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Moses: "When I get a girl, the mzungu man will pay me a finder's fee"

A couple strolling hand-in-hand along the street at coastal city of Mombasa, Kenya 2008. Julius Mwelu/IRIN
    MOMBASA

    Moses*, 22, has lived in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa since he was nine. From a poor family, he dropped out of school early and now roams the beaches looking for work. He told IRIN/PlusNews that more often than not, the work that comes his way is of a sexual nature.

    "I walk around the beach, and wazungu [white people] come to me, asking for one thing or another. Sometimes it is simple things, like where to find crafts, or sometimes they want to meet young girls or boys for a good time. They like me because I'm friendly and I speak many languages.

    "When I get a girl, the mzungu [white] man will pay me a finder's fee, and if the girl is good she will also give me something.

    "Recently one man - a European - came to me every day of the week looking for a different girl. He came on holiday with his wife but would leave her in the nice hotel and take these girls to a different lodge in town.

    "Once in a while, I will take a mzungu woman myself, and spend a few weeks with her while she's on holiday. Recently one woman left me with 30,000 shillings [US$441] after spending just one week with her.

    "But it's not my usual thing ... I don't like these old women; I would prefer to fall in true love with a young one who can take me to her country. Many girls I have introduced to white men have now moved to Europe, or have lots of houses and cars here in Mombasa.

    "I don't use condoms unless someone insists on it. HIV is bad luck. How come so many prostitutes don't have it, and yet married women who have one husband get it? If it's your day, it's your day; it's all up to God."

    kr/ks/he

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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