“They’ll run away in a month”: a Russian woman described her experience of working with Kenyans who will be brought to the Russian Federation

The news that 10 thousand workers from Kenya would be brought to Russia was met with hostility by the people. “They will bend here after our frosts and go to hell,” “It’s better to have a penny labor force than to provide decent pay to your own people,” “We’ve already transported Vietnamese to Bryansk, they quickly fled,” people are outraged on social networks.

Is it worth the candle, said a Russian woman who encountered Kenyans at work.

Natalya Davydova has been living in Kenya for almost a year and runs the “Hello Africa” telegram channel. The Russian woman worked in a team that was involved in Russian projects in Kenya – training, marketing, management. “That’s why I know first-hand all the fillings of African tin,” Natalya began.

– We work with locals, provide them with jobs. If the information about the importation of Kenyans to Russia is reliable, then not the best representatives of Kenya will come there. And frankly speaking, it smacks of a slave system. The people who orchestrate the labor migration described in the news know that Kenyans, like many others on the African continent, are unemployable. The fact is that people who have jobs in Kenya hold on to them even if they get $100. But mostly Nairobi residents earn $200, which is the average salary in the country. We are talking about drivers, maids, service personnel.

According to the interlocutor, most of the Kenyan workers are illiterate, from the lower strata of the population, and live in the Kibera slum area.

“A lot of people come to us to find work,” continues Natalya. “But even those who have an education have to be retrained again. They are completely unsuitable for our understanding of business and further communications. What can we say about the people who are going to be sent to the Russian Federation? Most likely, such citizens will lack any basic skills. I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t even know how to count. Education in Kenya is paid; most of the population cannot afford to send their children to even a simple school. I would like to make a reservation right away: among Kenyans there are still responsible and decent ones, but they are few.

The mentality of Kenyans is a separate issue. Here Natalya is sure: it won’t be easy.

– There is a saying in Kenya: “If you didn’t deceive the white man, the day was wasted.” Their God is money. Lies and theft become the norm. Most likely, a significant part of the migrants who will be sent to Russia are from unfavorable areas, since wealthy Kenyans live well and have no need to go to other countries other than to study.

And people from disadvantaged areas are always eager to make money. There are a million stories from whites who tried to change the lives of locals, improve them, pay more wages than they should, and in the end they caught Kenyans stealing. There have already been three cases in our company…

Natalya also believes that Kenyans are lazy: “Everything they do is “hakuna matata” – don’t rush, everything is great, brother, relax! Every week their grandparents and brother’s sister allegedly die, which gives them an excuse to skip work. But these same relatives die several times a month.”

– We are a Russian-speaking company. Ours work efficiently and do everything on time. Kenyans find it difficult to accept our mentality. Although they respect the Russians, such an active regime is a burden to them. They think that we are harsh, but we pay well,” the interlocutor adds. – For example, our project in Nairobi was built by engineers from Russia, but the contractors were local, they did the dirty work. Most worked as builders, drivers, laborers, cleaners, waiters, and security guards. They performed their duties well, but they need constant monitoring; they cannot cope on their own.

– As I understand it, Kenyans will be invited to work in Russia on construction sites. What kind of builders are they?

– Now the Chinese and Indians are actively building in the Kenyan market. The locals are not builders, but they can handle it as contractors.

– Will they be able to get used to the cold climate?

– I’m not sure, they are not resilient and constantly feel sorry for themselves. Not every Russian can plow in the cold, let alone warm-blooded Africans. At plus 15, Kenyans wear jackets and hats here.

The contingent that will probably be recruited to work in harsh Russia will run away from their boss within a month. After all, in Africa people live in a warm place, if something happens they can ask a white man for change and continue to live in poverty, but not freeze. We also noticed an interesting fact – they regard any raising of their voice as an insult. If you shout at them, they get lost and stop thinking.

I have not met anyone who would go to work abroad themselves. This requires money. But there are quite a lot of former students who studied in the Russian Federation. There are quite a few specialists who speak Russian, mostly doctors. There are many Kenyan Indians who studied in Russia. Therefore, it is worth talking carefully in public places, since the local intelligentsia may suddenly wish you good morning in a completely unexpected place.

– Do Kenyans even know anything about Russia?

– Very few. Basically “cold, vodka, Putin” and all this is accompanied by a wide snow-white smile: “Rasha, ooh, Russia, welcome.”

If we consider a country for holidays, it is beautiful and friendly. Locals love Russians because we are generous and responsive. But if a white man starts living here, he will be skinned three times over. Kenya is Russia in the 90s. After a year of living here, we can already write a book: “How to build a business in Kenya and not go crazy.” Moreover, in three volumes.