KRN Feature on Faith Murunga’s shocking story
Faith Murunga’s shocking story of life experience in Saudi Arabia.
Faith Murunga, a mother of six children, had hoped that she would finally be able to support her family. She is one of the victims of modern-day slavery in Saudi Arabia. She was beaten, burned, and denied food, to name a few miseries she went through. For a year and a half, Faith has gone through hell.
Here is Faith Murunga’s shocking story of life experience in Saudi Arabia. Courtesy of Hot 96 FM Kenya.
I went to Saudi to help my kids. When I landed, what I found there is not what I expected. The small room in Saudi is ten rooms, and about 18 adults are living in one homestead. Don’t be lied to when they tell you that it is only a small household.
People in Saudi don’t wake up in the morning as we do in Kenya. Everybody has their own time of waking up, and you have to prepare breakfast separately for each one of them. A little mistake leads to punishment.
When I arrived, I was treated well for that same day alone. The next day I was assigned some work, carrying luggage from the first floor to the third. The luggage that you’re given is not light.
In Kenya, such work can only be done by well-built men. But there we used to carry 17kgs of the gas cylinder and over 200liters of water every day.
When you complete your work on time, you are taken to the next house, the mother-in-law’s house, to work there. When you complete the task at the mother-in-law’s house, you’re taken to the brother’s house to work.
If you complain about the terms in your contract, you’re beaten. Sometimes even you’re denied food. We are given leftovers. You can cook the food, but you can’t even taste it.
Extra Work
We usually do extra work that involves outside catering. The family owns a business that involves cooking. So, we are forced to do outside catering to supplement the sources of funds for the family.
Medication
While in Kenya, I had been diagnosed with kidney stones. So, standing a lot causes dizziness which can make you fall.
I told the mother about my situation. She told me to wait for the father to wake up so that we can go to the hospital. He woke up late that day, so we postponed until the next day.
We visited the nearby hospital and explained my situation. We got advised to come the next day for a CT scan. The next day my blood got tested; even before results came out, I was told I wasn’t sick. I was forced to take Panadol only.
The boss ordered me to go and cook. The food I was cooking was for the supplies. I was warned that if I miss the deadline, I will eat the whole food. That day I had two orders. I started getting tired, felt dizzy.
The father started beating me for delaying the order. Earlier on, I had posted something on Facebook asking for help on how to handle my boss.
I got advised to get out of the house without telling them. I had three phones, they knew about the two, but I had an extra one
Taking off
I took my passport and my three phones and took off trying to find a police station in a place called Arar. I didn’t know how to read, so it wasn’t easy to find one since signposts are written in Arabic.
After spending so much time looking for a police station, I met a man; I explained my story to him. He gave me water and told me to wait for him. Within three minutes, he came back with the police. I went to the police, gave out my documentations.
My boss got notified. He came with my work permit called ‘ikama’ and my passport. He did the photocopies and asked the police officer to allow him to go with me to the agency office to solve our case.
Along the way, he got furious; we went back to the house. When we got to the house, I went straight to my room to get my bag, hoping that we are going to the agency.
Initially, I had left two catering orders by the time I took off. The wife to the boss continued cooking. When she heard we were back, she came to my room and asked me what was going on. I told her we are going to the agency’s office to handle my case.
Punishment: Faith Murunga’s shocking story of life experience in Saudi Arabia.
The boss came, pushed me so hard against the wall. I lost consciousness for some minutes. As I started gaining consciousness, he threw me again against the wall, kicked and slapped me severally.
He told me there’s no going to the police, agency, or the hospital. He told me that the police in this area are all his friends.
I knew there’s nowhere I was going. There’s a lady called Clara, who helps people in my situation. I was in touch with her earlier. The boss took my two phones.
My communication with Clara ended. After all, he did to me; he forced me to go and cook. As I was cooking, I started thinking about many things; I even started talking to myself.
