A group of about 270 South Africans have been bombarding the embassy in Beijing and the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) in Pretoria for about two months with appeals for a repatriation flight from China, in vain.

They were stunned and dismayed when International Relations and Co-operation Minister Naledi Pandor indicated at a press conference on 21 May that she didn’t even know about their plight and suggested “they contact Dirco”.

In response, the leaders of the group sent Daily Maverick a thick dossier detailing their correspondence with a plethora of officials at Dirco in Pretoria and the South African embassy in Beijing as well as South African consulates in Shanghai and Hong Kong to prove that they had been in contact with Dirco for a long time.

Daily Maverick passed the dossier on to Dirco earlier this week, but has had no response yet. 

“We have been pleading and begging for the past eight weeks for the South African government to assist us with a repatriation flight,” the group said.

“Promises have been made, false hope was given and now, all hope has been lost.

“To this date nothing has changed and we are still exactly where we were two months ago. We are a few individuals who came together, fighting this battle every day, on our knees, phones, phone calls and internet searches, just to find a way home.”

The members of the group, many of them teachers, say most have stopped being paid, or have taken pay big cuts and can no longer afford accommodation or medications. Some have been arrested or face imminent arrest because their work visas have expired. Some are suicidal, one of their representatives said.

They have also been circulating a petition which had gained 777 signatures by yesterday, in which they appeal to Pandor for help.

They told her that all the requirements for repatriation as set out by Dirco have been met by the China group. All the documentation required to verify the citizenship of those requesting repatriation “has been sent to the relevant embassy and/or consulate” on 29 April.

“We ask that you afford this group of South Africans the same grace, effort and determination which has been afforded to the many thousands who have now been able to return to South Africa.” 

The members of the group, many of them teachers, say most have stopped being paid, or have taken pay big cuts and can no longer afford accommodation or medications. Some have been arrested or face imminent arrest because their work visas have expired. Some are suicidal, one of their representatives said.

The group includes South Africans living in China’s southern city Guangzhou who were among the many Africans who said they were subjected to racial discrimination last month by local Chinese officials who imposed over-zealous, discriminatory restrictions on them because they feared they were re-introducing the coronavirus to China. 

One of the South Africans said she had so far been tested for coronavirus 11 times by the Chinese government “because I am African”.

She said she wrote to Grace Motloutsi at the South African Consulate-General in Shanghai to say she needed help. 

Explaining her plight, she said she had left China over the Chinese New Year (in February) when the virus had just started and had not been able to return to China for seven weeks because of its coronavirus travel ban. 

“Upon returning to China we were instructed by the government that we need to undergo quarantine for 14 days which I gladly did.

“One week after being released and taking four tests, all being negative, they decided they were going to place all Africans and South Africans back into quarantine for legal reasons.

“We are a big group that had had to go back into quarantine after being tested negative and completing our 14 days. 

“There are South Africans who have not even left China and because they hold a South African passport, they have also been placed in quarantine.

“I am seeking advice on how I can leave the country to return home or what legal ground I have to stand on as they cannot just place citizens from a country into quarantine without a valid reason.

“I feel I am being mistreated and this is against my right. I did my 14 days, I was released and tested negative four times and one week later, I am placed back to quarantine.

“They have not done this to any other nationality besides Africans and South Africans.

“I am asking for help and advice please. I await your reply at your earliest convenience.”

She said she received no reply from Motloutsi.

After resending the email three times, she finally got a response from Dirco saying there were no commercial flights between the two countries and her only option was a private charter flight and that she should register for this, which she did.

A while later, on 29 April, she received an email from Motloutsi stating that the airline Cathay Pacific was arranging a repatriation flight from China… was she still interested in this flight and was she prepared to pay for her ticket?

“After about two weeks of silence, I emailed Grace again and asked if there were any updates and she replied saying they are still waiting on Cathay airline for further news.”

She then had a long correspondence on WhatsApp with the Home Away From Home (HAFH) group which has been campaigning for the repatriation of South Africans stranded abroad. 

“I phoned the emergency number of the South African Embassy and they told me that my situation is not an emergency and that I should phone during working hours the next week, leaving me with 24 hours to remain legal in this country.

