South Africans in Middle East plead for immediate government support

South Africans who are stranded in the Middle East as the joint US-Israeli military strike on Iran continues are pleading for urgent interventions from the government. The strikes have forced many airlines to ground their flights, leaving hundreds of thousands of travellers helpless.

WATCH | The South African Muslim Council has condemned the recent attacks on Iran by the United States and Israel. They called for urgent, continuous diplomatic engagement to resolve misunderstandings and mistrust between involved countries. pic.twitter.com/9TxhWDf9Yd

— SABC News (@SABCNews) March 1, 2026

One of those yearning for a safe return home is Dr Naseeba Kathrada, who is travelling with her sister.  In a letter, she is appealing to the South African government and organisations alike for evacuation assistance.

“My name is Dr Naseeba Kathrada. I am currently in Mecca with my sister. We are we were on our way back home. We booked on Qatar Airways from Medina to Doha and from Doha to Cape Town. When the unrest broke out in the Middle East, all Qatar away flat were cancelled. There are a lot of South Africans we have made here in Medina or booked through other airlines as well. What would really help now is if there could be any direction from our country, if we could get hold of South Africans together and go home in one flight. Maybe make a special flight for those who are here, because right now we are checking other airlines, the long layover is with Ethiopia or in Cairo. But everybody wants to get out and use a non-Arabian airline.”

South Africans stranded in the Middle East and the Gulf will have to wait for airspace across the region to open in order to return home. pic.twitter.com/t94P2IXtyQ

— SABC News (@SABCNews) March 1, 2026

Meanwhile, another anxious South African who has been living in the Middle East for over a decade is Halima Patel. She says people are left in the dark with no certainty if help will ever arrive.

“In a situation like this, embassies are sending out messages and advisories in all kinds of communications to their people. We have not heard anything from the South African embassy. So people are naturally scared as to what will happen. Why are they not proactive? Why are you not liaising with us? We are South Africans. We expect our ambassador to be present. To a point where the South Africans in Dubai are now being told to register with a British embassy because they are so proactive, they are sending out messages and adversaries, and people are now leaning more to the British embassy because that’s where they’re getting the information from, Pate said.”

Emergency numbers for #SouthAfrican🇿🇦 nationals in the middle east. Those that have registered with our embassies have been contacted directly (for the record…even prior to the attacks. We did advise those on our databases to get out). Share these numbers & help us reach…

— Clayson Monyela (@ClaysonMonyela) March 1, 2026

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