ChaChapter 1: Nationality and Statelessness
Additionally, there is little evidence of a feeling of a
unified struggle between different stateless groups in
the region. The stateless populations of the Gulf, for
example, would be unlikely to perceive their situation
or problems as mutual to the stateless in Lebanon or
in Egypt, despite sharing the same legal status for the
purposes of international law and the protection of
the same international standards. Even within one
country, there is often little unity within the stateless
persons themselves. For instance, in Lebanon, the
Palestinians do not see their situation as common with
that of the country’s other stateless people – and vice
versa.24 This can even have the effect of suppressing
the needs of smaller, less organised or less vocal
stateless populations – for example in Kuwait there
are also other stateless people in the country besides
the group known as Bidoon, but they cannot identify
themselves with the discourse surrounding the Bidoon
and face even greater marginalisation.
It would be exaggerated to suggest that a common
terminology would immediately herald a mutual
understanding of the problem of statelessness across
the region, cultivate a sense of community between
24 - This is clearly apparent from the interviews with the different groups
affected by statelessness in Lebanon – and the different stakeholders pressing
their cause – undertaken in the course of doctoral research by Jason Tucker
in 2012. J. Tucker, Challenging the Tyranny of Citizenship: Practices of Global
Citizenship of those Addressing Statelessness in Lebanon, doctoral thesis
completed in 2013 (on file with the author).
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