-Guinean agent says for decent-paying jobs
By Jerromie S. Walters
The pursuit of better economic opportunities continues to drive jobless Liberians, especially young women, into the hands of unrealistic agents who traffic them to the Middle East for domestic work. These vulnerable individuals don’t only face exploitative working conditions but also risk being maltreated.
Recently, pictorial evidence displayed the departure of over fifteen Liberians (both genders) from Liberia, to the Middle East. We have gathered that they were promised decent-paying jobs in Qatar and Kuwait by their agents here in Liberia. Spotted boarding a local flight at the Roberts International Airport (RIA), the young Liberians wore a dominant white shirt with the inscription “HAYS” at the front and “Jobs Abroad” along with other mini writings at the back.
With a thorough search on different social media platforms, we established that the young Liberians’ trip was prompted by the work of a Guinea national who is so far identified as Diallow Kalifala on Facebook.
When contacted via messenger to clarify the travel process, Diallow Kalifala explained that interested individuals are required to pay $1,000 for a Visa and flight ticket. Additionally, all nationalities are required to make a $300 deposit. Upon receiving the visa, the candidate would then need to pay the remaining $700.
Kalifala emphasized: “To start any process we only need your passport copy, passport size photo white background, and full photo. We give direct employment 2 years contract renewable if you like. Visa come out during 5 days process. Visa and flight ticket $1000 only. All nationalities will make a $300 deposit. once you receive your visa you pay the balance of $700 at the same time you give your departure date before we send your flight tickets, assurance, and ok to board.”
Regarding the reported monthly income that has piqued the interest of young Liberians and other nationals, Kalifala mentioned, “Salary $1000 every month. Lodging is free, medical free, and transport from work to home is free but you are responsible for your own food. We need ladies for cleaners and supermarket attendants. He stressed, “We need security guards, cleaners, hairdressers-drivers, electricians, plumbers, welders, Mason helpers, and supermarket attendants in Kuwait and Qatar.”
Howbeit, Kalifala struggled to specify the exact organizations that individuals would be working with. On multiple occasions, he has told his audience that job placements are determined during the document processing stage. Nevertheless, he informed us that individuals would only know their assigned entity upon arriving in Qatar or Kuwait. Kalifala angrily remarked, “You better go United States because you can’t be in your country and know all what is going in Qatar.”
When quizzed as to whether the Labour Ministry is aware of the job opportunity process, he reacted: “Go ask him”. Meanwhile, much more of Diallow Kalifala’s articulation further confirmed that he doesn’t have an office in Liberia, as he tells our reporter that those interested in seeing his office will need to make a trip to Conakry, Guinea. “You come in Guinea Conakry,” he said. Moreover, he told this paper that he does operate an organization but rather he’s an agent. He admits: “We are just traveling agents that send people to Qatar for work. This business is not permanent so no Need for organization.” WomenVoices has gathered that Diallow Kalifala traffics people from different West African countries (Especially Guinea and Liberia).
Much is not known about Diallow Kalifala at the moment as his online profile lacks personal information about himself. It doesn’t have details about his work history, education, or address. With only thirty friends and minimal activity on his page, Kalifala primarily shares information about these supposed job opportunities in various Facebook groups, including Liberia Market (Buy and Sell) and Liberian News Today. He has never made any other direct post on his Facebook page excluding his profile photo which he uploaded on January 11, 2024.
So, it appears that Diallow Kalifala is not acting alone in this endeavor. He seems to have strategic assistance from Collins Gandah, who presents himself as an IT expert, digital marketer, entrepreneur, travel and visa consultant, web developer, and one who’s involved with handling, buying, and shipping services. Gandah admitted that the young Liberians who recently departed the country passports would be seized upon their arrival in Qatar.
Amid skepticism about the authenticity of the process, Collins Gandah justified, “Regard to Jobs in Qatar Companies are looking for a lot of people from Africa to go and work is true if only you have the opportunity go it’s the best way to start your travel experience and also get paid. I can confirm that, When you arrive, they’ll take your Passport and your Yellow Book from you. The reason is that many people from Africa used to run away after they arrived, and the company will do all working documentation including residents permit documentation for the duration of their stay based on the contract.”