I kept thinking; I’m struggling for my kids; what if I die? Who will take care of them? I tried calling my agency to help me out and my Kenyan broker. All they could say is we would look into it.
As I was cooking, the mother came to inspect what I was doing. She found me talking to myself. She went back to call her husband. He shouted at me, telling me that no one is sick in Saudi Arabia; you have to work.
I turned to see him, he immediately took a kettle that I was using to boil water and threw it at me, and I got burned. After going through all this, I didn’t cry; I thought of many things. I even thought of burning the house.
I finished cooking, took the food to the driver to supply. My burned hand got exposed. I came back to the house. I found the lady celebrating. She told me that what her husband had done was good. I wanted to beat the woman. But they would execute me on the streets. I went to the store to pick the other secret phone that I had, took a photo of my hand and shared it with my husband. I instructed him not to share and not to call unless I called him.
Husband’s mistake
My husband shared the photo with the agency, which the agency forwarded to Saudi Arabia’s offices, who later shared it with my boss. I was downstairs cleaning. By the time I was going to the house, they had discussed the photo.
I entered the house, and the boss reached for his gun. The wife then told me that her husband wanted me to say that I burned myself. If I say that I was burned, then he will kill me.
Read Also: Alfred Keter wins UDA ticket in Nandi Hills
They told me to tell the authorities that I was cooking; I experienced dizziness, I slipped then water in the kettle burned me. I agreed. They call us monkeys because of our skin. After all these, they realized I have another phone.
We went to the agency office. Along the way, he threatened me with a gun. He said that he would kill me if I change the story because I will come with him. I thought he was joking. We reached the office; I didn’t change the story.
It got recorded and the story was shared with the Kenyan agency. The Kenyan agency bought that story. I went back with my boss since the agency didn’t have a hostel where I could stay.
Along the way, the wife asked the husband to tell me to give her the other phone. I had hidden the phone in a small roof called ‘Mkaif’, an extension of the veranda. The location of the phone was on in case I went missing.
Second escape
We reached home, as we were about to enter the house, there was trash in the door. They told me to throw it away as I plan to give them the other phone. I took the trash; then I went for the phone, I vanished.
I ran, after covering like 1KM, I reached a dead-end, a place where construction was going on. There was a trench that I couldn’t jump. I thought, if they found me here, they would shoot and bury me in the trenches.
I turned back before I could take a step, I saw my boss’s car, and luckily he didn’t see me. I crossed to the other side of the road. I was careful not to be seen.
Red Cross
Those people (Arabs) kill others like hens; if he had seen me, I would be no more. A few meters from the road, I saw the Red Cross building.
I told myself, I have been suffering for two years, yet Red Cross was just 2 KMs away. A lady working at the Red Cross offices asked me what was wrong. I told her that my boss wanted to kill me. She asked for the reason; me with my small mind, I told her that I burned myself, the police were called I repeated the same statement, I burned myself, we went to the hospital I said the same.
When I woke up in hospital in the morning, the first person I saw was my boss standing with a kanzu. He told me that he had missed me. I told him point-blank that I was not going back to his house. As we argued, the police and the doctor came.
The police told me that since I burned myself, I should go back. I told them that I am now in my right senses, I narrated the whole story. He was ordered to bring my things we go the agency to solve the case.
In Saudi Arabia, you either come back a disabled person, a mad person, or in a coffin. If you come back alive, thank God.
My boss wanted me to pay for my medication and my ticket. I shared my plight with my cousin in Dubai, who shared it with a friend of hers in the US called Nelson Mithama. Nelson told me to have Faith.
He told me to narrate everything. I told him everything as it happened. He said that I would win the case, but the only problem is my security.
He asked me if I had the money for the ticket, I said yes. I only had Ksh 1,200. But I had Faith. My husband didn’t have anything.
We had a group on IMO messenger, I shared with them my plight, and they helped me contribute. I succeeded now I’m home.
