LISTEN | SA teacher allegedly assaulted in China safe in Germany

The international relations and co-operation department (Dirco) is to question officials at the South African embassy in China after a South African teacher vlogged about an unpleasant experience while seeking help.

Nolusindiso Hleko, who teaches English, was allegedly assaulted by the human resource manager at a kindergarten school in Shanghai, China, where she worked. With a swollen black eye, Hleko on Thursday uploaded a video on YouTube, My Worst Year Abroad, detailing her harrowing ordeal after a disagreement with the preschool manager.

She has since left the country for Germany, which she had considered moving to from Korea before choosing China instead. 

Dirco spokesperson Clayson Monyela said he spoke to Hleko about her experience with the embassy. She told him she struggled to get hold of the embassy and eventually contacted them, but the person who was in touch with her didn't make follow-ups about what assistance she needed. 

“I said to her this is not the sort of response we expect from our officials, so this is a matter we will follow up because the embassies know and understand their mandate,” he said. 

Hleko detailed her experience in a four-minute video clip in which she explained what happened and how she had to run for her life. 

“On Wednesday August 23, during a disagreement, the HR manager at my job, a guy, punched me in the face. After he punched me I was screaming, trying to get out of his office. He pushed me down on the couch, telling me I need to sit down.

“I screamed and I was trying to get my cellphone so I could take pictures and videos of what was happening. Instead, he grabbed my cellphone and said he didn’t have my cellphone anymore. I don’t know how I got out of that office, but somehow I got out and I was running in the passage of this kindergarten trying to get help,” she said.

She met a woman who could speak English after she managed to get out of the preschool without her belongings, including her cellphone. 

The woman called the police and they went back to the preschool. “When we arrived at the kindergarten, they gathered everything that belonged to me on the table, telling me the reason they were preventing me leaving is because they wanted me to calm down so they can call the police to resolve the issue,” she said.

Monyela encouraged South Africans travelling abroad, whether for leisure, studies, business or work, to familiarise themselves with the South African embassy or consulate in that country “so should the need arise or you are in distress or whatever, you know where to get help”.

He said if South Africans in another country suffer abuse or are subjected to harm, they should report the matter to the police in that country and inform the embassy.

Dirco also has a Travel Smart App that allows South Africans who travel abroad to share contact details and other relevant information with the department. This can be downloaded from the app store.

“If you are not able to get hold of the embassy, call the department here in Pretoria. I am on Twitter [X], my number is not private, and my e-mail is also not private. People struggling to contact the embassy or the department can contact me directly because I am the face of the department and we should be able to come to your assistance in whatever part of the world you are in.”

Officials at the embassies are there to manage bilateral relations between South Africa and whatever country they are accredited to.

“It is not a 'favour' to also serve South Africans in those countries. This is why we have a unit called consular assistance — every South African has a home in our embassies — that’s their home and if they need any type of assistance that’s the place they must run to get that help,” he said.  

Hleko said she made a video because there were so many workers abroad suffering at the hands of employers who disobey the law and treat them poorly. 

“I am also making this video because I feel powerless in this situation,” she said.

TimesLIVE has reached out to Hleko. This article will be updated if she responds.

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