77 Kenyans are still awaiting repatriation, while 48 Kenyans who were rescued by the authorities in Myanmar have already reached the nation.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs led a multi-agency team that greeted and briefed the persons, who arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on Saturday morning at 6 a.m. on a Kenya Airways aircraft.
Before being transported to Thailand’s Bangkok airport, the rescued Kenyans were met by embassy representatives in Thailand on Friday morning at the Friendship Bridge 2 on the Thailand-Myanmar border, according to Kenyan Ambassador to Thailand Lindsay Kiptiness.
There was little point in trying to contact the returnees in Nairobi. Before being returned to their families, the multi-agency team told Citizen TV that they were going through security and medical examinations. Additionally, some of the returnees were in bad shape, according to the officials.
Kenyans who are still living in KK Park, which is located on the border between Thailand and Myanmar, are urging the authorities to speed up the repatriation process since they claim their living conditions are getting worse every day.
“I had no idea what kind of work I would be doing when I was brought here by an agent. Later on, they informed me that I would be defrauding people. They demanded USD 4,000 from me, which I didn’t have, when I tried to explain that I didn’t want to undertake the task. Thus, I ultimately carried out the fraud,” Shiko, a Kenyan living in Myanmar, stated.
Another verified list of 36 Kenyans who are awaiting permission from the governments of Thailand and Myanmar to cross across has been sent to the Kenyan embassy. There are still 77 Kenyans who have not begun the process.
Another Kenyan in Myanmar stated, “We are hopeful that the Kenyan will make it possible for us to get out of this horrible place, but we don’t have any update on when we are supposed to start the immigration process.”
Repatriation is difficult, particularly for individuals who do not have embassies in Thailand, but authorities from China, Myanmar, and Thailand this month dismantled fraud centers along the Thai-Myanmar border and released thousands of foreigners.
