WHY THIS PLAY ? A reflection by the playwright Ruwanthie de Chickera I think like most people who accept, without questioning, all the identities that are given to them – identities of gender, ethnicity, nationality etc… I have always taken for granted that I had a country and a nationality that defined me. Now though I have often grumbled about my country and protested against the limits of nation states, I don’t think I can quite comprehend what it would be like to suddenly not have a nationality. And I don’t think anyone can imagine this unless and until it happens to them. I came to know about the issue of statelessness through my brother Amal who works in this area. I started reading on it when he chose this as his life’s vocation. I remember my initial incredulousness when I heard about the issue. Is this even possible? People who are not allowed to belong to any country? And then even more disturbing and unbelievable… children who are born into this situation? And finally the numbers – ten million, no twelve million, no actually closer to 15 million (its difficult to estimate as these people are often not even accounted for). Fifteen million men, women and children alive in this world at the moment who are not allowed to have a nationality? Who are not recognized as citizens of any country. It is almost as if these 15 million people should be forming their own state. I have now come to understand that when this happens to a person – when they are suddenly without a nationality, within a global system that is deeply entrenched in the idea of nation states – then they are immediately vulnerable in the deepest and most unpredictable way. 16