All I needed on the morning of Monday, 3 November 2025, as I stood exterior of Addington Hospital with my sick three-year-old son beside me, was to get him medical care.
As a substitute, I used to be confronted by a bunch of women and men on the gate, blocking the hospital’s entrance and demanding to see my ID earlier than I might go inside. They known as themselves the “March and March” group, one among a number of unauthorised formations claiming to “shield” public hospitals from so-called overseas nationals.
I then defined to them, calmly, that I’m a South African citizen and a contract journalist for Well being-e Information and NewZSA. There’s no such rule in any South African legislation or hospital coverage compelling individuals to point out IDs earlier than getting into a hospital. At this level, I used to be chatting with them in isiZulu, hoping they might perceive. However they refused to pay attention or transfer.
That’s when one of many girls appeared instantly at my baby, who’s mixed-race and requested, “The place is that this overseas boy from?”
That query reduce deep. My son, Ishake, is three years previous. His father – my late husband – was from India, and I’m South African. But, merely due to how he seems, my son was immediately considered as a foreigner in his personal nation.
No assist from hospital workers
I felt uncovered, ashamed, and stripped naked. That’s the true feeling of nakedness: being made to defend your identification and your baby’s identification simply to enter a public hospital.
Regardless of pleading with them, they might not permit us via. No hospital safety or workers intervened. We had been embarrassed and scared. I ultimately pressured my method inside. Though workers supplied to help us as soon as we had been inside, I didn’t really feel protected at Addington Hospital. The scenario on the gate was nonetheless hostile, so I made the choice to go away. I couldn’t threat my baby’s security.
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Later that day, I took him to a different well being facility the place we had been assisted with out being questioned about our nationality.
Ongoing sample
This 12 months there have been a number of circumstances of members of teams akin to March and March, and Operation Dudula barring people they establish as foreigners from accessing healthcare companies at numerous services throughout the nation.
This incident occurred simply weeks after the October tenth Excessive Court docket ruling in Durban towards the South African Human Rights Fee’s pressing software to cease March and March, and Operation Dudula from blocking migrants’ entry to clinics and hospitals.
On November 4, the day after our ordeal, the South Gauteng Excessive Court docket in Johannesburg discovered Operation Dudula’s actions of blocking migrants from accessing public well being companies to be illegal.
Division is “dealing” with the problems
The next day, on Tuesday, I attended a media briefing held by the KwaZulu-Natal Well being MEC, Nomagugu Simelane. I raised the difficulty instantly along with her. I described precisely what had occurred on the Addington gate, how a bunch of women and men prevented my baby and me from getting into, how no hospital workers intervened, and the way the scenario left us weak and humiliated.
The MEC expressed her disappointment over the incident. She apologised and mentioned the division was already coping with points associated to the March to March group. She requested me to ship the movies I had recorded, which I did instantly.
However to at the present time, I’ve not acquired any correct follow-up, help, or concrete solutions from her workplace.
Solely an acknowledgement, nothing extra. – Well being-e Information
