Refugees stranded in Kenya after Canadian company cancels job offers
Refugees stranded in Kenya after Canadian company cancels job offers
A group of 18 refugees in Kenya who had been promised jobs in Canada have had the offers cancelled, leaving them stranded in some of the country’s largest refugee camps.
Many of the refugees were in the final stages of preparation and ready to move abroad when the jobs were withdrawn. Having completed all medical and language checks and received visas, they described the news as devastating.
“We finished the medical, then after that, the visa was approved. Then suddenly you’re not interested. So how can you feel? You know I’m a human being,” said Juma Shauri, a refugee who fled the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2010.
The refugees had received approval to work in Canada under the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP) programme aimed at helping skilled displaced people while filling labour shortages.
Under the programme, a long-term care company had extended job offers to them for almost three years before rescinding them.
In a statement, the company said the job offers were made in good faith years ago, but the roles were later filled due to long delays in processing.
Job offer cancellations are becoming more common amid frequent delays in processing refugees’ applications and a global rise in displaced people, which has now reached 43 million.
The affected refugees have spent over a decade living in difficult conditions in Kakuma and Dadaab camps in northern Kenya.
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After years of waiting and planning to move abroad and rebuild their lives with their families, they now face an uncertain future.
Idris Adam from Sudan, who has been living at Kakuma for 14 years, said it has been difficult explaining the situation to his young daughter who was also prepared to travel.
The refugees said the loss of job offers has taken an emotional and psychological toll, describing feelings of stress, depression and frustration.
Aid organisations that had helped the refugees secure the approvals called the sudden cancellation unacceptable considering how far into the process they had progressed.
Some refugees may get other job opportunities from the company in the future, but others have had their applications closed. Despite the disappointment, some refugees still hope to move abroad if the opportunity arises.
The situation highlights the difficulties refugees in Kenya face as they wait for years to leave the camps and build stable lives.
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