“I felt that sense of rejection, hopelessness. I felt so unworthy in life. I was no longer accepted as a human being ... It was the most depressing situation I have faced in my lifetime. I was in a situation of non-existence.” Case study Case study J.S. was born on a farm near Skeerpoort, South Africa. J.S.’s mother was South African. His father was a Zimbabwean who came to work on the mines and later the farms. When he was 15, the family moved to Zimbabwe. J.S. returned to South Africa as an adult. In 2012, J.S. applied to renew his South African passport but he was told that his ID was blocked. He was not given reasons for the blockage of his ID. Often this occurs if an ID has been duplicated or fraud is suspected. He was told to either apply for permanent residence or go back to Zimbabwe. But years ago he had turned in his Zimbabwean passport to that country, where dual nationality is prohibited. J.S. needed his passport in order to go to Zimbabwe to pay his children’s school fees and to take them to school after the holiday. Further, his works as a driver requires a valid passport in order to make cross-border deliveries. After contacting Home Affairs and providing evidence, Lawyers for Human Rights was successful in getting his ID unblocked. “On my own, I don’t think I would have succeeded. I was already threatened with deportation. I frequented Home Affairs offices and they sent me from pillar to post. They didn’t give me the slightest chance to explain my situation. It appeared to me that there was no longer any light at the end of the tunnel. I was so happy to get my status back. There are quite a large number of people who are in the same situation I was faced with, who are in pain. I know of people who committed suicide because of it.” Promoting citizenship and preventing statelessness in South Africa: A practitioner’s guide 63