Episode 19: Jeff Ochieng: The Day a Worker Lives

Episode 19: Jeff Ochieng: The Day a Worker Lives

From Conversations on Modern Slavery by Free the Slaves

August 26, 2025 · 44 min

About this episode

Jeff Ochieng shares his harrowing experience as a survivor of human trafficking and discusses the importance of empathy in labor rights.

Conversations on Modern Slavery sits down with Jeff Ochieng, a Kenyan photojournalist and writer with 10+ years in mainstream and independent media. Jeff began in Mathare as a teenager, screening award-winning early films and building a journalism portfolio. A survivor of human trafficking in the Middle East, he now reports on migrant exploitation and the kafala system, with work featured on Migrant-Rights.com and MigrantNarrativesAfrica.com. Based in Mombasa with his wife and two children, Jeff traces a journey that started with a promised job in Qatar that didn’t exist, moving on to Bahrain where he experienced confiscated phones and was forced to sign unread contracts. His experience culminated in 17 hour workdays, including transit. He shares the advice he gives would-be migrants, and the lever he argues changes lives: empathy in practice, backed by standards that actually bite. If you work in migration, labor rights, research, or policy, this episode connects the system to the day a worker actually lives.

People in this episode

Guest: Jeff Ochieng

Topics covered

  • human trafficking
  • migrant exploitation
  • kafala system
  • labor rights
  • empathy in practice

Keywords

  • human trafficking
  • migrant workers
  • kafala system
  • labor rights
  • empathy
  • journalism
  • exploitation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Migrant-Rights.com, MigrantNarrativesAfrica.com

Places: Mathare, Qatar, Bahrain, Mombasa

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