Young South African teachers stuck in China for two months released

After much intervention, crowd funding and the help of the department of international relations and cooperation (Dirco) liaising with Chinese authorities, the 51 young students trapped in China since April have been released, reports Good Things Guy.

According to the article, a parent of one of the students, Charl Venter, called the publication today to confirm they had been released, and would be returning home.

It has also been reported the Chinese government intends to fund the students’ return trips to South Africa.

According to SA Embassy in Beijing, 51 young South Africans were enticed by an agent to travel to China on a study visa while planning to work as English teachers. The promise was that they would get their work visas upon arrival in the country, but this never materialised. While in China on study visas, they started working, which was in contravention of China’s immigration laws. The country confiscated all of their passports and they were “living in limbo” for the past two months.

Minister of International Relations Lindiwe Sisulu made it a priority to have the students flown back to South Africa.

Sisulu also emphasised that South Africans must be aware of scams such as this to avoid future instances where young people seeking work opportunities are tricked and become stranded in a foreign country.

“We appeal to all South Africans to be cautious of these scams and to check with the relevant authorities before travelling to other countries. Dirco will continue to provide consular assistance to those South Africans in distress and also to keep those affected families informed of the latest developments,” Sisulu said.

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