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Immigrants update
| Date: |
03 August 2008 07:00 |
| Producer: |
Esté de Klerk
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| Presenter: |
Bongani Bingwa
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| Show: | Carte Blanche |
Bongani Bingwa (Carte Blanche presenter): Last week, nine-year-old Congolese refugee Martin was one of hundreds of foreign nationals squatting next to the R28 near Krugersdorp, after being evicted from a refugee camp they'd been at since the xenophobic attacks in May.
Martin and his family first fled the war-torn DRC when he was three, and he told Carte Blanche he wondered if he'd ever know a country he could call home.
[Carte Blanche July 2008] Martin (Refugee):'For this country - I really think it has to be closed down. I don't think South Africa have to survive, because we came in their country to have some peace and stay here, but they are attacking us. The policemen they have to be saving us... they are turning their back to us.'
But Martin touched the hearts of hundreds of Carte Blanche viewers. And this week his life changed once again. An Eastern Cape businessman, who would prefer to keep out of the media spotlight, offered Martin and his family a home in Port Elizabeth. He will also pay for Martin's education, so that one day his dream of becoming a doctor may come true.
Martin: "So now I am happy that I'm going back to school and get back my intelligence."
Martin, accompanied by his family, arrived in Port Elizabeth early on Friday morning, to begin a new chapter in lives that have known little certainty over the years, but plenty of insecurity and fear.
Next stop, after the bus station, was the ocean - the first ever glimpse of it for nine-year-old Martin and seven-year-old brother Daniel.
Martin: "I would like to say thank you for what he have done for us andwhat he have given us and I hope when I grow up I'll never forget him and may God bless him."
PE's "Good Samaritan" is also hoping to find jobs for Martin's mom Rebecca and his father Gustave.
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER:While every attempt has been made to ensure this transcript or summary is accurate, Carte Blanche or its agents cannot be held liable for any claims arising out of inaccuracies caused by human error or electronic fault. This transcript was typed from a transcription recording unit and not from an original script, so due to the possibility of mishearing and the difficulty, in some cases, of identifying individual speakers, errors cannot be ruled out.
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