South Africa: The plight of the stateless highlighted in video campaign
Published: 19/Mar/2022
Source: IOL / Weekend Argus
By Murphy Nganga
Cape Town – With the goal of humanizing the experience of statelessness, the Jesuit Refugee Service South Africa (JRS) launched a campaign to raise awareness about the lives of young people born to refugees who encounter numerous barriers due to not having an ID number.
While possessing an ID is considered part of one’s basic human rights, the “This Is Home” campaign – a collection of short videos – depicts the lives of five young people who are denied the right to a bursary, work, and the ability to vote despite being eligible for citizenship by naturalisation.
JRS SA advocacy coordinator Abigail Dawson said that the campaign intends to humanise the experience of young people who face social challenges as a result of conflicts or contradictions in the law.
“Being stateless essentially means you are not recognised by any state. People who are stateless or at risk of becoming stateless face compounding barriers in accessing social services. For many of these young people, they know no other place. Having either lived in South Africa from a young age or being born here, their legal status in the country is uncertain.