When 69-year-old Rolf Schönhöfer boarded a plane bound for South Africa in December 2023, he believed he was fleeing persecution by the German government.
Instead he found himself homeless, mentally ill and wandering the streets of Durban with no passport, no money and no way to get home.
For 18 months Schönhöfer lived in an abandoned house on the outskirts of the city. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, he had no memory of how he got to South Africa.
Then he met Cathy Murugan. A social worker and a Holy Family sister based at the Denis Hurley Centre, Murugan came across Schönhöfer towards the end of last year when he approached social work interns at the centre for help contacting his estranged wife in Germany. Murugan stepped in and refused to give up on him.
“He wanted the interns to contact his estranged wife in Germany to send him €50 (R1,030). I then intervened,” she told TimesLIVE Premium.
“Rolf came to South Africa fearing he was being persecuted by the German government. When he realised that this was not so and wanted to return home, he had lost his passport and documents and had no money.
“After ascertaining that he wanted to return home, I contacted the German consulate in Durban to get their support as he is a German citizen. I thought that this was going to be a simple process that could be finalised before the end of December.”
Murugan was wrong.
“It took another five months. At times I despaired he’d ever return. The German consulate had to verify he was not a holidaymaker who had used all his money and now wanted a free flight home. I helped him get the temporary passport and the letter from the department of home affairs, ensuring that he wouldn’t be detained at the airport.”
Next came the flight home. Murugan had to find a way to pay for the ticket.
“The German consulate does not assist with purchasing the air ticket. Instead they said that since he has a wife — they are not divorced, — she is responsible for him and purchasing the ticket.”
However, his wife said she did not have money and could not buy his ticket.
“She said his social worker was responsible. We went around in circles for quite a few months until eventually the wife, Sylvia, sent me the e-mail address of his psychologist,” Murugan explained.
“I sent an e-mail to his psychologist, giving him some feedback on Rolf’s situation here, how he lived in a ruin and that he had lost weight. His teeth were in a bad condition and he could only eat soft food. I suggested that he have a complete medical check-up.”
The psychologist accessed Schönhöfer’s social grant to pay for the ticket.
“In December, when I thought that Rolf might be able to return in that month, I contacted home affairs to find out if they could assist with the travel letter for passport control at OR Tambo airport. I explained Rolf’s situation and said it was also a requirement from the German consulate. The supervisor promised to assist when Rolf was ready to leave.
There are many Rolfs walking around our streets, homeless, also suffering from mental health challenges. Where is a safe place for them to return to? If Rolf’s story is to highlight anything, it is respecting the dignity of those who are homeless and working to find lasting solutions to the challenge of homelessness in our cities, especially those with mental health challenges
— Social worker Cathy Murugan
“Unfortunately this took a lot longer. The German consulate would not issue the passport before seeing the letter from home affairs. It was a catch-22 situation.
“Rolf was also getting agitated and frustrated with how long things were taking.”
Eventually it all worked out. Murugan took him to the airport and on May 20 saw him off safely on his way home to Nuremberg.
Schönhöfer’s psychologist met him in Frankfurt and took him home.
“The only communication after his arrival home was from his psychologist. Rolf does not use social media, does not have an e-mail address or computer back home. According to him, he lives in a rural part of Germany.”
Murugan has helped many others find their way back home.
“In our work with substance users (addicts), we work also with family members so that when people are referred to a rehabilitation centre, they have family contact — also that after the rehabilitation process they have a home to return to. It’s a wonderful feeling when things work out well after much intervention,” she said.
“Rolf’s story is given prominence now because he’s a foreign homeless person. The reason he became homeless is because he has a mental health issue. There are many Rolfs walking around our streets, homeless, also suffering from mental health challenges. Where is a safe place for them to return to?
“If Rolf’s story is to highlight anything, it is respecting the dignity of those who are homeless and working to find lasting solutions to the challenge of homelessness in our cities, especially those with mental health challenges.”
Denis Hurley Centre director Dr Raymond Perrier said: “Such cases are very rare but they remind us that homelessness is a complex problem and homeless people are not all the same — and to help them you need to take the trouble to listen and understand their situation.”
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