Abstract:
The Covid-19 pandemic presented a period of unprecedented uncertainty. The repatriation
of South African citizens from Wuhan was a first for the South African government. These
special circumstances of risk presented a unique opportunity to explore experiences
of military members who were at the frontline. The primary aim of this study was to
investigate the experiences of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members
involved in the first South African repatriation of its citizens due to the Covid-19 crisis.
This included aspects such as possible stigma, perceptions and emotions towards
Covid-19, repatriation, and quarantine experienced by the SANDF members. A quantitative
research approach was adopted for this study. The exploratory study used purposive
sampling to include only military members involved in the first South African repatriation
and quarantine procedure for the Covid-19 pandemic. The research sample comprised
13 SANDF regular force members of whom 85% had tertiary qualifications. These
military members were asked to complete informed consent forms and a newly created
questionnaire, the Stigma and Related Matters Questionnaire. A reliability, correlation
and frequency analysis was performed through SPSS. Cronbach’s alpha indicated
high reliability and several strong relationships among the statements. The findings
indicated that the military members involved in the return and quarantine of repatriated
South Africans, were mostly positive and supportive of virus containment measures
and lockdown practices. Military members did not report holding any stigmatising or
discriminatory beliefs around Covid-19. These responses are in contrast with literature
from other countries where people reported experiencing severe discrimination. The
current responses however also support literature that reports positive perceptions on
virus containment measures. More research is recommended as the Covid-19 pandemic
persists in South Africa.
