Reunion Wire

Laborers from Kenya say they have endured abuse in the Middle East, often at the hands of their employers. But an aid agency is offering them a chance to rebuild their lives in Kenya. Hundreds of survivors of forced labor are now able to access support offered by a group that offers a soft landing for those in need.

Faith Murunga’s store on the outskirts of Kenya’s capital is open for business. It has been barely six months old in operation, helping her put food on her family’s table.

It isn’t what she had anticipated when she left Kenya in 2019 for work in Saudi Arabia, a popular work destination for those unable to find jobs in Kenya. She says what she was promised as she emigrated and what she found there were worlds apart.

She says, the boss came and told me that as long as I agreed to travel to their country, I must do each and every chore. He said, I would not have the right to complain. They had paid a lot of money to buy me. I was therefore their property,” Murunga said.

During her two years of service in Saudi Arabia, Murunga suffered both emotional and physical abuse at the hands of her employer, until a good Samaritan came to her aid and facilitated her return to Kenya.

Back home, she received help from Haart Kenya, an organization that fights human trafficking and helps people like Faith.

Since Haart Kenya was formed in 2010, the organization has helped more than 700 survivors of forced labor who have come home scarred.

Mercy Atieno, the organization’s outreach manager, says the survivors, 80% of them women, have varying degrees of trauma when they seek help.

“When a survivor comes to us, they are distressed. Some of them appear abused. They don’t know what to do next and you find someone who does not know where to start, they do not have a house, they don’t want to go back home because everyone knows they went abroad, so they are expecting they will come with something,” Atieno said.

The organization takes in survivors of forced labor and other work-related abuses and helps them rebuild their lives through counseling, training, and supporting their ability to make a living. Mercy Atieno explains.

“This process is a very participatory process, where together with the case worker and the survivor, charting ways through which they are going to work together for proper rehabilitation, so the survivor has a voice and they actually say no to a service, because our services are individualized, and they are survivor-centered,” Atieno said.

The Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Educational Institutions, Hospitals and Allied Workers, or KUDHEIHA, the union that fights for the rights of workers, says the migration of workers to the Middle East is likely to continue as long as Kenya’s 10% unemployment rate stays as high as it is.

Albert Njeru, the union’s general secretary, advises those seeking work as unskilled labor abroad to be extra vigilant.

“Seek for proper information, consult widely, and before you go get it right, don’t go where you can see black spots,” Njeru said.

Haart Kenya’s leadership says it is ready to handle cases like Faith’s as they appear. For now, Faith says she is grateful for another chance at life, away from the abuse she suffered in a foreign land.

Source: Voice of America

Ethiopian forces have carried out another airstrike on the capital city of the northern Tigray region Wednesday, two days after an airstrike killed three children there.

United Nations spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters Tuesday that one other person was killed in the airstrike on the outskirts of Mekelle. Haq said nine people were reportedly injured in a second airstrike in Mekelle later that day that also damaged a number of houses and a nearby hotel.

The spokesman said the U.N.’s colleagues “are alarmed at the intensification of the conflict and once again remind all parties to the conflict of their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.”

The Ethiopian government initially denied launching Monday’s attacks, but the state-run Ethiopian Press Agency later acknowledged the airstrikes and said they targeted communications infrastructure.

“Action [was taken] against media and equipment used by the TPLF [Tigray People’s Liberation Front] terrorists in Mekelle,” the press statement said. The TPLF is a former member of the coalition that ruled Ethiopia for more than 30 years. In May, Ethiopia designated the group a terrorist organization.

Getachew Reda, a TPLF spokesperson, accused Ethiopia’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, of being unwilling to end the conflict. “He has never been for peace, only the appropriate use of sticks can prod him into considering such a path. The #AirStrikeonCivilians in #Mekelle is proof positive that he will do everything to terrorize our people, especially when his forces are losing on the battlefield,” he said in a Twitter post Tuesday. “If people had illusions he could keep his promise to resolve the conflict peacefully, yesterday’s attack should make it clear that only sticks are effective.”

The Ethiopian federal government has been engaged in an armed conflict with fighters from the northern Tigray region for nearly a year.

Mekelle has not seen large-scale fighting since June, when Ethiopian forces withdrew from the area and Tigray forces retook control of most of the region. Following that, the conflict continued to spill into the neighboring regions of Amhara and Afar.

Last week, Tigray forces said the Ethiopian military had launched a ground offensive to push them out of Amhara.

Source: Voice of America

The U.N. refugee agency reports weeks of unrelenting rain and heavy flooding in South Sudan have washed away whole communities and wiped out the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people.

Floods are not new to South Sudan. What is new is the frequency and intensity of the flooding. UNHCR representative in South Sudan, Arafat Jamal, describes the current flooding, which has affected more than 700,000 people, as being of near biblical proportions.

