One of the Nigerians evacuated from South Africa has shared her painful experience of living in the country, describing her 11 years there as traumatic due to discrimination and xenophobic treatment
Speaking after returning to Nigeria with her family, she said she and her husband struggled to find stable jobs because they lacked the necessary permits and were constantly treated unfairly as foreigners.
She also recalled a traumatic experience after giving birth to her first daughter in a South African hospital, alleging that a nurse ordered her to clean the hospital floor while she was still bleeding after delivery because she could not speak the local language.
The returnee further claimed that her children were repeatedly discriminated against in school, saying they were denied awards because they were not South African citizens.
Expressing relief at returning home, she thanked the Nigerian government and everyone involved in the evacuation process.
She said:
“I’ve been in South Africa for 11 years, and those 11 years, I would describe them as traumatic years.
“Since then, it has been from one struggle to another, no job, no stable job because there was no permit, then hatred, no care for foreigners.
“When I gave birth to my first daughter, I was asked to clean the hospital floor because I was bleeding… I’m being treated as if I’m not human just because I’m not South African.
“Even my children at school are deprived of awards because they are not South Africans. Several times they come home from school crying.
“But all in all, I want to thank God we are back home, and I want to thank the Nigerian government and everyone involved in this. God bless them.”
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