At least 12 South Africans are accounted for, safe and unharmed in Myanmar in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake.

This was revealed by Head of Public Diplomacy, at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco), Clayson Manyela, who also clarified that this figure is a moving target and could go up at any time, as and when they discover more South Africans in Myanmar.

“We have a list of South Africans who are accounted for. The last time I checked they were about 12. They are safe and are not harmed. In the case of two that were missing, we have reported in the last 72 hours that one South African has reportedly passed in Myanmar. The family concerned has been informed and we are in contact with them,” Monyela said.

In the last week of March, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit Myanmar, followed by an aftershock measuring a 6.4 magnitude. On Sunday, it was reported in the media that the death toll has risen to 3,471, with 4,671 people injured and 214 missing.

The earthquake reportedly damaged 5,223 buildings. Amongst these are schools, pagodas and temples, hospitals and clinics, bridges, dams and sections of the country’s main highway.

Dirco sent condolences to the deceased South African teacher’s family and the people of Myanmar. The identity of the deceased teacher has been withheld out of respect for the family’s privacy.

Monyela explained that they were offering consular assistance to the family and other South Africans in Myanmar.

He explained that consular assistance offered by the government through embassies is non-financial.

“Consular assistance is always non-financial. Travellers should not have the expectation that the government will pay for these things should they run out of money and are not able to buy a plane ticket to South Africa, or are unable to pay for alternative accommodation or that somebody passes on and they need to retrieve the body for burial,” he said.

Monyela added that the financial matters are covered by the individuals travelling or their families.

“For those that are accounted for, we are talking to them. Some have said they would like to return to South Africa. A few of them have been able to buy their plane tickets to come back home, we are helping them to do that. Few don’t have the means to do so and we are exploring ways with their families in terms of how we can assist them, especially those that want to come back,” he said.

He added that the government in Myanmar has communicated routes that are accessible for people to get out of Myanmar.

“The people who are in Myanmar were teaching, which means they were working and earning a salary so they could afford to buy plane tickets to come back to South Africa. In this case, they should do that. This information is available. Some have already done that,” Monyela said.

He added that the government only gets involved when individuals are destitute and literally have nothing.

“If you are going to be travelling as a South African to any country, for leisure, for business, for studies or work, please find the nearest South African Embassy or Consulate in the country you are going to. Share your details with them. It helps us to locate you when you are in distress, in case there is a natural disaster like the one in Myanmar near Thailand, or you fall into legal problems or any situation that can be categorised as distress or stressful — we are able to locate you and offer you consular assistance from your South African embassy, and as we always say,” said.

We encourage people to get travel insurance. It helps when you have run out of money, and you need to travel back. Or God-forbid somebody passes on in a foreign country — travel insurance kicks in, it covers you for many other unforeseen circumstances, Monyela said.

Travel insurance these days is not tricky, banking institutions offer travel insurance, and travel agencies can also advise you on how to access travel insurance, if you have a life cover or any insurance cover, the company you are insured with can also help you, he said.

He added that the challenge with South Africans is that they don’t inform the embassy or Dirco when they travel to another country, they wait until there is a disaster.

Myanmar, officially known as the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, is a unitary assembly-independent presidential republic under its 2008 constitution, although it has been under military rule since a coup in 2021. It is located in the western portion of mainland Southeast Asia and bordered by China to the north and northeast and Thailand to the southeast

gcwalisile.khanyile@inl.co.za