Kenyans stranded in Beirut, Lebanon following a huge explosion that left part of the capital in a shell last Tuesday will be evacuated.
The government through the Kenyan Embassy in Kuwait asked the Kenyans who held a peaceful protest outside the Kenyan consulate in Lebanon on Monday to be patient as plans are made to evacuate them.
Ambassador Halima Mohammed is Kenya’s envoy to Kuwait which also has jurisdiction in Lebanon.
Mohamed’s assurance came barely hours after a viral video of a group of 10 Kenyans pleaded with President Uhuru Kenyatta to help them fly back to Kenya.
One of the victims lamented that they have been forgotten yet other countries have already started evacuating their citizens from Beirut.
Another Kenyan added that they are going without food since they have no money.
“We don’t have money to pay for our tickets, we can’t even afford a daily meal every day. We are stranded and homeless, we are not even working for now,” she said.
She added: “This is our prayer to the Kenyan government and all the well-wishers, we are hopeless here in Lebanon. We want to go back to our country. We don’t have food, we don’t even have water to drink.”
Amnesty International had also asked the Kenyan government to act expeditiously.
“We call on the interim Ministry of Foreign Affairs to work with the relevant consulates and embassies to assist those documented and undocumented migrant workers who wish to return to their countries to do so as soon as possible,” AI tweeted.
The explosion came as the Kenyan Ambassador to Kuwait planned on visiting the Kenyan consulate in Beirut over harassment claims in Kenyan women seeking help.
About 100 people died following the blast while 4,000 others were left with serious injuries.
