[WATCH] 35 of the 50 ‘teachers’ stranded in China are Krugersdorpers
The cry from their parents in SA is heartbreaking: "Please help us get our kids home".
News recently broke that 50 South Africans (all under the age of 25) who went to China to teach English are being held by the Chinese government after the agent who arranged all their travelling details was arrested for fraud.
The government has detained the teachers and plans to use them as witnesses against the agent.
It was also discovered that 35 of the 50 teachers are from Krugersdorp, and their parents are desperately trying to raise money for airplane tickets so that their children can come home.
Carte Blanche also ran a segment on the ordeal of the teachers which aired on Sunday, 17 June.
Lorraine Theron is the mother of one of the teachers and said she is worried sick about the well-being of her 19-year-old daughter, Timoné, who is stuck in a foreign country with no means whatsoever to return home.
Photo: Submitted.
“It all happened so fast. She was called to an interview in Krugersdorp and then Roodepoort. Then she had to submit a video showing how she would teach a class and when she was accepted she was immediately provided with a one-way ticket to China. I didn’t even have the chance to throw her a going-away party.”
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She wasn’t even worried because one of her friends had done the same a year before and everything went well for him.
Like the others, Timoné was given a visitors’ visa and was told that because working visas took longer to issue, they’d get them when they arrived in China. But when they arrived, they were given student visas. They made inquiries and their passports were collected by the company. Soon after this, their agent’s CEO was arrested for fraud. They were told they are not allowed to work and that they are in the country illegally.
The university they stayed at previously agreed that they could continue staying in the campus residence, but they were not allowed to leave the city. Their passports were taken by the Chinese immigration services and three months later, they are still in the government’s possession.
One of the teachers sent this video of their living quarters:
They are living in terrible circumstances with almost no money. They live on about R40 a day – and a plate of food and water costs nearly R45. Half of them are sick with no means to get medication. A local foreign teachers’ group, SASSAS, has been helping them with donations of food and other necessities.
Photo: Submitted.
“What makes everything worse is this is not the first time I’ve almost lost her. About four years ago, Timoné was hit by a car in front of her school. She was in a coma for 17 days and had sustained severe head trauma. She recovered miraculously, but still suffers from depression. Now she’s struggling to stay happy,” said Lorraine.
She said she was infuriated by the comments left on social media after photos surfaced saying the teachers looked happy.
“They’re trying everything they can to stay positive in their circumstances. Why don’t you just help us get them home?” she asked.
Photo: Submitted.
The teachers now have to wait between a week and a month to get their passports back and return home.
Unfortunately many of the parents of the teachers are not in a position to pay for their return tickets and a fund has been created to assist them. Their parents are still paying for their food and necessities and are therefore struggling to save up enough to buy plane tickets.
A BackABuddy campaign to raise funds to get all of the young teachers back home safely has been started. For more information about this fund, visit Back A Buddy
For more information about the kids in China, visit their Facebook page Our Abandoned Kids In China.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at krugersdorpnews@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.
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