Wendy

Wendy is a young artist who came to South Africa from Taiwan, at the age of 12, on her own (for health reasons). It must have been frightning for such a young girl to leave home, family and friends to live in a new country so far away with a completely different culture. How difficult it must have been for her parents to make that kind of decision for the sake of their child.

The air polution in Taiwan was so bad that she was battling to breathe and spending every other day at doctors, so her parents decided to send her here where the air is clean. She spoke little to no English, but started school and had to learn not one, but two new languages, English and Afrikaans. After school she was given a further study visa to attend university here and chose to study Fine Art.

In her final year of studies, she had to go back to Taiwan to care for her father who was going through cancer treatment.
Unsure and sad of her fathers illness, at the same time sad to leave a country she has grown to love.
Unsure if she would be able to return to complete her studies. A young life full of uncertainty. A young life again unsettled.

Her father thankfully recovered and she returned to complete her final year.
Happy ending....
Wendy is Taiwanese and even though she has been here since she was 12, even though she considers this home in so many ways, she is not South African and now that her studies are done, she no longer has a visa. South Africa will not give her a work permit or residency.
She is now back in Taiwan and having been trained here in the style of South African art, there is not a huge market for her there. She has been back in Taiwan for a month and a half, found part time admin position and hoping to be able to create her work there and send it here for exhibitions. This is an expensive and limiting process.
To top it all her health issues are no better than they were when she left at the age of 12.

I know this is a touchy subject with the immigration issues around the world, but I really feel for her. We forget the real human element when it comes to these issues, no she is not from a war torn country, no she's not escaping a murderous regeme, but for all intent and purpose this is home, this is where she grew up.

I'm not saying this is right or wrong, nor am I attempting to make a political comment...it's just a sad situation, through no fault or choice of her, for any young person to be in.