“All I need is assistance to get a birth certificate and from then I will get my ID (Identification Card) to get a job,”
Recently I went on the street for one of my documentaries, but I found there a very painful story. A 17-year-old man, living on the streets of Harare, only left with months to turn the age of registration had no birth certificate. He now faces a risk of becoming “a person without a face/ identity” or “the stateless”.
The reason why John Nyuchi (not his real name) has no birth certificate in the first place has not clear. John’s mother says she lost her son’s birth certificate, a story the teenager doubts. He rather believes that the parents failed to acquire the required birth registration in the first place. John does not remember his parents now late showing him a birth certificate.
When I asked John about his future, he just said:
“All I need is assistance to get a birth certificate and from then I will get my ID (Identification Card) to get a job.”
It is now three years since John opted for the streets. The teenager had failed to continue living a troubled life with his new guardians after the parents had passed on. A misunderstanding with custodians over a lost or stolen phone was the final push to the streets.
John’s story is not unique in Zimbabwe. The country has approximately 300,000 people at risk of being stateless, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
What is Driving People into being Stateless
An Amnesty International Zimbabwe report on stateless people in Zimbabwe states that people who migrated to the country before independence in 1980 have been facing challenges in getting registration documents. Descendants to migrants mainly from Malawi and Zambia into Zimbabwe are failing to register their own children since they themselves lack registration details.
The report also reveals that instability that took place after independence in the 1980s left orphans who risk being stateless.
Another cited challenge that has resulted in statelessness is the expensive registration process especially for those living in other countries and also those with what are deemed “complicated issues”. Authentications of birth certificate registrations cost US$50, which is expensive for ordinary Zimbabweans.
Some have also cited long distances to registration offices as the reason behind being stateless especially in rural areas.
Challenges Faced by the Stateless
From John’s case, the stateless people in Zimbabwe face challenges in getting proper employment, with Identification details being needed by employers for security reasons.
The stateless people also face challenges in going ahead with education especially when pursuing tertiary education which also requires identification details.
Students without birth certificates have reportedly suffered from discrimination from fellow classmates who call the unregistered schoolmates the “non-humans”. The stateless also fail to compete in sporting activities sometimes.
Some of the people who are not registered are failing to access health facilities too.
Access to financial institutions like banks and mobile money services which also require national registration documents will always be an unfulfilled dream for the stateless.
Government Response
The government has increased the number of birth registration centers in rural areas to reduce the distances traveled by parents to get services.
Authorities also reduced fees for those needing registration from foreign lands to $5 from $20 in 2019.
