NOMADISM AND STATELESSNESS: SEEKING CITIZENRY Seventy one percent of the stateless identified in Akkar have either Bedouin or Dom origins, which represent the only two minorities of nomadic roots in Lebanon. These groups are, therefore, more exposed to the risk of statelessness. • Lebanon is home to great religious and confessional diversity, which also includes two separate minority groups of nomadic roots: the Bedouin and Dom. Fig 44. Proportion of nomads within Akkar stateless population • The presence of nomads in Lebanon is not widely known, but fieldwork created an opportunity to shed some light on the issues faced by these two communities that have historically struggled Bedouins Dom Other stateless with statelessness. • Ever since the founding of modern Lebanon, both groups have been neglected by the state. During the 1932 Census, many nomads could not meet the requirements stipulated by Decree number 8837 to provide proof of residency in Lebanon for a period of more than six months. As a result, they were not included in the census. It was only a few generations down the line that many nomads were able to acquire Lebanese nationality through the 1994 naturalization mechanism. • Yet, nomadic groups continue to be highly vulnerable to statelessness, as they make up 71% of Akkar’s total number of stateless. 24% 47% • Thus, the correlation between statelessness and nomadic origins is extremely high, with the Bedouin accounting for 47% of the identified stateless in Akkar and the Dom accounting for 24%. “ 29% Outsiders often have difficulty distinguishing one community from the other because, traditionally, they are both itinerant groups and they tend to live in similar types of housing. Although the two groups exhibit similar sociological characteristics, such as: marginalization, social isolation and suspicion of outsiders, what distinguishes them also fosters different needs. Terre des Hommes (2011) Sources: - Maktabi R. (1999). The Lebanese Census of 1932 Revisited. Who Are the Lebanese? Source: British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 26, No. 2 (Nov., 1999), pp. 219-241 - Terre des Hommes, Insan (2011). The Dom People and Their Children in Lebanon. © 2021 Siren Associates. All Rights Reserved.