“After not getting much answers” from this group, she decided to send a personal appeal for help to the leader of the group, DA MP Darren Bergman. She said she had no reply from her first or second message to him.

But then she saw on the HAFH a post from him “basically saying they cannot help us”. Bergman’s post said:

“China and South Africa can only work this out on a diplomatic level, President to President. Please understand this. Our platform needs to show respect to China as we have members of ours in China currently.” 

The mysterious Cathay Pacific repatriation flight caused tremendous confusion and frustration within the group of stranded South Africans and tensions with Dirco officials and with HAFH.

This also emerges from the personal account of another South African stuck in Jinan in central China. She relates how she had moved to China on 12 April 2020. 

“My time in China has simply been amazing and I will forever be grateful for the opportunities this country has given me and my family.

“My second contract ended on the 14th of May 2020 and my intention was always to move back to South Africa in May 2020.

“Since the announcement of the lockdown in South Africa, I have pleaded with the government to repatriate us. I have sent numerous and countless messages to all authorities possible of which I will share some of the most ‘amazing’ responses one could get from his country.

“My residency permit and work permit expired on the 14th of May 2020. I requested my previous employer to assist me with renewal of a stay visa as our province did not grant the automatic two-month visa extension. They refused.

“Long story short, I went to the Exit and Entry office and informed them of my situation on the 4th of May 2020 (after we were given false hope that a repatriation flight is going to happen in the ‘near future’) and again on the 15th of May 2020 (informing them that no flight is coming for us) and that SA is still in lockdown and that I cannot return home.

“The officer told me on the 15 of May, Friday afternoon, that if I do not get a valid visa or leave the country by Tuesday afternoon, the 19th of May 2020 before 4 pm, they will detain me.

“I phoned the emergency number of the South African Embassy and they told me that my situation is not an emergency and that I should phone during working hours the next week, leaving me with 24 hours to remain legal in this country.

“Needless to say, the Chinese Police came knocking on Wednesday, the 20th of May 2020. I spent nearly five hours at their offices showing them messages, news, documents, everything I can get my hands on that there is no repatriation flight after two months and that we cannot enter SA.

“The police officer said to me that ‘I cannot believe that you cannot enter your country and that they are not helping you’ — You and me both sir!”

This South African had a long and heated exchange with the South African Consulate-General in Shanghai about the aborted Cathay Pacific flight. She accused the officer of misleading the group that this flight was imminent by telling them:

“Cathay Pacific is planning a flight to South Africa in the near future” and then backtracking by saying “no I said they are considering it”.

This official added that the airline was “still deciding. They need permission from the HK (Hong Kong) government”. 

It seems that the Hong Kong government eventually refused permission for a South African repatriation flight to transit through Hong Kong and so the flight was eventually scrapped.

What really infuriated this South African though, was that:

“The Consulate-General even told me to listen to calming music! I mean seriously! What type of response is that?”

The email exchange with this official does indeed include the following advice:

“Do you listen to some of those spiritual gurus like Sadguru by any chance? Listen to jolly music, nothing sad, do what it takes to stay positive.”

The South African and a few others in the group were also annoyed with the attitude of the HAFH group that they should tone down their criticism to avoid offending China and damaging SA-Chinese relations.

She said she did not understand “Why there seems to be a diplomatic issue between our Government and China” which was preventing the repatriation of the group.

A senior Dirco official who requested anonymity said it was not true that Pretoria was reluctant to arrange a repatriation flight from China for fear of offending the Chinese government. 

Another member of the group, also a teacher said:

“I came to China on 16 September 2019. December 2019 was the last time I received a salary. I continued to do online lessons for March 2020 and April 2020 and I didn’t receive any income for it. Since then, I have had no income, and I had to move out of my apartment. I’m currently living with a friend I made during this time.

“My school said to me that it’s better for me to go home. I’ve never experienced so many different emotions in my life. We’ve been patient for a LONG time now. We don’t feel that anyone has our back. 

“We are desperate and devastated, not only is this a difficult time for all of us in the world, but for us in a foreign country, without family, money and accommodation is just something you can’t even begin to put into words.”

Daily Maverick has the names of the members of the group, but they asked us not to use them for fear it might jeopardise their chances of being repatriated. DM

See their petition here.