Stateless in South Africa: 'You're invisible, you don't exist' - life without a birth certificate

Millions around the world are living in the shadows as stateless people as they lack official papers.

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This is thought to affect millions of people around the world, described as stateless, and 25-year-old South African Arnold Ncube is one of those.

Because he has no state-issued documents, washing cars in the backstreets of Thembisa township near Johannesburg is one of the few ways he can make a living.

He was born in Johannesburg and his father is South African, qualifying him for citizenship here. But when he tried to register for secondary school, he realised he didn't have a birth certificate.

Having been abandoned by his parents - his dad left before he was born and his mum when he was 14 - he could not prove his status.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2drqwp2eyo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss


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