South Africa

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Neither here nor there: South Africa’s undocumented children battle for recognition, access to education

Neither here nor there: South Africa’s undocumented children battle for recognition, access to education
Many children born in South Africa to foreign, undocumented parents become undocumented themselves meaning that, officially, they don't exist. (Photo: Provided by GroundUp)
By Adel Van Niekerk
03 Nov 2021
0

Activists launch campaign to petition the Department of Home Affairs to fix its longstanding problems that allegedly force tens of thousands of foreigners into stateless identities.

Akela was born in South Africa. Her parents are from Mozambique. But officially she doesn’t exist.

She is undocumented — neither Mozambican nor South African. This will make it hard for her to access many opportunities that the rest of us take for granted. Many children share her fate.

Activists have launched a campaign called #DocumentUs to help get people in Akela’s situation documented. DM

First published by GroundUp.

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