SA woman stranded in Vietnam for months finally home

The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown shattered Mandy’s hopes of returning home from Vietnam where she had been teaching.

Most international borders had closed, and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) was still in the process of repatriating South African citizens from other countries across the globe.

Caxton Local Media journalist Danell Watts interviewed Mandy and published her story. The power of the press soon swung into action and it wasn’t long before Mandy had an offer of help from a compassionate stranger.

Danell was contacted by Tertius Myburgh from Maple Aviation who wanted to help and even offered to pay for Mandy’s ticket home.

“I just couldn’t believe this generosity and immediately put this Good Samaritan in touch with Mandy so that they could work out the details,” said Danell.

They discussed it, and Mandy’s return home was officially announced in mid-May. Her patience was however put to the test yet again as the plans were slow to fall into place due to the international travel restrictions.

“I eventually heard from Maple Aviation that our tentative date of departure was May 27,” said Mandy. “I was so elated – just seven more days to wait!” The Marchmans, the South African family with whom she was staying, cooked a farewell dinner and they all spent a wonderful evening reminiscing about their time together.

This happiness was however short-lived as Mandy was informed that the flight had been postponed until further notice. “My heart just dropped – it felt like I was in a horror movie or a nightmare that just wouldn’t end,” she said. The Marchmans, she added, were wonderful, reminding her that everything would eventually work out and doing their best to keep her calm.

“As the days passed with no news from Maple Aviation, people became restless and desperate, with some turning on each other in their desperation to get home.”

When news finally came that they would be departing for South Africa on May 31, Mandy said she was afraid to get her hopes up. As it turned out, with good reason – the flight was again delayed, this time until June 14.

When ‘D-Day’ finally arrived, Mandy and her fellow expats gathered at the airport. The four-hour delay there didn’t bother them at all as they knew they would soon be winging their way home.

According to Mandy, although the South African ambassador Mpetjane Kgaogelo Lekgoro was there to wave them off, this was the first they had seen of him since their ordeal began.

Mandy singled out Mmatlou Machimana from the South African Embassy in Hanoi for special thanks. “She was phenomenal, answering all my calls and even fielding calls from my very worried mother! She was a real star and did her best to do her job.”

And of course, Mandy extends heartfelt thanks to Tertius Myburgh. “He delivered on his promise to sponsor a seat for me on this flight. I also need to thank Marc Dumont for keeping me sane with his messages, and Maple Aviation and Air Zimbabwe for flying us home.”

Last, but by no means least, Mandy said she was incredibly grateful to Danell Watts and Caxton Local Media for being the catalyst by bringing her plight to the attention of those in a position to assist.

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart; ngiyabonga.”

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