South Africans are in an uproar after learning that Irish airline, Ryanair had been issuing general knowledge quizzes in Afrikaans to test whether South Africans entering the United Kingdom were indeed… South African.
Despite the South African fury that has been directed at the low-cost carrier, it has stated that it stands by its decision to issue SA passengers with an Afrikaans test, as per News24.
Speaking to BBC, the airline claims the test is an extra precaution because of “substantially increased cases of fraudulent South African passports being used to enter the UK”.
While that may be the case, Ryanair has not revealed why it chose Afrikaans, despite South Africa having 11 official languages.
The need to “prove” whether you’re from South Africa is made even more mindboggling when you consider that only 12% of the country’s population can actually speak Afrikaans. A blip when you consider that our nation is home to around 60 million people.
‘Apartheid’ and ‘oppression’ are two words which have been swirling around the Ryanair Saga, with many black South Africans associating the language with this oppressive era, says BBC.
Airlines found to be carrying passengers holding fake assorts are reportedly fined £2,000 (R38 000) by UK authorities which is perhaps a reason Ryanair has taken such an extreme approach.
A spokesperson for the airline claimed that anyone who failed to answer questions correctly would be “refused travel and issued with a full refund.”
“We are taken aback by the decision of this airline because the department regularly communicates with all airlines to update them on how to validate South African passports, including the look and feel,” revealed South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs in a statement.
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