3 The Bidoon Alphabet title on the bottom of the image / ‫ألفبائية البدون‬ ‫ح – حبل‬ ‫ج – جذور‬ ‫ث – ثقل‬ ‫ت – تيامء‬ ‫ب – بطيخ‬ Rope (a noose) – At the time of writing, six stateless persons, including children, had taken their own lives, apparently in the face of ongoing hopelessness and poverty. See the sub-section below, Growing Evidence of Self-harm and Suicide Amongst the Stateless Community. On 23 February 2021, Ali Khaled, 12, reportedly hanged himself in his room. Roots – Most stateless people believe that they have roots in Kuwait, but the authorities reject this and assert that the stateless are “illegal residents”. There is no independent way to assess such claims. Weight – Many stateless people believe that their socio-legal status is a weight that drags them down and hinders social progress. Tayma (road traffic sign depicting directions there) – It is an area where many stateless people live and where the community has often demonstrated. Watermelons – They are often sold by young stateless children on the sides of roads in areas where stateless people live. ‫س – سجن‬ ‫ز – زجاجة‬ ‫ر – رماد‬ ‫ذ – ذبح‬ ‫د – دار‬ Prison – Prison is a common experience of scores of stateless activists and others who peacefully demonstrated for citizenship rights, as during 2011/12. Bottle – Stateless people in Kuwait are not often granted documentation required to travel and have to stay in Kuwait: they are bottled and, as the image depicts, pressing on the side to see if it ‘gives’. Dust – In this mage, an imagined, stereotypical man turns to dust: the fate of the stateless person. Slaughter (or killing) – In this instance, a knife kills the dream of the stateless person. It implies that stateless people cannot even dare to dream. Home – Many homes of stateless people, say in Tayma, consist of corrugated steel or and breeze-blocks, and are often poorly constructed on account of the family’s relative poverty. ‫ع – عياد‬ ‫ظ – ظالم‬ ‫ط – طبيب‬ ‫ض – ضياع‬ ‫ص – صرب‬ ‫أ – اعتقال‬ Arrest – Stateless people have less protection before the law on account of a lack of identity papers, and poverty. It is illegal for non-Kuwaitis to demonstrate, for example, calling for citizenship rights. ‫خ – خبز‬ Bread – A staple of a poverty-stricken family, bread plays a central role in the diet of many stateless persons. ‫ش – شهداء‬ ‘Eyad – The young man depicted represents ‘Eyad Hamad Medath. In July 2019, at the age of 20, he took his own life, the first of the current series of such cases. Darkness – Many stateless people do not have high hopes for their futures: their limited horizons contain darkness. Doctor – In the early stages of the pandemic, stateless Bidoon medical professionals were lauded for volunteering speedily to help the government’s effort to deal with the health crisis. Loss – Not ever having been given opportunities, the question marks may represent questions as to ‘what could have been’ in a Bidoon person’s life. Alas, they will never know. Patience – The image of an elderly man waiting evokes the seemingly interminable wait for a better life for the stateless community of Kuwait. Martyrs – Many of those who have served in the Kuwaiti military and died in the service of protecting Kuwait and Kuwaitis, including frontline medical staff during the Covid-19 pandemic were never granted citizenship despite this sacrifice. ‫م – مستقبل‬ ‫ل – الفتة‬ ‫ك – كوىت‬ ‫ق – قيد‬ ‫ف – فقري‬ ‫غ – غريب‬ Future – the female school student depicts the collective future of the stateless Bidoon. What kind of future will she; will the entire community have? Placard – The placard depicted states “citizenship is our one objective”. Members of the community have used placards to campaign for citizenship for at least a decade, if not longer. Kuwait – Quite simply, stateless Bidoon in Kuwait aspire to acquire citizenship and enjoy the rights and responsibilities this brings. Limit or restriction – The flag of Kuwait wrapped around the person indicates that the state imposes arbitrary limits on the actions of the stateless people. Poor – Marginalised, stateless people in Kuwait experience poverty in one of the world’s richest countries. ‫ي – يشكو‬ ‫و – وطن‬ ‫ه – هوية‬ ‫ن – نخلة‬ Beseech or plead – Stateless Kuwaitis have, for decades, beseeched the authorities to grant citizenship rights. Their pleading has gone unheeded. Homeland – The map of Kuwait represents the homeland for the stateless Kuwaitis, whom the government terms “illegal residents”. Identity (documents) – The struggle to obtain correct and accurate documentation from the Government of Kuwait is commonplace for countless stateless Kuwaitis. Date palm – The date palm is found throughout the region and is an essential source of food and employment for the community. Strange, odd, or peculiar – As a feeling, the stateless person may feel strange or out of sorts or as a stranger, apart from others. It is an ‘otherness’. The report sets out the efforts made by the state of Kuwait to ‘other’ the stateless Bidoon.