Beirut Diary - The issue of statelessness

How many nationalities do you have? I have two, and they allow me to live and work anywhere in the United States and the European Union. With these documents, I’ve been able to get into any country I’ve wanted. And not just that, I’ve been able to get a job, open a bank account, attend university, access healthcare and get a driver’s license in more than one country. Deciding which nationality to keep and which to discard is a choice I sincerely hope I never have to make. 

But what if I were stateless? I wouldn’t have been able to do any of these things. I’ve never properly thought about it before, but without citizenship, you don’t have the right to have rights. You can’t leave the country, you can’t register your marriage or the birth of your children, you can’t obtain legal employment, do banking, attend school, access healthcare, vote…. You are essentially invisible and voiceless. 

There are circa 15 million people who are stateless in the world today. Many of these are war refugees who lost their papers in the process of fleeing their homes. Others are whole ethnic groups who are rejected by their nations - for example the Rohingya of Burma whose recently elected liberal progressive president won’t even mention them by name - not to mention the Palestinians who continue to be stateless as long as a State of Palestine is not recognized by the international community. Still others are generationally stateless. Since many countries (27 to be exact, Lebanon included) do not allow the mother to pass on her citizenship to her kids, it’s up to the father to do so. But what happens when the father doesn’t have his documents in order? Or he is absent? Or dead? Stateless kids grow up to be stateless adults who have stateless children. 

Part of what makes this problem so frustrating and asinine is that technically, this is a question of paperwork. In a matter of weeks, nations could issue documents to all of its stateless members and clear up this mess. Also, as a new friend of mine recently pointed out, a really easy thing would be to add the words “and women” to a nation’s policy. This would allow mothers to pass on their citizenship to their children, thereby solving the problem for a huge number of people. This is so doable. But as long as there is a lack of political will, it won’t get done. 

I feel powerless to do anything. I’m not in a position to change national policy. But what we ‘regular folk’ can do is put pressure on our global leaders. There is an #ibelong campaign being forged by UNHCR. If you’re interested, you can sign the petition here: http://www.unhcr.org/ibelong/ . I hope I see the end of this dilemma in my lifetime.