All Ears to the Ground
identity, land loss and labour extraction in his poem ‘Identity Card’.105 In a similar
vein, Rohingya poet, Mayyu Ali, focused on the violence of registration and
citizenship denial in his poem, ‘That’s me, A Rohingya’.106 Both poems were part
of broader arts movements that explicitly sought to recast and reground group
belonging against the prevailing discourses of erasure. Another subset of this
mode of resistance is historical research produced by members of the targeted
communities to counter state erasures, sometimes taking the form of biographical
accounts of events or archival research.107 Such arts and knowledge production
has also been supported by international actors as a form of solidarity.108
Forms of resistance that seek to change discourses at the national and
international level can hold a very deep symbolic significance and, through
different arts and social science mediums, can forge new and important forms of
connection and solidarity. The impact of such initiatives is difficult to capture
within the ever-shifting dynamics of international politics and knowledge
production. Constraints at the structural level for people affected by statelessness
are also fluid. Such constraints include: the power of states to (partially) control
information exchange through media, publishing, academia, and social media;
state use of surveillance technology to monitor and silence activists, journalists,
artists and academics; and barriers for stateless people in formal education settings
and workplaces, which can make it difficult for them to gain broad recognition for
their work.
4
Countering conflict-associated statelessness through self-registration
In Syria, Myanmar and beyond, conflict is understood to be a major contributing
factor to statelessness, especially where civil registries have collapsed or
documents have been destroyed. In such cases, other states and organisations may
look for proof of identify provided by autonomous administrations.109 Literature
on rebel governance explores the central role of self-administration in state
formation.110 An associated developing body of literature relevant to statelessness
and citizenship studies considers legal identities within non-state administered
territories and in conflict settings. 111 In situations of conflict, organisations on
opposing sides sometimes vie for legitimacy and recognition of their statehood.
One of the methods of establishing legitimacy is through the registration of
populations within their territories and the issuance of identity documents. These
105 Mahmoud Darwish, ‘Identity Card’ [2016] (310/311: June/July) Third World Resurgence
56 <https://www.twn.my/title2/resurgence/2016/310-311/poetry1.htm>, archived at
<perma.cc/2LXZ-M8X6>.
106 See James Byrne and Shehzar Doja, I am a Rohingya: Poetry from the Camps and Beyond
(Arc 2019).
107 Ullah (n 47).
108 James Byrne, Shehzar Doja and Ronan Lee have supported poetry initiatives in the Rohingya
camps of Bangladesh relating to identity, see Shafir Rahman, ‘Rohingya Photographer’,
Rohinyga Photography Competition <https://rohingyaphoto.com/>, archived at
<perma.cc/W2CW-2YYS>. See also Greg Constantine, who has supported Rohingya
photography related to belonging: Ek Khaale (n 97).
109 Katharine Fortin, Bart Klem and Marika Sosnowski, ‘Legal Identity and Rebel Governance:
A Comparative Perspective on Lived Consequence of Contested Sovereignty’ in Tendayi
Bloom and Lindsey N Kingston (eds), Statelessness, Governance, and the Problem of
Citizenship (Manchester University Press 2021) 125.
110 David Brenner and Martina Tazzioli, ‘Defending Society, Building the Nation: Rebel
Governance as Competing Biopolitics’ (2022) 66(2) International Studies Quarterly 1.
111 Fortin, Klem and Sosnowski (n 109); Sosnowski and Klem (n 89) 761.
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