the beginnings of an era of European exploration that brought the continents of Europe and Africa into contact with one another through forced transatlantic migrations from Africa to Europe, and eventually to the Caribbean and North and South America. In the 1440s, Gonçalves and other Portuguese explorers began a process that created an Atlantic world connected in ways that it had never been before. This traversing of trade routes and the introduction of African slaves into a new world shaped the lives and experiences of millions of Africans, Europeans, and Native Americans who met on the shores of America. The trade lasted up until 1807 and majority of the captives were collected from West and Central Africa

Remembering the Victims of Slavery

The victims of the transatlantic slave trade endured a series of catastrophic events; they were separated from home, family and nearly all things familiar; captured in the African interior, transported to the coast; sold to slave traders; passed the sea in conditions of squalor and indescribable horror (it is estimated that, out of the 12.5 million enslaved Africans, 1.8 million died during their voyage). The enslavement tested the spirit and will of men, women and children who struggled to find meaning and happiness in a new world order.

Behind the facts and figures are millions of human stories. The stories of those who were ripped from their homelands and families. The stories of those who fought against their oppressors. The stories of those who triumphed against all odds to win their freedom. Those stories continue today as people across the globe keep struggling together against the transatlantic slave trade’s most enduring legacy – racism.

It has always been presumed that the West has been economical with the truth as to the fact that their economies were largely constructed by the sweat, tears and blood of slavery captives. And as the world continues, year in, year out to commemorate the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, all efforts need to endevour towards collaboration and to renew the collective resolve to tackle modern day slavery. This year’s theme was, “Stories of Courage: Resistance to Slavery & Unity Against Racism”.

References

United Nations. (2022, March 25). Outreach Programme on the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery. Retrieved from United Nations: https://www.un.org/en/rememberslavery/observance/2022

Williams, H. A. (2014). American Slavery; A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press.

 

Report On The Santa Marta Group Global Conference

Venue: The Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences, Rome (Vatican City State), Italy
Date: 17th – 19th May 2022
Prepared by: Mutuku Nguli, Vice Chair, SMG-A

Pope Francis speaks to those attending an international conference of the Santa Marta Group at the Vatican May 19, 2022. The Santa Marta Group is an alliance of leaders of various law enforcement, government and civic and religious organizations to share their expertise, experience and best practices in the task of preventing and combating human trafficking and modern forms of slavery. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

Introduction

The Santa Marta Group is an alliance of International police chiefs and bishops from around the world working together with civil society in a process endorsed by Pope Francis, to eradicate human trafficking and modern-day slavery. The Pope describes trafficking as “an open wound on the body of contemporary society”.

The Group is led by His Excellency Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster.

It was named after the Papal residence where the participants from the Vatican Conference stayed in April 2014 and resulted in a signed ‘Declaration of Commitment’ by all the Chiefs of Police present to work together on the International stage to develop strategies in prevention, pastoral care and the re-integration.

The objective of the Group is to combine the resources of the Church with those of Law Enforcement Agencies to prevent trafficking and modern-day slavery, provide pastoral care to victims and assist them with re-integration in the host community for safe return.

Preface

The 2022 Santa Marta Group International Conference took place May 17-19 May at the Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences at the Vatican. The conference brought together a global audience of Cardinals, Bishops, Priests, the Religious, Security experts (police chiefs, investigators, Judicial Officers and Non-Governmental Organizations.

The conference convenor, His Grace, Cardinal Vincent Nichols had initially targeted a large global audience but due to the Covid-19 changing environment, the numbers were reduced to a bare minimum in order to be accommodated at one location inside the Vatican.

In that respect therefore, Santa Marta Group Africa convenor, Fr Mark Odion in consultation with the SMG Director, Dr David Ryall provided for one slot for the SMG-A group. Mr. Francis Mutuku Nguli, the Vice Chair was nominated to present a paper in respect of the work done in Africa. Besides, one Arch-Bishop, a Bishop and two Congregational leaders (Nuns) from Nigeria were also in attendance. Lady Justice Roselyn Naliaka Nambuye from the Court of Appeal in Kenya was also invited to provide an insight on the Rule of Law and Protecting the Vulnerable.

Looking into the future with lessons learnt: The Papal reflection

According to the Holy Father, Pope Francis, since the Santa Marta Group was established in 2014, it has “devoted itself to fostering an ever-greater understanding of the scope and nature of human trafficking and to strengthening cooperation on the international, national and local levels so that effective ways to end this scourge may be found and that its victims may receive needed care, both physically and spiritually,” the pope said.

“Sadly, modern forms of slavery continues to spread,” even in wealthier nations, he said.

The Pope said he hoped the fight against human trafficking would expand its scope and include promoting “the responsible use of technology and social media, as well as the need for a renewed ethical vision of our political, economic and social life, one centered not on profit but on persons.”

The global conference focused on exploring “what works, what doesn’t work and how the Santa Marta Group can make good on its initial promise to bring decision-makers together from around the world to share their experiences and initiatives, learn from each other and find solutions to human trafficking.”

Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster, England and the President of the Santa Marta Group explained that the aim of the conference was “to refocus and re-energize activities in light of a worsening situation across the world caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and continuing conflict and instability in many regions,” he said, and to create an “action plan that will help to guide local and regional activity” and “the way forward for Santa Marta Group over the coming year.” The action plan includes efforts for prevention, education, listening to victims and strengthening collaboration between the church and civil society.

The cardinal said attention must be on healing the wounds of victims and defending their dignity.

During the conference, Fr Mark Odion, Coordinator SMG-Africa Region and Mr. Mutuku Nguli, SMG-Africa Vice Chair presented a paper titled; “A review of the African Church Context in Combating Human Trafficking.” Another African representative from Kenya, Lady Justice Roselyn Nambuye (Court of Appeal) presented a paper on the “Rule of Law and Protecting the Vulnerable.”

 

Group photo: SMG global conference at the Vatican city, Rome Italy.

Mr. Mutuku Nguli presenting at the conference.