“People have lived with flooding for millennia, but they have been able to cope. They have been able to move to higher ground when the floods are there, and then come down when they recede. But when you have a high-level flooding year after year, that destroys the crops and does not allow you to replant. That is when you have got an erosion (in) peoples’ ability to survive,” Jamal expressed.

He points out the present floods have hit at a time when people in South Sudan are facing the triple threat of conflict, COVID-19, and hunger. He says the devastating flooding is expected to continue as the climate crisis intensifies.

He notes Jonglei, Unity, Northern Bahr el Ghazal and Upper Nile are the worst affected states. “I have seen people stranded on islands. I have heard from people who have had to survive by eating grass and roots. And we have also heard of people who have had to walk for 10 days to access dry land. It is also hugely destructive in terms of assets. This is an agricultural country and a country that depends upon its herds of cattle,” Jamal says.

Cattle have also been affected. They are stranded and drowning, mired in the mud and unable to survive. And whole fields of sorghum, mangoes, and millet are destroyed by flooding, he says.

He says the UNHCR together with South Sudan’s government are delivering urgently needed aid to the most vulnerable. That aid includes hygiene items, food, emergency shelter and solar lanterns to provide light.

However, he adds much more assistance is needed and is appealing to the international community to help rebuild the affected communities and restore people’s lives and livelihoods.

Source: Voice of America

The U.S. Secret Service said in a statement Wednesday that an investigation it conducted with the FBI has led to federal charges related to internet scams against seven leaders of the Cape Town Zone of the Neo Black Movement of Africa, also known as “Black Axe.”

An eighth man, who allegedly conspired with the leader of the group, was also charged with federal crimes linked to internet scams stemming from South Africa, the Secret Service said.

The Secret Service statement said the following people were charged wire fraud, money laundering and other crimes in connection with perpetrating romance scams and other illegal schemes perpetrated on victims in the U.S. and other countries between 2011 and 2021 using the internet:

• Perry Osagiede, 52, aka “Lord Sutan Abubakar de 1st,” aka “Rob Nicolella,” aka “Alan Salomon.”

• Enorense Izevbigie, 45, aka “Richy Izevbigie,” aka “Lord Samuel S Nujoma.”

• Franklyn Edosa Osagiede, 37, aka “Lord Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela,” aka “Edosa Franklyn Osagiede,” aka “Dave Hewitt,” aka “Bruce Dupont.”

• Osariemen Eric Clement, 35, aka “Lord Adekunle Ajasi,” aka “Aiden Wilson.”

• Egbe Tony Iyamu, 35, aka “Lord Aminu Kano,” aka “Richard Amall.”

• Collins Owhofasa Otughwor, 37, aka “Lord Jesse Makoko,” aka “Philip Coughlan.”

• Musa Mudashiru, 33, aka “Lord Oba Akenzua.”

All originally from Nigeria, the suspects are charged by superseding indictment with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy spanning from 2011 to 2021. Perry Osagiede, Franklyn Osagiede, Clement, Izevbigie, and Iyamu are also charged with wire fraud. Perry Osagiede, Franklyn Osagiede, Iyamu and Otughwor are charged with aggravated identity theft.

Toritseju Gabriel Otubu, 41, also known as “Andy Richards” and “Ann Petersen” and also originally from Nigeria, was charged in a separate indictment with wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering conspiracy, spanning from 2016 to 2021.”

Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig said in the statement that “Americans are too often victimized by criminal organizations located abroad that use the internet to deceive those victims, defraud them of money, and, many times, persuade their victims to wittingly or unwittingly assist in perpetuating the fraudulent schemes.”

“The public should be on guard against schemes like these,” she added. “And, more importantly, anyone thinking of engaging in this kind of criminal conduct should understand that the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our partners will find them and bring them to justice, no matter where they are.”

The statement said: “The wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud charges each carry a maximum term of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. The money laundering conspiracy charge carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction, whichever is greatest. The aggravated identity theft charges carry a mandatory term of two years in prison, which must run consecutively to any other term of imprisonment imposed on a defendant.”

Source: Voice of America

Here’s a look at what U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other top diplomats have been doing this week:

US-South America

Promoting democracy and managing migration are the focus of Blinken’s first trip to Ecuador and Colombia from October 19 to 21 as top U.S. diplomat. During a speech Wednesday in Quito, Blinken outlined challenges facing democracies in the Western Hemisphere but said he was optimistic they could be overcome.

Venezuela also looms large as the U.S. calls for political talks to resume between the Venezuelan government and the country’s opposition. U.S. officials this week discussed ways to tackle irregular migration, as Colombia hosts nearly 2 million Venezuelan migrants, and Ecuador also hosts a large number of migrants from Venezuela.

China also came up during Blinken’s South American trip. Ecuadorian officials described Beijing as “a commercial partner,” with Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso saying he wanted to secure a trade deal with China. Blinken told his Ecuadorian counterpart the U.S. was not asking countries to choose between Washington and Beijing, but he warned of risks of doing business with Chinese companies, saying “there really is no division between purportedly private enterprises and the state.”

