Cape Town - Henry van Neel, the South African teacher stranded in China after suddenly losing his job and having his visa expired, is hoping to be home in time for Christmas.
In a brief conversation on a very poor telephone line, Van Neel said he had been in touch with the South African embassy and was dealing with his immigration issues.
Fellow South African Mario Segal, who first brought Van Neel’s plight to the attention of the Cape Argus, sent an email message in which he said: “I just heard from Van Neel. He said your article has prompted his family to come up with money for a ticket home. He is waiting for a visa now.”
Segal said that Van Neel, who had earlier in the week complained of high blood pressure, nausea and headaches, was now staying in a guest house and eating properly again.
Reached for comment, Van Neel’s sister, who would only give her name as Erika, confirmed that Van Neel was coming home.
“He is now busy trying to get a flight back to Cape Town. Meanwhile, I am on my way to the airport. We can talk another time.”
Segal said: “The Chinese officials on mainland China are very helpful, but they can only follow protocol and can only deal with the South African embassy in Beijing.”
Earlier this year Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) said it was planning an awareness campaign around visa requirements for teaching English in China after several reports of South Africans there over an alleged immigration violation were published last year.
In recent years there have been a number of incidents of foreign teachers being detained and deported for visa violations in China.
According to the Teach English as a Foreign Language (Tefl) website, last year the Chinese embassy and consulates granted 1200 work visas to mostly South Africans to work as English teachers in China.
@MwangiGithahu