‘Being stateless has been a huge source of sadness for me in my life. At times it has made me question my very existence and made me wonder why my parents chose to bring me into this world. I’ve never felt like I have a future. Wherever I’ve gone, I have no rights. I hope for better for my children. © Katie Robertson To Exist with Confidence in this Country Amir and family Amir and his family are stateless Palestinians. Amir, his wife Fatima and two eldest children, Leila and Abdul, arrived in Australia by boat in 2012. Since arriving in Australia, Amir and Fatima welcomed their daughter Zara and son Aref. Amir was unaware of his two youngest children’s eligibility for Australian citizenship until he first came to RACS for assistance with his visa in 2012. Through the course of seeking assistance from the RACS team in this process, he was informed by his lawyer of this entitlement. The family submitted a citizenship application for Zara in 2014 and are still waiting on a determination, almost five years later. In this time, their initial three-year temporary visa has expired. Meet some of the Families Like every father, I wish to see my children get a good education and have a bright future. My eldest daughter dreams of becoming a ballet dancer, while my son hopes to become a teacher. My younger daughter started school this year and loves it – she has already made so many friends. All my children feel Australian. But being on a temporary visa makes it hard. My wife and I try to shield them from this uncertain future as much as we can, but this isn’t always easy. Just last week the Principal at my children’s school approached my wife in the school yard to ask for a certain letter he needs regarding the enrolment, because our visa has expired. Our children overheard this conversation and were asking us that night ‘what does this mean?’ This was hard for my wife and I – how can we explain this? We want our children to feel secure, and not carry our worries about their future. The Chance for a Safe and Permanent Future Aisha and her daughter, Rahma Aisha is a stateless woman of Rohingya ethnicity. She arrived in Australia by boat seeking asylum in 2013 with a group of her immediate and extended family members. Shortly after arriving, she met her husband, also a stateless Rohingya asylum seeker. Recently they welcomed their first child, daughter Rahma. RACS have been assisting Aisha and her extended family apply for protection in Australia. She is currently on a temporary five year SHEV. Aisha was unaware of her daughter’s potential claim to Australian citizenship and was informed of this by her legal team at RACS, in the course of obtaining visa assistance. She is in contact with a number of other Rohingya families in Sydney who have also had children since arriving in Australia. She believes many of them are not aware of their child’s potential claim to Australian citizenship and are yet to make contact with a lawyer about this. The RACS team are currently preparing Rahma’s application for citizenship. ‘To be stateless means to have no country. This is very hard – and I feel deeply sad about it. I know people who aren’t allowed to study or work because they are stateless – I worry about this for my daughter. There is a huge difference in this world for children with citizenship, and those without it. When a child is very young they are innocent; they don’t understand the difference. But as they grow, they begin to understand. I don’t want my child to face this life of hardship and uncertainty. I felt very sad growing up stateless. If my daughter could become an Australian citizen, I would feel very happy. It would mean she would have a safe and permanent future in Australia. Being on a temporary visa makes me worried. I don’t want my children to face the uncertainty this brings. Without access to free legal support, this process would be very difficult; I don’t think we could do it on our own.’ Citizenship to me means protection and certainty for my children. Without it, I fear they have no future. The rules change all the time depending on the Government of the day. I see them remove people on visas. With citizenship, I would be less afraid for my children. Citizenship for my children means having confidence in this country, stability in this country. Our lawyer at RACS first told us about applying for citizenship for our two youngest children – we didn’t know this was possible. Sometimes I wonder – if they hadn’t told me about this process, how would I know? Applying for citizenship – even knowing it is a possibility – would be too hard for us to navigate without a lawyer.’ 18 © Katie Robertson Meet some of the Families 19