US ‘One China’ Policy

Nicholas Burns, President Joe Biden’s nominee to be the next U.S. ambassador to China, took a tough line on dealings with China during his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday. Burns said the U.S. was right to continue its “one-China policy” but that Washington was also right to oppose China’s unilateral actions that undermine the status quo and undermine the stability of the region. Noticeably, Burns used the wordings of Washington’s so-called one-China “policy,” which is different from Beijing’s one-China “principle.” The U.S. has “acknowledged” but has never endorsed the Chinese Communist Party’s claim of sovereignty over Taiwan.

Colin Powell’s legacy

Colin Powell, the first Black U.S. secretary of state and a top military officer, died Monday at age 84 from complications due to COVID-19 while battling multiple myeloma.

He is being remembered by America’s foreign service work force, who say Powell was devoted to ensuring the State Department was properly resourced, consulted and respected.

Powell, who shaped lasting U.S. policies toward Africa, also is being remembered on the continent for peacemaking, supporting the fight against AIDS and sounding the alarm against war abuses.

US-Haiti

Haitian protesters took to the streets this week to demand the release of 17 missionaries — 16 Americans and 1 Canadian — kidnapped on October 16 by the 400 Mawozo gang. An interagency team dispatched by the U.S. government is working closely with Haitian authorities to try to recover the missionaries. The State Department has raised its travel advisory for Haiti to Level 4: Do Not Travel.

Top US envoy to afghanistan steps down

The U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, stepped down from his post this week, less than two months after the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Blinken announced Khalilzad’s departure in a statement Monday, saying the envoy would be replaced by his deputy, Thomas West. Talk of Khalilzad’s resignation had emerged since August after the Afghan Security Forces collapsed and the Taliban rapidly took control over the war-torn country.

Tigray violence

The U.S. remains gravely concerned by escalating violence in Tigray.

Forces in Ethiopia’s Tigray region said Monday that the Ethiopian government had launched airstrikes on the regional capital, Mekelle. The United States also was looking into the reported attack, with State Department spokesperson Ned Price saying the U.S. remained “gravely concerned by what has been escalating violence in Tigray for some time.”

China missile test

Top U.S. officials said Washington was paying close attention to China’s efforts to build up its military arsenal, amid reports Beijing took a major step forward two months ago by testing a hypersonic missile. Monday, the State Department said the U.S. was “deeply concerned” about the rapid expansion of China’s nuclear capabilities, which is deviating from Beijing’s decades-long nuclear strategy based on minimum deterrence.

Jerusalem consulate

The United States will move ahead with its plan to reopen the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem as Washington restores ties with the Palestinians and commits to a two-state solution. “As I said in May, we’ll be moving forward with the process of opening a consulate as part of deepening those ties with the Palestinians,” Blinken said during a Wednesday press conference. But he stopped short of providing a timeline.

Source: Voice of America

Botswana wildlife authorities have refuted reports the country’s rhinoceros population is on the verge of extinction due to poaching. The southern African country has battled a rise in poaching, with more than 60 animals killed in the last two years.

Department of Wildlife and National Parks Director Kabelo Senyatso said both rhinoceros and elephant poaching remain under control.

In a statement addressing poaching concerns, Senyatso said the government is committed to protecting the key species.

He added that, while isolated reports of poaching both the rhino and elephant continue to be reported, the government’s anti-poaching efforts are making progress.

But conservationist Neil Fitt said poaching incidents could have dropped due to the decrease in the number of rhinoceroses in the Okavango Delta.

“Rhino poaching could have subsided only because there is lot less numbers there,” Fitt said. “Elephant poaching is still happening, but we are getting very little reports because the government is not saying what is happening.”

In a bid to stem the poaching tide, government security forces have killed more than 20 poachers in the last two years as part of a zero-tolerance campaign that Botswana has enforced since 2013.

Fitt said a multi-stakeholder approach to fighting poaching is key.

“The best that we can do is we all work together – the government, the private sector and NGOs. Sometimes you need to put your hand up and say we have got a problem, we need to solve it, and we need everyone to help, and we are open to all ideas, not just ideas that we like,” he said.

Map Ives, former director at Rhino Conservation Botswana, said there is a need for an intelligence-based approach to counter poaching.

“That intelligence comes in several layers,” Ives said. “You need local intelligence within the Okavango Delta. You need local plus intelligence, which is surrounding the Okavango Delta, and then you need regional intelligence that is from countries surrounding Botswana, including Namibia, Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe. And then you need international intelligence. This sort of intelligence requires a high level of trust, not only government but between the private sector and NGOs.”

According to a 2021 International Rhino Foundation status report released last month, the rhino population faces a significant poaching threat in Botswana.

But, the report notes, the government is taking steps to address the issue, including dehorning the rhinos to make them less attractive to poachers and relocating the animals to safer places.

Source: Voice of America