East or West, home is the best! This cliche resonates well with 21-year-old Princess Ulda Opar who has just returned home from Saudi Arabia.
The Kenyan mother of one who was lured to Saudi Arabia with promises of a well-paying job could not hide her joy after The Standard highlighted her plight in the hands of oppressive employers in the oil-rich country. With a smile lighting up his face, Opar’s father, Mr Elly Opar who is a mechanic in Likoni thanked The Standard for “saving my daughter from jaws of death.
It is by sheer luck that my daughter is safe after a harrowing experience in the hands of cruel employers. She arrived yesterday,’’ he said.
Opar joins a long list of victims of human trafficking, who are lured to Saudi Arabia with promises of good jobs. “I am happy to be back home and wish to apologise to my family for tormenting them,’’ Opar said in reference to her earlier disappearance from home as she sneaked out to Saudi for “greener pastures”.
She said she underwent mental torture, sex abuse, detention and rejection at the hands of both Saudi authorities and her employers during her one-month ordeal. Muslim for Human Rights Head of Rapid Response Unit Francis Auma urged the Saudi government to abolish its migrant workers’ sponsorship systems. See also: Kenyan girl stranded in Saudi Arabia
