
"Too fat to live in our country" - Modelea tells us how NZ sent back to SA because of her weight
Loading player...
Imagine arriving in your ideal country; the place where you'd like to start a new life; and being told you should leave immediately...
Mondelea Bezuidenhout was told she should come back to South Africa for one of the most prejudice and fatphobic reasons.
The 35-year-old mother and wife immigrated from Gqeberha to New Zealand with her family in 2018, but soon after arrival was deported following a certain immigration medical assessment which described her as a “severe-risk”.
The assessment was according to body mass index (BMI) and it stated Mondelea's was too high for her to remain in the country - a decision upheld by their government.
Take a listen as she tell us how it all unfolded
Mondelea Bezuidenhout was told she should come back to South Africa for one of the most prejudice and fatphobic reasons.
The 35-year-old mother and wife immigrated from Gqeberha to New Zealand with her family in 2018, but soon after arrival was deported following a certain immigration medical assessment which described her as a “severe-risk”.
The assessment was according to body mass index (BMI) and it stated Mondelea's was too high for her to remain in the country - a decision upheld by their government.
Take a listen as she tell us how it all unfolded




