ELIZABETH, MAZWI VILLAGE Elizabeth, now living in Mazwi village, was born in Bulawayo to a Malawian father. As a result of her father’s foreign status she has no form of identity documentation and is stateless. Her six children were forced to drop out of school because they did not have birth certificates. They were able to obtain these and identity documents as adults in the name of their aunt who acted as a surrogate mother. Elizabeth is not cited in her children’s legal documents, meaning that she cannot legally claim them as her own. Elizabeth was prevented from obtaining an identity document in 1976 because her father did not state her correct name, age and year of birth at the registry offices. When she tried to register through mobile clinics in 2012, she was told to go to Msiteli provincial registry in Bulawayo, about 50km from her village. Officials at Msiteli told Elizabeth to bring two witnesses with the same surname as hers, which she was unable to do because she could not afford their travel to Bulawayo - the equivalent of US$15. When her son died in South Africa in 2015, she could not repatriate his body because of lack of documentation. Lulamani Maphosa, aged 23, lost her birth records when her house burned down in 2013. She was told she could only be assisted if she had a national ID. A letter of witness from her only surviving relative, a maternal uncle, was rejected by registry officials. Lulamani was unable to sit for national exams as a result and told Amnesty: “life has been difficult and painful. I was brilliant at school, but I did not sit my final exams. Now I can’t get a decent job.” Lulamani’s 2-year-old daughter, also without any documentation, is at risk of becoming stateless like her mother. In focus group discussions in Tsholotsho, four people confirmed that their children had been forced to drop out of school because they lacked birth certificates. Petros could not proceed after Grade 7 because his parents died when he was young and his grandmother was unable to obtain documentation for him. “My eldest child in primary school cannot play soccer for the school like other children because he does not have a birth certificate,” he said. This is the practice in all public schools and was confirmed by a principal director in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, who stated that the Sports and Recreation Commission has very strict rules against age cheating in all sporting disciplines.87 The age of every child competing in any sporting activity must be confirmed by producing a birth certificate or ID. The head of a school in Kezi in Matabeleland South province confirmed that of the 650 pupils enrolled at her school, 300 did not have birth certificates. She said the requirement for candidates to show proof of identity was designed to avoid any impersonation or fraudulent misrepresentation by candidates sitting examinations on behalf of others or to stamp out age misrepresentation during sporting competitions.88 Although children without birth certificates were enrolled at her school “out of compassion”, they were prevented from sitting public examinations or participating in sporting activities. Reverend Ncube from the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance in Bulawayo works with stateless school children in Matabeleland. He confirmed to Amnesty International the challenges faced by such children in enrolling in state-funded schools and sitting public examinations, and participating in sporting and other extra-curriculum activities. 87 Interview 88 with Amnesty International on 26 July 2019 Amnesty International interview in October 2018 in Maphisa. WE ARE LIKE “STRAY ANIMALS” THOUSANDS LIVING ON THE MARGINS DUE TO STATELESSNESS IN ZIMBABWE Amnesty International 31