Vanessa Dix (22) wanted to work in South Africa for six months. Then Corona came. The way back to Germany was difficult for the Lenggrieser.
Lenggries – When Vanessa Dix (22) was finally able to be picked up by her mother at Frankfurt Airport on April 16, she brought her a pretzel and an Augustiner beer: “I wanted that,” says the young woman from Lenggries with a smile . At the beginning of January she traveled to South Africa to do a volunteer at the "Young Bafana Soccer Academy" in Somerset West near Cape Town.
After her sports management studies, Dix should support the organization with public relations, sponsorship and social media work so that children from the townships are given a better perspective through football and education. Vanessa Dix wanted to stay for half a year, but the corona virus has shaken up her plans quite a bit - as with other young people, whom the Tölz courier has already reported.
"Panic broke out overnight"
As the virus gradually spread from China, Vanessa Dix was still quite relaxed, yes, she even felt in good hands in South Africa given the worrying reports from Germany. "But then panic broke out overnight," she reports. The entire country was paralyzed within a few days, finally there was a total public lockdown. "And that's a lot more extreme there than in Germany."
The measures were drastic, the young woman reports. You were only allowed to go out for work or shopping, otherwise there were no exceptions. "The city was totally extinct," she recalls. But people were relatively relaxed with the situation. "Nobody thought it was cool, of course, but what the government ordered is accepted." The South Africans, says the 22-year-old, are aware of how devastating the spread of the virus is in the townships - so the residential areas for the black population - could be, because there was no thought to keep away. “In addition, the punishments were tough. Security guards and the military strictly control. "
No news of how many return flights are going
Vanessa Dix tried twice to get to Germany on regular flights, but both times the flight was canceled. And it got worse: on March 27, all the airports were closed and no one was allowed in or out of the country. “That was the worst case scenario and scary. You are sitting in a foreign country, do not know how things are developing and whether you have to stay there for weeks or months. I even expected to have my birthday this way in June, ”says the young woman.
Together with another volunteer from Germany, she registered with the Federal Foreign Office for a return flight. But the employees were overworked. "We later learned that there were 6000 Germans in the country who all wanted to get out. There was no message for two weeks, and we didn't know whether our registration worked at all or how many flights went to Germany. ”
The two Germans were in the organization's internship, where four students from the townships had moved to online lessons shortly before the lockdown.
Surprised how easy it is in Germany
So there was at least one task and a certain daily structure. Then came the redeeming news that there was a place on the plane. "On the one hand I was happy that I could finally go home, on the other hand I couldn't imagine what the situation in Germany really was like," she says.
Friends had told her how bad it was in Germany, but back in Lenggries Vanessa Dix was more than astonished: “I saw people everywhere. They were walking or cycling as if it were a summer vacation. It’s really easy here. ”
Vanessa Dix now looks back a bit wistfully at South Africa: “I want to go back as soon as possible. For me, it's an unfinished chapter right now, ”says the young woman. She would like to make her planned trip and above all meet the people in the organization again. "I couldn't even say goodbye," the 22-year-old regrets. Ines Gokus
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