Hundreds of Kenyans are asking the government to assist them return home after a surge in racial discrimination against Africans.
Many Kenyans and other African nationals living in China have been kicked out of their houses and now live on the streets, depending on well-wishers for food and other basic requirements.
Chinese police are reportedly evicting them forcibly and taking away their legal documents.
“The first thing they ask for are the documentations. Some police allow you to keep the passport, but others just take it,” said a Kenyan citizen in China whose identity we have concealed.
The situation in the country is so bad that posters have been put in malls and restaurants asking foreigners to stay away.
Kenyans, especially those in Guangdong, have been hit hard and live in constant fear because of the the ill-treatment they are facing yet they have not committed any crime.
“I am frustrated and angry because of what we are going through. It is sad that the government is quiet about this. I live in fear waiting for the knock that could send me to the streets,” says Ms Nyokabi.
“I can barely step out to get even the most basic things. I cannot dare because I will be exposing myself to forceful eviction,” she adds.
The Kenyans in China have reached out to Kenyan embassy officials for help but their pleas have been ignored.
They are now asking the Kenyan government to help in facilitating their return home to avoid the discrimination by Chinese nationals.
“We are discriminated against because they think that we are asymptomatic carriers of coronavirus. Some just hate on us for no reason. Honestly, we need to come back home,” said Ms Nyokabi.
“What’s more infuriating than the inhuman treatment of Kenyans in China is to think that the only place where they’d hoped to find solace, the embassy, brazenly turned a deaf ear to them. Tell me why Sarah Serem should continue bearing the title Ambassador” said twitter user @kimathiwamuthee.
However, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson at the Chinese Embassy in Nairobi, Hong Lei, released a statement saying that they treat all foreign nationals equally in China.
“We reject differential treatment, and have zero tolerance for discrimination. We pay high attention to the incidents and misunderstandings that have occurred in this process. We hope all foreigners in China will strictly observe local anti-epidemic regulations, cooperate with and support us in fighting the virus,” he said.
According to the Nation, There is still no communication from the Kenyan Embassy on the situation.
