What was supposed to be a dream opportunity for 23-year-old Adau, a young woman from South Sudan, turned into a nightmare when she discovered she had been lured into working at a Russian drone factory under false pretences.
Last year, Adau applied for the Alabuga Start Programme in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, which advertised itself as a scholarship and professional training initiative for young women aged 18 to 22. It promised jobs in fields like logistics, catering, and hospitality. But when she arrived, the reality was far from what she was told.
“We got our uniforms not even knowing what we were going to do,” Adau recalled. “From the first day, we were taken to the drones factory. We stepped in and saw drones everywhere.”
Adau had dreamed of working in technology, even participating in a robotics competition abroad. Excited by an advert she saw on social media—reportedly shared by her country’s Ministry of Higher Education—she filled out an application form and waited nearly a year for her visa to be processed.
When she finally landed in Russia, she was impressed by the modern look of the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, filled with factories and industrial sites. But after three months of language classes, she and other recruits were forced to work in a military production facility—assembling and painting drones used in Russia’s war operations.
Participants were made to sign non-disclosure agreements, preventing them from revealing the truth about their work. Many of the women, recruited mainly from Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, were unaware they would be building weapons.
Human rights advocates and independent experts have since confirmed that the Alabuga zone is a war production hub, manufacturing Shahed-136 combat drones, which Russia has used in attacks in Ukraine. Reports suggest that over 1,000 women from Africa have been recruited to work there under similar deceptive promises.
Adau said her job involved painting drone casings with chemicals that burned her skin. “We wore protective gear, but the chemicals would still pass through. My skin started peeling,” she said.
She eventually tried to quit but was told she had to serve a two-week notice period. “It all started clicking—all the lies we had been told since the time of application. I couldn’t keep working around people who lied to me. I wanted to do more with my life than build drones,” she said.
The Alabuga Start Programme has denied allegations of deception but admitted that some employees were involved in drone production. Meanwhile, the South African government has launched an investigation after several women from southern Africa were found working in Alabuga’s weapons factories.
The case has exposed a disturbing pattern of exploitation, where economic vulnerability and high youth unemployment across Africa are being used to recruit young women into dangerous and unethical work environments.
Adau’s story has become a cautionary tale for thousands of African youths seeking opportunities abroad a stark reminder that not every “scholarship” or “training programme” is what it claims to be.
Leave a comment