Something God has put on my heart the last couple years is what I see as modern-day slavery here. I started it see it at the airport and when we would fly lower cost airlines. There would be literally a hundred young ladies all dressed in Muslim attire uniform and with a work label on their uniform. Most of the labels I read said, "Saudi Arabia..." meaning they were going to work in Saudi Arabia. It was obvious it was their first time flying and they were excitedly nervous. We have now seen groups almost every time we travel. My heart breaks and I feel so angry. I pray for them as we watch them fly off to the Arab world to do who knows what kind of work.
Signs are everywhere in the impoverished neighborhoods for "work abroad". They prey on the desperate and vulnerable. Yet in the office where you have to have a background check to get a passport to travel, there are sign all over about anti-trafficking and warnings. The people here talk about crazy, evil, horror stories of what happens to people, yet say nothing when their relative or friends goes to make money. People going to work aboard have to pay for a passport and their ticket to fly. They do have the money and so they sell cows, land and take on debt increasing their poverty hoping to make lots of money for the whole family while working abroad.
Recently I have met people in the remote villages we work in going to work abroad. Two young men from our village have now gone. The one young man has I believe four children with two different women. He left the one woman, lives with the other women, and is responsible for all the children (some live with his parents). With this mess and no work other than village farming, he paid a lot of money and went for two years of work abroad. Leaving everyone behind. He is in Kuwait working at KFC. Could be worse I guess. The other young man is going to work at the airport in Dubai doing delivery or luggage, I guess. He is a smart young man who has been teaching and wants to go on to university. He can't because he doesn't make enough money as a teacher and his father left his mother and kids (like 10 kids) for a second wife. So now this young man feels he has to go to make money for his family to survive and his siblings to go to school. Sin brings so much suffering.
Then I met three young ladies in another village going abroad to work. One of them came to us and asked us to pray for her passport. She is not a believer, she has a son, she doesn't know English, and she doesn't yet have enough money to pay for the required list to go. Everything about it was red warning lights that this is not a good idea. She was recruited by someone in other town, who works for people in the city, who work for the company abroad. Sounds like what happened in slavery. Inland tribal people sold their own people to people in cities on the coast and sent them overseas to work. Ok I know not all working abroad is slavery, but some is. This young lady was going to be a maid. The Arab countries are Muslim and Muslims don't like people of other faiths or people from other countries. They can treat them how they want. They will work long hours, treated unfairly, in a different language, trapped far away - a lot of times without their passport because it is taken from them.
This is a very complicated problem with many layers and levels. Honestly, I don't know what to do. What can be done. Right now, the government is allowing these agencies take Ugandans. My heart is upset by it to say the least. I also grieve all the wrongs and injustices in it. As best we could we talked to the girl going abroad, shared our concerns, and prayed for her. All the people there listening that day were family members and Christians. They agreed with us, but no one told her not to go. I really think deep down they are willing to sacrifice a person in hopes they will send back money and provide for them. Poverty is awful.
So what do I, we, do with all this? Pray. Then do what the Lord calls us to do.
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