Instead of a joyful new start, an East London woman’s life was ripped apart when she arrived at Home Affairs.
Noluvo Tona, 31, from Santa township near Orange Grove, has lost all sources of income and been detained three times since she was wrongly declared an illegal immigrant 18 months ago.
She and her children have been parted and their schooling has been disrupted.
The mother of four, who was born in Mount Coke near King William’s Town, was informed early last year that she was an illegal immigrant when she went to the Home Affairs offices expecting to seal her marriage by signing on the dotted line.
Instead, the shocked woman spent hours locked in a room under interrogation by immigration officers.
“An official told me that I cannot marry my partner because I am an illegal immigrant,” said Tona.
“They said they will arrest me and deport me. I explained I was born in Mount Coke and I gave them my parents’ details and that of the hospital. They eventually let me go and said an investigation will be lodged,” said Tona, adding that she showed them her ID and birth certificate.
A few months later Tona gave birth to her daughter and three days later went to Home Affairs to apply for a birth certificate. She was again detained and interrogated.
“This is a curse, my whole life has come to a standstill,” she lamented.
Provincial department manager Gcinile Mabulu said the matter was being investigated. He did not explain how Tona had been declared an illegal immigrant. “We will respond once the investigation has been concluded,” said Mabulu. He could not say how soon that would be.
As a result of the limbo the child support grant Tona received for her three older children aged 10, eight and three has been stopped.
“I lost my job because of this and was forced to uproot my children from the English medium school they were attending because I could not afford the fees,” said Tona. They were at Kuswag Primary School. She has moved them to Mimosa Public School in King William’s Town, where they now live with relatives.
The qualified early childhood development practitioner said she lost her job as an assistant Xhosa teacher at a pre-primary school in Sunnyridge because she was taking off so much time to try and fix the mess.
Her eight-month-old baby is still without a birth certificate.
Earlier this year Tona was detained again when she went to replace her bank card that was swallowed by an ATM.
“If I die what will happen to my children,” she asked. “My baby is not even registered as living person.” — arethal@dispatch.co.za
Red tape glitch rips lives to shreds
Noluvo Tona, 31, from Santa township near Orange Grove, has lost all sources of income and been detained three times since she was wrongly declared an illegal immigrant 18 months ago.
She and her children have been parted and their schooling has been disrupted.
The mother of four, who was born in Mount Coke near King William’s Town, was informed early last year that she was an illegal immigrant when she went to the Home Affairs offices expecting to seal her marriage by signing on the dotted line.
Instead, the shocked woman spent hours locked in a room under interrogation by immigration officers.
“An official told me that I cannot marry my partner because I am an illegal immigrant,” said Tona.
“They said they will arrest me and deport me. I explained I was born in Mount Coke and I gave them my parents’ details and that of the hospital. They eventually let me go and said an investigation will be lodged,” said Tona, adding that she showed them her ID and birth certificate.
A few months later Tona gave birth to her daughter and three days later went to Home Affairs to apply for a birth certificate. She was again detained and interrogated.
“This is a curse, my whole life has come to a standstill,” she lamented.
Provincial department manager Gcinile Mabulu said the matter was being investigated. He did not explain how Tona had been declared an illegal immigrant. “We will respond once the investigation has been concluded,” said Mabulu. He could not say how soon that would be.
As a result of the limbo the child support grant Tona received for her three older children aged 10, eight and three has been stopped.
“I lost my job because of this and was forced to uproot my children from the English medium school they were attending because I could not afford the fees,” said Tona. They were at Kuswag Primary School. She has moved them to Mimosa Public School in King William’s Town, where they now live with relatives.
The qualified early childhood development practitioner said she lost her job as an assistant Xhosa teacher at a pre-primary school in Sunnyridge because she was taking off so much time to try and fix the mess.
Her eight-month-old baby is still without a birth certificate.
Earlier this year Tona was detained again when she went to replace her bank card that was swallowed by an ATM.
“If I die what will happen to my children,” she asked. “My baby is not even registered as living person.” — arethal@dispatch.co.za
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