Understanding Statelessness as a "shape shifting monster"

July 2024

In this blog entry, Sam March, a stateless Lebanese artist, uses the metaphor of a monster to highlight the shape shifting nature of statelessness as a concept and in its effect on individuals.

Statelessness is a global issue affecting almost 10 million people, and I am one of them. I am a Lebanese stateless person who has experienced the bitter taste of invisibility. If I would sum up my life in a word, it would be fear: from school to college and the workplace, I was always afraid that people would know that I was stateless. This is because of the social stigma that categorises us as criminals. This might not come as a shock to those who are well-aware of the topic, but the main problem is that not many are. That’s why I decided to make my short film “An Invisible Speaks”, hoping to bring awareness through art and media to a social issue that is found in every single country. In addition to that, I’ve started my own social campaign against statelessness, “the right to be”,aimed at educating the Lebanese public and helping stateless people better their civil situation through the new regulations and legislation introduced by the Lebanese government.

Statelessness equals invisibility. This social issue has been going on at least since the beginning of the twentieth century, but still today it resides in the darkness. I think this is the worst thing about it: the suffering in silence. A lot of effort has been made to ease the edge of it, but these efforts still fall short. Statelessness is the result of many other social issues, such as sexism, poverty, illiteracy and religious prejudice. These complex social issues, coupled with the invisibility, create significant challenges when attempting to establish precise definitions and effective solutions for this global beast.

Statelessness is a shape shifting monster. It goes by many names and varies by concept from one country to another and even within countries. For instance, in Lebanon, the country where I reside, we have three types of stateless people. Firstly, people like me are known as the “Lebanese stateless”, meaning we are from Lebanese descendants but failed to be registered in the civil record. We are called stateless “men asel lebnani” (of Lebanese origin) or “kayd el dars” (under study). The second is “maktoum el kayd”, those whom the Lebanese government is unable to determine to what country they belong or what nationality they carry. I believe, in a way, this group is the closest one to the global definition of statelessness. The final type is Palestinian refugees, who are considered stateless due to the lack of establishment of the state of Palestine.

These groups all suffer similar deprivation but are dealt with by different regulations. For instance, when the Lebanese General Security Department – the official institution responsible for issuing passports, travel documents and controlling the civil situation of stateless people and refugees – is required to issue travel documents, this is a simple procedure for “kayd el dars”, while for “maktoum el kayd” it requires an investigation of the person applying,  his parents and two witnesses. He or she has to go through that, then apply for approval to obtain an application form, fill it out and then send it to the General Security to obtain their travel documents. This document lasts only six months, and then they have to do it all over again. Also, when it comes to education, the Lebanese government has different regulations for each group regarding registration for special tests called “emthanat rasmia” (official exams). These exams are crucial because not passing them jeopardises your higher studies. While Palestinians could go through this process normally, the other two types of stateless people have faced great discrimination and sometimes were unable to sit these exams. Recently this issue has been addressed: while they now have the right to enroll, the process remains complicated.

All stateless groups suffer, but due to different concepts and definitions, the fight to bring awareness is very difficult. Lebanese society is ruled by very nationalist and religious beliefs, so when you mention the word “stateless”, people jump to assume that you are Palestinian or Syrian which automatically puts them in a “rejection mode” and they refuse to understand that there are also Lebanese individuals who are deprived of their nationality. Once, when I was working with a Lebanese NGO, and I told my colleagues that I was stateless, they directly registered me as a Palestinian.

Statelessness also varies from one country to another. Looking at Global North countries, we find more recognition and more work that has been done to help stateless people and decrease their suffering. In contrast, this is lacking in so many Global South countries.  For example, the stateless (Bidoon) community in Kuwait is still fighting today for recognition, of a nationality that in the first place is their own and to which they have the complete right. In countries like the UK, we find a sort of understanding approach where stateless individuals are issued special permits to work, get education and to travel using a special passport. It is, in fact, the only country among the places that I travelled to that includes the word “stateless” between the nationality options when you submit for a visa. I believe this sort of recognition gives stateless persons some inner peace and a sense of validation. This is merely an opinion, and I am not trying to diminish the injustices of statelessness in Global North countries. I am merely drawing this parallel to show that there’s work to be done and for that hard work, a wonderful price.

Taking down the shape-shifting monster of statelessness is not going to be easy, but identifying the problem is the first step to solving it. Great effort has already been made, and a greater one is always in the making. I hope that one day, we will reach a world where the grass for stateless people is as green in both Global North and Global South countries.

_{Image by Fons Heijnsbroek, abstract-art on Unsplash}