I am a 36-year-old woman from South Africa. I have a 13-year-old son and have been also caring for my grandmother and my late sister’s children. My sister passed away in April 2021, leaving behind a son and daughter who are 7 and 5.
I lost my job in 2020 and started a food business, but I lost that too due to the unrest in my city in 2022. I was living in an unhappy marriage with an abusive husband. It took me a long time to leave him because I was concerned about how I would support the children.
One day, I met a woman who said she knew me, though I didn’t remember her. She said she was sorry about the passing of my late sister and my failed food business. I was surprised to hear this so I asked how she knew all that. Turns out she used to be acquainted with my sister and had patronized my business once before. I cried. She was moved and asked me what I needed most. I told her I desperately needed to restart my business, as it was very difficult to find a job due to the unrest. She said she was going to Johannesburg and would return in two weeks to discuss how she could help me. She gave me her contact information and a food voucher before leaving. I was so happy about this encounter that I told my family all about it and the nice woman I had met.
Two weeks later we met at her home. She told me she could help me get the money very fast to restart my business. We would need to go to Johannesburg and meet her friend who called himself ‘Bishop’, but she asked me not to tell my husband the truth about what we were planning, so we came up with a made-up story,
Those monsters call themselves friends or bishops. All they do is use us. Life in prison is very hard. No freedom at all – the homesickness and sadness of missing our children is very painful. Please don’t be fooled like I was. Don’t take any money for drugs.
I went to Johannesburg and met her friend. He promised me everything, saying I just needed to travel, and he would pay me when I returned. But for now, he said, he would give me some cash to send home to my kids. I agreed because I needed the money. That’s how I ended up in a prison in Hong Kong.
I write this story to warn you people, especially those who are desperate for a job or trying to start a business – please be careful.
Those monsters call themselves friends or bishops. All they do is use us. Life in prison is very hard. No freedom at all – the homesickness and sadness of missing our children is very painful. Please don’t be fooled like I was. Don’t take any money for drugs. Don’t go anywhere near Hong Kong with drugs.
Now we need to expose those people and stop them before they get to your sister, your mother, your brother. South Africans need to know about these people.
Do your best to stop drugs from passing through our airports. Stop this poison. It is very painful to be a prisoner in a foreign land, far away from home. I don’t want to see or hear of any South Africans coming to Hong Kong with drugs.
Spread this message everywhere. People of KwaZulu-Natal, be careful of these people. They know who is desperate and in need. Don’t let them win – be smart.
To trap them, report them to the police. I think that the South African Department of Home Affairs could be more cautious and ask the person why they need a passport and to get more details about the purpose before issuing one, it could help to stop this. We are your beloved ones, at the end of the day. Think if I was your sister or your child in prison. We can stop this if we work together.
Now my children are left alone. My husband was murdered in our home on February 4, 2023, in front of my son. I cannot imagine the pain my son is feeling, with his mom in prison and his dad now killed, leaving him with no parent. I never want my son to feel the pain of growing up with no parent, like I did.
I lost my mother when I was two years old, and my father when I was twelve years old.
Note: This letter has been abridged and edited to correct spelling and grammar.
