I am a 29 years old woman from South Africa. In 2022 I was arrested at the Hong Kong International Airport for trafficking dangerous drug. I am a single mother of two boys, aged 11 and 9 years old.
Before my arrest, I had been struggling to support my sons financially. In 2020 I enrolled in a college for a 3-year course. Once admitted I was offered a bursary that only covered my fees, but in order to get it, I needed to achieve a certain percentage in my exams. Unfortunately I struggled to maintain the grades, and in 2022 my performance dropped. The bursary stopped paying for my fees, but I continued studying without paying and I managed to qualify to write my final-year exams.
Being arrested is the worst thing that has ever happened to me. I am emotionally drained, I just live because there is nothing else to do.
The day that I was supposed to get my time table I was informed by the College that I needed to pay my outstanding balance before sitting for my exams. I was so hurt and stressed because I knew that my mother couldn’t afford to help me pay for it. As a farm worker and a single mother of five, she also struggles to take care of the family with her small salary.
I told a friend about my problem then after a week she called me and told me that she knew people who could help me, but I also needed to help them take something to Hong Kong. She did not mention anything about drugs at that moment.Being arrested is the worst thing that has ever happened to me. I am emotionally drained, I just live because there is nothing else to do. This pain is too much. I never thought that being away from my children would break me this way, especially being arrested for drugs. I feel like a disappointment to my family and my sons, now that I am here, they are the ones who are suffering just because they’ll grow up without me. I hope one day they will forgive me.
It has been very hard to adapt here. From food, to the daily prison routine, to the language. The worst part is that I don’t even know when I will go home to my family. My arrest also affected my mom’s health. She’s now on medication for high blood pressure and it’s all my fault.
It is very painful that people just take advantage of our humble background. I’ve learned a new lesson and will never do it again, what I want is to be convicted and finish my sentence because I have wronged the Hong Kong Government for agreeing to bring drugs to Hong Kong.I am writing this with a broken heart. I want to warn other people around the world not to fall in the same trap as me. Life in prison is not easy, getting through one day is too much. Be grateful for the little that you have. Too much of everything is dangerous. Be grateful for what you have right now, those children and family that you have. Let them be enough because if you want more you might end up in trouble like me and in prison in a foreign land.I want you to be patient with yourself. Fast money is never good. Look at me now. I risked my life and it was not worth it. I am gonna be in prison for a long time. Not being able to see my children and the rest of my family. It’s very hard. I’ve been crying every night for 17 months now. Please, please. I beg you in the name of the Lord. Don’t agree to traffic drugs anywhere in the world. Other countries kill for drugs. I don’t want anyone to go through what I am going through.
Note: This letter has been edited to correct spelling and grammar.
