They waited years for jobs that were never their dream

Stephen Ario, a Kenyan, left his country in 2020 for a conference in Tennessee, but the Covid-19 pandemic stranded him in the US. He worked in various manual jobs, earning Sh1,099 an hour, while living in fear of deportation. Despite his qualifications as a librarian and lecturer, he had to adapt to harsh working conditions and a hostile environment for immigrants.