‘I’ve lost everything, but I’m not leaving South Africa’ – Homeless Ghanaian woman tells Reuters

Princess Adjei, a Ghanaian woman residing in South Africa (SA), has opened up about the ordeal she has gone through during the recent xenophobic attacks in the country, she says she was brought up in.

In an interview with media giant Reuters, Adjei narrated how her home and business in Durban were ransacked by looters demanding that foreigners leave South Africa.

She indicated that all her property was either looted or destroyed in the attacks, and she now has nothing.

“There were hair pieces that I was selling here. There were nails, acrylic nails, stuff that I was also selling here. We had dryers, hand dryers that we used to dry customers’ hair with. We had a standing dryer, which is no more. We had relaxers and shampoos. I used to sell them. I used to sell lots of stuff here, lipsticks, makeup stuff, and all those things, but apparently there’s nothing here,” she told Reuters.

Princess Adjei, who, according to Reuters, is now living on the streets together with about 200 victims of the xenophobic attacks, cannot afford to even buy food for her 14-year-old son.

“I can’t pay my rent for the shop. I can’t pay my rent at home. I can’t feed my child. I can’t feed my family,” she said.

Despite her struggles, the Ghanaian woman indicated that she was not going to take up the voluntary evacuation offer by the government of Ghana.

She said that she has lived all her life in South Africa and has every right to live in the country because she is properly documented.

“This is where I grew up, this is where my whole life is, and I am documented. If I was not documented, I would understand, but I’m documented. So, there is nowhere that I can go. I will only reside here in South Africa,” she said.

Ghanaweb.com