Malawi govt warns job seekers in Arab countries: Abused family repatriated from Kuwait

Malawi government has warned job seekers in Arab countries to take extra precautionary measures after reports of rampant abuses and in most cases non- payment of salaries by Arab employers.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Francis Kasaira said the government has coughed huge sums of money to repatriate to Malawi a family that lived in Kuwait after systematic abuses by their Kuwaiti employers.

“We have taken action to support the abused Malawian families by bringing them back to Malawi,” he said.

He warned unsuspecting Malawians that they should not travel to Arab countries on their own looking for jobs unless they have documents and letter of appointment from a prospective employer whom they can easily trace.

“When they get such job offers, they should inform us so that we in turn inform our foreign mission in that country. They should know who they prospective employer is and have details,” said Kasaira.

He said most Malawians are employed as domestic workers and are systematically abused.

The Foreign Affairs Minister said they should also demand return tickets whenever they are offered the jobs.

Reports from the Arab countries indicate that women domestic workers are beaten up and sexually abused and the victims are helpless because in most cases they are locked up in homes and their passports snatched away from them.