Ali was born in South Africa to Congolese parents who were refugees. His father went on to obtain permanent residence. His mother awaits her permanent residence ID and still holds refugee status.
Ali cannot
• apply for citizenship by naturalisation, section 4(3) of the Act, because his parents are permanent residents.
• apply as a dependent under his parent's permanent residents file (section 27 (g)) because he is over the age of 21 and therefore cannot be deemed a dependent.
Ali is still a dependent under his mother's refugee status as he was still a minor at the time of his previous refugee status extension. Ali could be de-linked from his parent's file during the process of his next renewal.
For a moment, visualise the mountain in Psalm 121. Mountains dominate a landscape; they are immovable and cast dark shadows in the valley. For young people, like Ali, who are stateless or at risk of statelessness, getting documentation feels like a rocky and steep mountain. They are faced with exclusion, rejection, and humiliation in trying to belong to a place legally. This Psalm calls us to look up, beyond the mountain, to a God present in all matters.
Take a moment to ask God to be present and accompany all of those who face mountains in their journey to documentation. That God may journey with them into dignity and in securing documentation.
