TEEN BACK HOME AFTER CHINESE PRISON ORDEAL
Tristan-Lee behind bars for months after school supplied wrong visa
There were tears of joy at the East London Airport when Tristan-Lee Niemand, who was detained in China for being in the country on the wrong visa, arrived home on Saturday.
The 19-year-old, who spent 35 days in a Chinese prison, said it only dawned on her that she was being jailed when she was taken to a place with high walls, and stripped of her shoelaces.
“Before we got to that place, I asked them what was happening and where they were taking us. But they kept on saying ‘don’t worry’.”
Tristan-Lee, who lives in Sunrise-on-Sea, left for China in early October to teach English and was arrested on October 14, a few days after arriving in the country.
After weeks of sleepless nights and not knowing how their daughter was, on December 18 her family finally got some good news from the department of international relations & co-operation (Dirco) that she and six other South Africans had been released.
About 40 friends and family, including Tristan-Lee’s mom, Stacey-Lee, aunts and uncles, her 10-year-old sister Laikyn and grandfather Piet Niemand and her dog Lily were at the airport to welcome her home.
The family had not seen Tristan-Lee for more than two months and had not spoken to her for more than a month after she was arrested.
Holding balloons and banners, the family anxiously waited for her to make her way to the arrivals section.
When she finally made her way through the terminal, waiting for Tristan-Lee to collect her luggage at the baggage carousel seemed too long for her mom, who almost bolted through security to make her way to an unauthorised section, wanting to hug her daughter.
“I just want to hold my daughter, please,” cried StaceyLee as security held her back.
Unable to resist, Tristan-Lee ditched her luggage and ran into her mother’s arms and shared a long hug.
After many more hugs, kisses and tears from her friends and family, she went back to collect her luggage.
Speaking to the Dispatch a few minutes after landing at the airport, Tristan-Lee said she suspected that something was not right when an official from Sesame Street, the school where she was teaching, told her not to answer the door when police came knocking.
“I heard about the teaching opportunity through a friend who is also in China. The school then organised me the visa,” she said.
She and other foreigners were arrested during a police raid.
“When the police knocked on my door I did not open for about 30 minutes and eventually I let them in. They asked for my cellphone, laptop and passport. They took us to the police station and we were interrogated for five hours.
“Two days later they took us to a place with high walls, they took all my valuables, my shoelaces and buttons. When I walked into the place I realised I was in prison, there were people lying on the floor.
“They made us sign papers and told us we would be here for a month. I asked them if I could please call my parents, but they refused, saying the agency would call my parents,” she said.
She described her experience as nothing short of a nightmare.
“It was terrible, they shouted at us in Chinese and expected us to follow instructions, meanwhile we did not understand what they were saying.
“The place was dirty and they didn’t care about the foreigners.
“We ate rice for breakfast, lunch and supper and they forced us to eat.”
She said her biggest regret was being too trusting.
“I trusted my school with providing me the correct working visa, but they didn’t.”
Tristan-Lee said her biggest fear was not knowing when she would see her family.
One thing she was looking forward to was putting some meat on fire and having a braai with her family.
Despite this ordeal, TristanLee said she still planned to go to a foreign country to teach, but with the correct visa this time.