Zim students in Cyprus: Journey of broken promises - Part 1
The advert is like a food platter and attractive in every aspect. It states that fees are affordable, and puts up a salivating menu, which students and parents fall for hook, line and sinker.
Yet in reality, some students in Northern Cyprus, enticed by the same “food platter” are caught between a rock and hard surface and wish they could turn back the hands of time, back to the day they made the decision to study in that country.
Misled by local agents and agencies representing universities in that country, Zimbabwean students are being “pushed” into all forms of vices, exploited in workplaces and verbally abused just to make ends meet.
Some are trapped in huge debt.
Zimbabwean students are enrolled in state and private universities that include Near East University (NEU), Girne American University, Mediterranean University, European University and Lefke University.
Most of the universities are privately owned by billionaires who run them as money making enterprises.
Investigations by The Herald revealed that a total of 800 Zimbabwean students who privately went to Northern Cyprus for university studies have messed their lives, dropped out of university and are now irregular migrants.
Case 1
Students like Mathew (name changed for fear of victimisation) say leaving his banking job, selling all household property to take up studies and also “dragging” his wife along to Northern Cyprus remains his biggest regret.
He says the journey had been extremely tough and blames it all on an agent, Ralph James Martins, who allegedly deceived him.
It was full of pain and tears. Finding a job was not easy because of language barriers. Where you get a job, sometimes you have to work 12 hours of hard labour.
You are told to come to work at 7am and work up to 7pm yet you have to attend classes. Sometimes you are verbally abused and called names like Zenji, Harab, Ziatan etc. They use you and misuse you. We are so tired by the time we get home. This is why sometimes some end up not attending class, we will be exhausted, he revealed.
He said some employers do not pay salaries on time especially when the job is tough.
They promise to pay the money at the end of the month so that you keep coming. If you stop reporting for work and come at the end of the month, the boss will say they do not remember that you were working for them and refuse to pay.
Where the money is paid, sometimes it is three or four days after the agreed pay date, he added.
He said reporting to the police bears no fruit as they first ask if the student has a resident permit.
If you do not have a permit, they will tell you they do not recognise you. If your papers are in order, they will ask whether your employer is Cypriot or Turkish Cypriot. If the employer is Turkish Cypriot, they will act as if they do not like them. But, if the employer is Cypriot the issue is swept under the carpet, Mathew alleged.
He said the employers were always a step ahead of students and win cases if taken to court as they have money to pay lawyers.
Mathew added that living an honest life was hard when in Northern Cyprus.
I remember applying for a job at the university I study at.
I told them about my situation that I had moved there with my family after being deceived and as such I needed more income. Only those who are well connected get the job. If you are living an honest life you get nothing.
I had tensions with Martins, the guy who duped me, and he was connected with the university people and they made sure my life was difficult, he said.
At one time, Mathew explained, life became unbearable when his wife had to undergo surgery to remove a swollen ovary.
I had to go to work, and also take care of my wife, then go to school in the evening. It was hard and I was under extreme stress and scored bad grades that semester.
Sometimes I worked half day so that I could take care of my wife. Because of this, I received half my salary, he explained.
He also said the universities overcharged students on many occasions.
When you query they throw figures around and apologise for overcharging you, he further alleged.
Mathew added the situation was worse for female students as some desperate ones ended up in relationships with Nigerian and Turkish Cypriot nationals.
In worse cases, some of the female students allegedly prostitute themselves in bars just to make ends meet.
Mathew said his biggest regret in life was moving to Northern Cyprus and taking his wife along.
Martins and his wife promised us that we would get jobs that would give us sufficient income to pay for fees and other needs.
Martin’s wife told us that she was earning US$500 but after confronting her she said she meant 500 Turkish Lira, he said.
He added that Martins and his wife have used that trick on many students giving them fake promises.
They have a way of convincing you. They will tell you the university is going to give you a scholarship based on merit. Come the time, no scholarships comes. Actually the university devised a way of cheating the students by telling them everyone is on 50 percent scholarship, he said.
Mathew added that they were also told that Northern Cyprus was an easy gateway to other European countries.
They say it is easy to apply for visas. I have not seen other Zimbabweans who start from here moving there either to find work or even to visit. But when they lied back in Zimbabwe, students believed yet they were manipulating us to get a commission.
Once here you do not see them. They avoid you saying they are busy; then switch off their phones. That is what Martins used to do here, after lying to parents.
According to Mathew, many other students have been disappointed.
Sometimes you are made to enter into contracts that are binding on you.
You can’t move out of their contracts. If you say you do not want the contract, they will put the debt on your account. But they would have made promises to students that life will be easy and things are not expensive yet they are. They can easily breach their contract, you can’t, he added.
He said the new political dispensation should ensure that agents that deal with tertiary education are registered with the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education.
This brings assurance to parents as they know they are dealing with genuine agents and agencies rather than those that are concerned with money.
This reduces problems as they can be tracked, especially those who would have done wrong, he suggested.
He said his wife was back in Zimbabwe and faith in God keeps him going under these tough conditions.
The herald Zimbabwe
To be continued........
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