IT was only after Government stepped in last year and began investigating reports that Zimbabwean women were being trafficked to the Middle East, that Zimbabweans came face-to-face with the reality of human trafficking.
Reading the narratives by the women whom Government managed to repatriate from Kuwait, in May last year, sends chills down one’s spine.
The narratives, which sound like they are right out of some thriller movie, highlight the inhuman labour conditions and abuses these women were subjected to.
One of the women narrated how their passports were seized and they were forced to work for over 18 hours a day as maids for wealthy families under harsh conditions.
When the woman in question rebelled, she was demoted from being a house worker to a sex slave, until she finally escaped.
While these women found themselves in these predicaments having swallowed hook, line and sinker false adverts for jobs abroad, what requires scrutiny is the relationship between recruiters/traffickers and some officials, in this case those at the Kuwait Embassy in Zimbabwe.
The ill treatment and abuse of foreigners, particularly Zimbabweans, is sad, and as one traveller lamented: “Kuita muZimba kutukwa” (To be Zimbabwean is a curse).
At some immigration control posts, our green passport has indeed become a curse.
This was recently highlighted in what has become a norm for Zimbabweans travelling in the region.
According to media reports, 12 Zimbabweans en route to Turkey via Namibia were detained by Air Namibia staff for two days, then forced to return to Zimbabwe.
One of the passengers indicated that the Air Namibia staff was degrading, insulting and condescending.
The Zimbabweans were accused of being criminals and called derogatory names.
Last year, during one of my now few and far between visits home, I made the mistake of travelling by road to Zimbabwe from South Africa.
The treatment of Zimbabwean nationals at Beitbridge Border Post left a lot to be desired.
Not only were travellers made to stand in long winding queues for hours on end, in high temperatures, but the pace at which immigration officers were serving the travellers displayed their contempt for same.
The security officers were not only overzealous, but their checks were more harassing in nature than meeting their intended purpose.
Interactions with my fellow travellers revealed that when one uses that point of entry, patience is a necessary requirement.
The curse of the green passport!
Interestingly, during that same trip, I travelled to Namibia via Zambia, and the service in those two countries was not in any way similar to what I had experienced at Beitbridge.
In the late 1990s, the US was not as stringent with Zimbabwean nationals when it came to issuing visas.
Those who met the requisite conditions were usually issued 10-year visas and could travel as they pleased.
As economic pressures increased in the 2000s, the trekking of Zimbabwean women to the US increased and many who obtained visas would come for six months, work as maids then return home.
This proved to be a hit for many women.
Unfortunately, the floodgates let in unscrupulous individuals who robbed and abused children under their care, among other infractions. That resulted in many employment agencies shunning Zimbabwean passport holders.
It could be said this sad turn of events also led to the then INS putting breaks on that visa facility.
The curse of the green passport!
Interactions nevana vekumusha this year, have indicated that many are fearful that Zimbabwe could become a target for more stringent visa conditions.
While many have acquired green cards, annual visits to the US by parents, brothers, sisters and other close family relations are their source of connecting with the motherland.
The visits provide a time to reconnect, refresh and reminisce.