Kenyans who had gone to seek work in Myanmar returned to the country on Saturday.
Some Kenyans had been duped into security jobs in Myanmar but ended up working in scam call centres located in regions controlled by rebel groups fighting the Myanmar government.
The first 24 Kenyans were released in March from a batch of 261 foreigners released following months of negotiations.
The returnees narrated the horrific tales they experienced in the hands of those they thought would help secure better jobs.
They complained of being denied salaries, sleeping for less than two hours and having received constant punishments.
They said that they are in pain both physically and mentally, calling on the government to help them acquire medical attention.
One of the returnees said that he forged his travel documents to go and work in Thailand as an English teacher.
He said that after being received at the Thailand airport, he was picked up by a fancy car and was driven for about eight hours to an unknown destination.
The returnee narrated how his effort of trying to find out their destination, but he could not manage to communicate due to a language barrier.
According to him, he was taken to an unknown place and was not given the work he went there to do.
''When we reached there. I knew it was all over before it began. We were given the work of online fraud. We were told to steal money. We were told to dupe people and steal from them, if you are unable you would be punished," he said.
The returnee further added that they were forced to sleep for only one and a half hours throwing them to constant pain.
Another returnee who travelled to Thailand with a promise of getting a job as a Chef.
On reaching the country, he was given a non-existent job. Trying to negotiate for a better job, he was told to pay them close to Sh700,000.
"Punishment is there; we have seen people being tortured. Some are beaten up and they are told to sit in the scorching sun for long hours. The highest salary I ever got there is Sh13,000, which cannot even sustain me and my family at home," he said.
They thanked God for returning them home to their families safe, although in pain but alive.
The returnees said the government should help Kenyans who are still stuck in Thailand to return home.
The Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs warned Kenyans against traveling to Myanmar for jobs purported to be in Thailand, only to end up in scam compounds in Myanmar.
It said the trafficking ring uses Thailand as a place to lure vulnerable youths into rebel-controlled areas in Myanmar.
“Kenyans should be aware that traffickers use Thailand as a trapdoor to lure vulnerable Youth into Myanmar," the ministry said.
“The Ministry called on Kenyans interested in jobs advertised in Thailand to get in touch with the Ministry or the Kenya Embassy in Bangkok to authenticate any such offers before travelling abroad.”
The 64 Kenyans and more than 30 nationalities who come from as far as South America are in a group of over 7,000 foreigners rescued by two armed groups namely the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and the Border Guard Force (BDF), and are currently waiting at the Thai-Mynamar border to cross into Thailand for onward repatriation to their home countries.
