Cape Town - The South African Council for Educators has condemned the alleged assault of a South African who claimed she had been assaulted by a human resources manager in Shanghai, China, where she worked as a kindergarten teacher.
Nolusindiso Hleko has been updating her social media pages on YouTube and Facebook, where she shared how she had been beaten by the HR manager inside his office on August 23.
The video was shared widely by concerned South Africans.
She later updated her Facebook and YouTube channels, stating that the manager had faced no formal charges and that she had been preparing to leave China.
The Department of International Relations and Co-operation’s Clayson Monyela, who was informed of Hleko’s ordeal, reached out to her via Twitter.
Monyela said in his response that Hleko was safe and in Germany. “Those of you who know her and perhaps have contact details, please drop them in my DM.
“The SA Consulate in Shanghai is on standby to assist,” he first wrote.
“Update: I got hold of her. She’s safe. She’s no longer in China.
“She’s now in Germany. I’m glad to report that she’s already in contact with our ambassador that side and has only good things to say about the support she’s received from him. Please use our embassies abroad.”
In her video, Hleko claimed the HR manager had punched her in the face: “On Wednesday, August 23, during a disagreement, the HR manager at my job, a guy, punched me in my face,” she said in a video.
Hleko sat showcasing her bruised eye and appeared emotional in the video.
“After he punched me, I was screaming trying to get out of his office, he pushed me down on the couch telling me I needed to sit down,” she said.
Hleko made an update where she stated that she was safe: “To those who have asked me to contact my embassy, I did. They were the first number I called when this happened, but sadly they don’t even have an emergency number, so I wasn’t able to get hold of them that day and when I finally did, they told me they would call me back and never did.”
In another update, she said she had sought medical attention and was leaving China: “I’ve just been to a hospital to check my eye and they say it’s good. I just need to cold compress for the next five days.
“And yes, I’m packing my bags and leaving this place… I was going to leave anyways but this made me certain that I’m making a good decision.
“The guy who decided to punch me while on duty woke up today and went to work like nothing happened.”
During an interview with the Weekend Argus, Hleko said her experience had taught her life lessons.
“I will be coming back to South Africa next month and am in the process of changing careers,” she said.
“I would advise others to familiarise themselves with laws and emergency numbers of countries they are in.
“To know that in some countries you will not have a voice and choosing to stay there will mean relinquishing that
“Many South Africans especially... in both Korea and China are suffering in silence
“I chose to speak up because of a South African who had a mental breakdown in Korea due to poor treatment at her job, I could see how that could be many of us.”
Risuna Nkuna of the South African Council for Educators said Hleko had yet to reach out to them. “As discussed, the matter is unfortunate, we condemn any form of attacks on teachers, moreover it’s now Teachers’ Month, when we are supposed to celebrate our teachers.
“Such a matter was never reported to council. The teacher would need to report the matter to the relevant authorities in China, in terms of boundaries and jurisdictions.”