According to him, “Initially they used to give all those documents to the African workers, but a lot of them end up running away from the company and go looking for another job.
In Dubai and Qatar, when you have a Resident permit and work permits, you can get jobs with higher salaries. So will use those documents and apply for Visas to Canada or US or Europe. That’s the reason why they started taking people’s passports from them until you served their contract finish before they give you the passport. The Salary is still very encouraging (depending on the skill level 250-500$ USD) and better than staying in your home country without working to help yourself and your family.”
He said their passports would only be given back after they had exhausted the contract period. “After serving their contracts, maybe 2 years or 5 years, they will give you all your documents. Some people are in Europe, the US, or Canada after their Contracts while they have saved enough money. They got a visa to better Countries for better jobs. You can stay there and apply for any visa you don’t have to return home to apply.”
Labour Ministry shocked
In an on-phone interview with this paper, late Sunday, March 17, 2024, Adolphus Satiah, the Director for Human Trafficking at the Ministry of Labour reacted with an undesirable shock when he was asked about the Ministry’s knowledge of Diallow Kalifala’s controversial job opportunity process.
Satiah, “Oh, I’m not aware of it and I don’t know why the officers at the Airport will allow such amount of people to leave without being curious.” He says the Ministry is not aware and they will launch an investigation into the matter.
Typical modern slavery scams in the Middle East are orchestrated by agents who sell domestic servant contracts to households. In Oman, especially households pay a $1,500 fee to the agent as well as the cost of return flights. Households typically pay the servants $200 a month for long days with no days off. The contract lasts for two years.
During the 2022, World Cup in Qatar, a Guardian investigation estimated the country lured as many as two million workers from the Philippines and South Asia to construct the $300 billion city and eight stadiums needed for the Cup. The Guardian also reported that thousands died in sweltering heat and filthy living conditions during the ten years of breakneck-speed construction. However, Qatar admitted to just 40.
In 2022, the Government of Liberia, through the Ministry of Labour, requested the Omani government to halt the issuance of visas to Liberian jobseekers for domestic work in Oman. However, this is not the case with Qatar. It’s a proven fact that due to the country’s economic system, a lot of Liberians are recruited by agencies that promise them jobs in the Middle East. These agencies charge the agents money to help take them to Oman and also collect fees from families in Oman who serve as the final destination of these agents who are to serve as domestic workers.
Between 2011 to date, Liberians, especially women have been trafficked to Oman, Lebanon, and other parts of the Middle East. The United Nations defines Trafficking in persons as: “The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, using the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or a position of vulnerability or the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for exploitation”.
We have established that Kalifala’s group is synonymous with another local group in Jacob Town, which is said to be providing scholarship opportunities to Liberians to study in Rwanda. This group, whose office is in an isolated place behind the Jacob Townfield, doesn’t allow individuals to use phones in their facility, and they don’t believe in talking about their background as an NGO.
Trafficking issue
Trafficking for labor has been on the rise on the African continent for years. With a high illiteracy rate and a large number of citizens below the poverty line, poor countries like Liberia are increasingly targeted by traffickers. In 2021, the government passed The Revised Act to Ban Trafficking in Persons within the Republic of Liberia. The law revised the 2005 Act to Ban Trafficking in Persons and brought Liberia’s trafficking legislation into compliance with international law. An anti-trafficking hotline was also established.
According to the U.S-Liberia 2023 trafficking in-person report, the Government of Liberia does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so. It says the government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period, considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, if any, on its anti-trafficking capacity; therefore Liberia remained in Tier 2.
“These efforts included prosecuting and convicting an official complicit in human trafficking identifying more victims and referring them to services. However, the government did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas. Investigations decreased and law enforcement officials continued to lack adequate resources and understanding of trafficking to effectively investigate and prosecute trafficking crimes. Victim services, especially shelter, remained insufficient.”
According to the 2018 global report on trafficking in person by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, most of the victims detected in sub-Saharan Africa in 2016 were trafficked for forced labor (63 percent).
