Nothing proves your nationality more than being able to answer pop-quiz questions about your country in one of its 11 official languages. Right? Nee. Nein. Nyet. NĂŁo. Well, as you’ll read below, according to a thoroughly bizarre and slightly amusing (if it wasn’t you stuck at the airport) questionnaire handed to Saffers flying to and from the UK, that’s exactly the expectation. Social media is abuzz with complaints levelled at Ryanair for asking South African passengers to take a 15-question written exam in Afrikaans to prove their South African-ness. Not only did they have to answer in Afrikaans, but the questions were in Afrikaans. I was half expecting a Kulula-clad air hostess to jump out from behind some counter shouting “jokes guys!”, or to at least have Leon Schuster pull off a wig and tell the unimpressed traveller they’re part of his next slightly cringey movie. I’m quite a bilingual chap and even I had to do a double take on some of those questions about our “hoofstede”. Also, there’s no room for error it seems with one person scoring 80% but still being refused their boarding pass. A true South African would immediately have protested (it’s a national sport) to say anything above 30% is a pass in our country – and that alone should have been proof enough. Or better yet, ask which team whipped England 32 – 12 in the final of the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Perhaps that would have sufficed. This article first appeared on MyBroadband. – Michael Appel
UK accused of blocking South Africans at airports unless they pass Afrikaans test
By Hanno Labuschagne
Several South African passport holders who attempted to fly to and from the United Kingdom (UK) claim they had to pass a general knowledge quiz in Afrikaans before they could board their planes.
The frustrated travellers headed to Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit to share their experiences.
MyBroadband spoke to a South African expat who said she and her 11-year-old son were denied their boarding passes from Ireland West Airport Knock to the UK two weeks ago.
She got three out of the 15 questions wrong.
They were returning from a visit to her daughter in the Republic of Ireland for a weekend. She had lived in the UK with her husband for two-and-a-half years.
When arriving at the check-in counter, she was given the test â in Afrikaans. The border control official told her that the form had been put in place by the British government. While she had a relatively solid understanding of the language, she still asked for the test in English.
She explained that South Africa had 11 official languages and that she was not fluent in Afrikaans. The official could not provide her with a test in another language and told the expat to do her best.
The test questions are reproduced in the table below, in the left-hand column. MyBroadbandâs English translations of the questions are on the right.
MyBroadband has seen several photos online from different posters that appear to show varying copies of the test.
The expat said she saw no official stamps or branding on the questionnaire to indicate it was an official document. She also did not have to write down her passport or personal details.
She suspected her test was scanned and sent somewhere for verification.
Despite providing the officials with her and her sonsâ biometric residence permits (BRPs), she was forced to leave the airport and return to her daughter after not getting full marks on the test.
She contacted her immigration consultant, who confirmed she had wrongly been refused the right to board as their visas and passports were valid.
Her husband then flew to Dublin to fetch them, and they managed to leave via Dublin Airport.
She suspected they managed to get through on the second attempt due to her husbandâs British passport.
She described the experience as âterribleâ and said it felt like she had been discriminated against.
Several other members of the South Africans living in London Facebook group complained about similar experiences.
One said they received the form while travelling from the UK to Dublin.
Another expat living in Dublin said an official told her if she could not complete the test in Afrikaans, it proved she was not South African.
Another South African working in the UK told SAfm that several of her colleagues with UK work permits were also presented with the form.
She said a friend flying from Ibiza airport to London was handed the test.
Many of the complaints seemed to be coming from travellers who had flights booked with Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair.
The British High Commission in South Africa said in a post on Twitter that the questionnaire was not a UK government requirement.
MyBroadband reached out to the British High Commission in South Africa, the Embassy for Ireland in South Africa, and Ryanair for comment on the test, but did not receive feedback by the time of publication.
We also contacted the Irish foreign affairs department, the South African High Commission in London, and the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation. None answered their phones or responded to text messages and email.
A South Africans in London group member claimed a forensic investigator who dealt with Home Affairs issues had told her the form was related to an influx of people carrying fraudulent South African passports entering Europe.
Independent crime and policing analyst Professor Johan Burger recently told The Sunday Times that the South African passport risked being devalued further as international crime syndicates were increasingly using it for illegal activities.
Read also:
- Biden considers lifting travel ban imposed on South Africa, other countries â with insight from The Wall Street Journal
- Tourism revival ahead? UK removes South Africa from travel âred listâ
- Tukkies bows to protestors â dumps Afrikaans, instals English-only lectures
