The reality of juvenile mother
The juvenile S. I. born 1995, in Skopje, with an unknown father, lived in Kumanovo with her mother, who abandoned her a while ago and moved in some Western-European country. The juvenile S. I. lives in an illegitimate marriage with a person from Vinica in Skopje and has two children, the first one was born when she was 14, a daughter born in 2009 in Veles and a daughter born in 2010 in Skopje. These two children are registered in the birth registry and have birth certificates. S.I. registered them when her mother was present. S.I. is a citizen of R. Macedonia and when she turned to NRC’s office for assistance she had a birth certificate and a citizenship document.
The purpose of her visit to NRC’s office was the impossibility for her to apply for an ID card, which she now requires, because her parent is absent and when a claim for an ID card is being submitted copies from a valid ID card are necessary and a present parent as well. S.I. is a juvenile who lives in an unregistered marriage, she is pregnant with a third child, does not possess an ID card, which she needs in order to register her newborn baby and to receive health insurance later. S.I. is in the third semester of pregnancy, does not have a health insurance and a maternity card.
She addressed to the Center for Social Work in Kumanovo to ask for assistance and advice in order to apply for an ID card as a juvenile without parents. Later she addressed NRC’s office and was received by a lawyer. S.I. explained her situation and days before giving birth she has been traveling to Skopje, Kumanovo. The lawyer called the Center for Social Work Kumanovo and once again he asked for the center to review the case of placing a guardian for the juvenile S.I. since this was the only way she could apply an ID card. NRC’s lawyer explained to the Center that before she started living in an illegitimate marriage, S.I. lived with her mother in Kumanovo. During the phone conversation with the Center for Social Work all data were pointed out about her and the fact that her father in law from Vinica was living with her and her illegitimate husband in Skopje and he could be placed as her guardian so that she might get her ID card. The following day we received a reply from the Center for Social Work Kumanovo for a meeting with the juvenile mother S.I., her father in law and her husband. At the meeting after presenting of all the facts, Center for Social Work Kumanovo decided that they would not be able to assign a guardian because they were not authorized in relation to the fact that the person in line for guardian is from Vinica with an address in his ID card from Vinica.
Besides NRC’s efforts to explain that the juvenile mother before living in an illegitimate marriage lived in Kumanovo with her mother and the family is known by the Center for Social Work Kumanovo, the case is additionally complicated, namely even though the father in law has an ID card from Vinica he was not registered in the Center for Social Work there and even though they now live in Skopje they are not registered in Skopje’s Center for Social Work as well and do not have a reported stay. Center for Social Work remained firm that they are not authorized, even besides the fact that a single ID card was requested and the fact that the person to be assigned as guardian has not reported residency anywhere.
After this meeting, NRC contacted Center for Social Work Vinica and the lawyer had a phone conversation with its director who personally knew the family and their condition and the lawyer explained that their condition is worrying because of institutional and financial obstacles and if solution could not be found there the family should not travel to Vinica’s institutions. Center for Social Work’s director from Vinica expressed readiness to receive the family in order to assign the father in law as a guardian, so that she might apply her first ID card.
The same day, NRC talked with the administrative- supervisory sector in the Ministry of Interior explaining the entire situation and the need for immediate issuing of an ID card after assignment of a guardian due to travel expenses and other issues as well. The need for an ID card as an identification document is urgent for providing of health insurance and for the newborn baby to be registered in the birth registry. It was agreed for the family to travel from Skopje to Vinica the following day in order for a guardian to be assigned and to submit a request for an ID card.
The following day the Center for Social Work Vinica issued a decision for assigning of a guardian, the juvenile S.I. submitted a request, and she was photographed for the ID card the same day and was scheduled after several days to get her ID card from Vinica. Since the family was not able to pay 3000 denars in travel expenses for 3 people on relation Skopje Vinica and to cover administrative costs, NRC covered these costs from the project “Health inequalities towards Roma”.
After obtaining of the ID card, NRC gave instructions to the juvenile S.I. to visit the in the Fund for health insurance in Vinica in order to be registered as an health insurance user and to obtain health insurance. After she was registered she received health insurance as well. After that she went to a gynecologist in Vinica for an examination.
After a while, S.I. informed the lawyer that her gynecologist was on a holiday when she went for a maternity card and went back to Skopje. After she notified us about this problem, NRC contacted the Fund for Health Insurance to get information, who was her gynecologist’s replacement. After receiving this information, S.I. visited the replacement gynecologist and received a maternity card.