In amongst the furore and posturing over President Obama’s birth certificate, there will be real chords struck for millions of people across the world.
If Obama had been born in Kenya or Indonesia, it is unlikely he would have even had owned a birth certificate- long-form or otherwise. Even today, around half of all babies born in those countries, do not receive one.
The subject of nationality, citizenship and ‘Birthers’ questioning his constitutional right to govern is what has got so many people hot under the collar but it has highlighted the power of the humble birth certificate.
This small scrap of paper has the potential to unlock doors that would otherwise remain closed to many.
* Nadya Kassam is Head of Global Advocacy, Plan International.
Plan International’s birth registration campaign has enabled more than 40 million people across 32 countries, most of them children, to be traced and issued with birth certificates since 2005 and has helped to improve laws in 10 countries – enabling access to registration for an additional estimated 153 million people.
via Why Obama’s ‘scrap of paper’ is the real star of the show – AlertNet.
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