FRINGE CASES Finally, fieldwork uncovered what could be considered fringe cases, in which statelessness was generated through outlying factors. Though not all were included in the study’s sample, they are worth mentioning. • Around 10% of the interviewed mukhtars stated that the Halba fire of 1975 caused the destruction of some personal records and created challenges for some to prove their birth and acquire proof of Lebanese nationality. The survey captured this factor for around 1% of the respondents. • Other respondents claimed to be stateless because of the carelessness of public officials. For instance, their names were accidentally removed from the noufous (family records) or the mukhtar refused to register them for personal reasons. While these are technically nonregistered cases, they were added under fringe cases because the cause behind nonregistration is connected to an external factor, other than the parents, also considered as an “exceptional and unusual cause.” “ “ When my sister died, the mukhtar removed my name from the noufous (family record) instead of hers. Stateless woman, Hoeich, April 28 I am not stateless, I was told I am Maktoumet el Noufous. Woman, Tell Ende, April 16 HALBA NOUFOUS FIRE (6 out of 586) MISTAKES BY PUBLIC OFFICIALS (5 out of 586) FRINGE CASES These unconventional cases involve citizens whose identification papers cannot be issued for reasons that are unclear to them. Some of them have identification documents but cannot issue an Ekhraj Qayd (civil registry extract) and their names are not enlisted as voters. STATELESS “IN TWO COUNTRIES"? Many of the encountered Dom stateless are of Syrian origin. They have no identification papers and remain stateless in both Lebanon and Syria. Some of them even have ta'arif cards from Syrian mukhtars and currently live as stateless in Lebanon. © 2021 Siren Associates. All Rights Reserved.