250,000 jobs and the lies between the lines

It's been a busy couple of weeks for President William Ruto, jetting in and out of the country. Meeting here, meeting there, globally embarrassing the BBC…

Ruto’s government has been flying the flag of job opportunities very high as he keeps trading Kenyans abroad in what is considered modern-day slavery. Kenyans in Saudi, Kenyans in Qatar, Kenyans in Haiti and now Kenyans in Germany. Since last year during German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz’s state visit to Kenya, Ruto has been harping on and on about this deal that will allocate for 250,000 Kenyans to have job opportunities in Germany.

Finally, last week, Ruto jetted into Berlin for the Burgerfest 2024 that Kenya was a part of and signed the immigration deal for skilled workers. When BBC published the story with the headline ‘Germany to welcome 250,000 Kenyans in labour deal’, the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Homeland was quick to correct them. The ministry said they did not agree to a specific quota, only to those whose skills meet the requirements of the Immigration Act. Prompting the BBC to take down the headline and publish a public correction.

This is to say that this government is so good at embellishing the reality of things that they managed to bamboozle one of the world’s biggest media companies. As a result, the phrase 250,000 Kenyans is the top trending topic on X since the disgraceful event as Kenyans took to the platform to share their displeasure.

While the phrase 250,000 Kenyans has been trending in Kenya, the word Kenia has been trending on the German X since last weekend. The tweets and posts that accompany the word are a clear indication of the people’s anger towards immigration, and the consensus is less than welcoming.

What the government fails to tell Kenyans is that Germany is the largest host to refugees and has taken more than 2.5 million asylum seekers in the last decade alone. One million Ukranians were given refuge in 2022 in the hopes of creating a larger workforce. The sudden surge of immigrants and asylum seekers has driven the citizens to harbour a deep resentment for foreigners, triggering right wingers to push for an end to economic immigration.

A few weeks ago, the former East Germany states of Saxony and Thuringia voted in the far right wing party AfD as the ruling party for those states, increasing fear among foreigners. The AfD is known for its particular dissatisfaction with immigration and asylum seekers, especially those who benefit from social welfare. Their slogan is ‘Auslander raus’ (foreigners out). Right wing parties in Germany have not been voted into power since World War II.

The very idea that the President of a country is filling the people’s heads with hope of employment in a foreign country is deplorable to say the least. As a President, your job is to establish a good life for the people within the borders you serve.

Why should able-bodied Kenyans be sent out of the country to find opportunities? Are there no opportunities in our own country? All the mines, the game reserves, the booming tech industry, the tourism industry, the farming sector and the limitless natural resources we have are not good enough for our own people to benefit from?

How long must we serve as semi-skilled, low-income labourers in other countries? Even though most of us in the diaspora close our eyes and do what we need to do to build a better future for our families back home, the governments of the day continue to plunder and destroy. I wonder every day, will I ever make it back home?

Will I settle down and retire as peacefully as I had dreamed, or will the whole country have gone up in smoke by then? Who was it who said that Africa is now a graveyard as we send our young to work abroad and bring back the old to die and be buried at home?