Chapter 2 The Right to Nationality and Judgment TC/0168/13 of the Constitutional Court | 129 the poverty situation and ultimately results in these persons and their families continuing to be poor since they do not have the knowledge and skills to get out of or overcome their situation. 5. Impact on the right to humane treatment of the persons affected 316. Affected persons who offered their testimony to the IACHR during the visit repeatedly commented that the fact that Dominican authorities did not recognize their nationality had a serious emotional and psychological impact on them and their families, inasmuch as they did not have any other nationality. On numerous occasions, the people who testified before the Commission burst into tears when describing the uncertainty and vulnerability they felt because their Dominican nationality was not recognized. It brings me to tears knowing that I was born here and that I can’t work anywhere. I’m not from here, I’m not from there. I’m a nobody […] In school, I feel uncomfortable whenever the teacher talks about the Constitutional Court’s ruling. If I’m not from here or from Haiti, where am I from? 308 317. During the visit, the Commission was able to observe that the fact that some of the people affected spoke the language of their parents or grandparents was also a factor that contributed to their exclusion and victimization. In some of the testimony received by the Commission, a Haitian women brought her grandson, who was about 10 years old, to testify since her Spanish was limited. The child ended up giving most of the testimony. Whenever the child said a word in French, his grandmother scolded him saying that he could not speak that language in public. 318. The loss of self-esteem and the profound trauma frequently experienced by stateless persons have been extensively documented. 309 One study on the living conditions of 15 Dominicans of Haitian descent who were affected by Circular No. 17-2007 and Resolution No. 12-2007 established that “the psychological and identity-related effects have a very serious impact on the lives of the persons affected. Each episode of discrimination, rejection, negation, etc., is part of their memories and makes it difficult for them to move forward in any area of their lives. This leads to morale 308 309 A 15-year-old youth born in the Dominican Republic. Testimony received by the IACHR during the onsite visit to the Dominican Republic. Santo Domingo, December 3, 2013. CONKLIN, William E. Statelessness: The Enigma of an International Community. Hart Publishing: Oxford and Portland, 2014, p. 133, citing UN Ad Hoc Committee on Refugees and Stateless Persons, A Study on Statelessness. August 1, 1949, UN Doc E/1112/Add.1, s 3; and McDOUGAL, MS; LASSWELL, HD; and CHEN, LC. “Nationality and Human Rights: The Protection of the Individual in External Arenas” (1974) 83 Yale Law Journal, pp. 901-903. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights | IACHR