Syrian Citizenship Disappeared “I only studied until the secondary stage. At school, we could enrol only providing a form from the mukhtar and after an examination by a medical committee in the Personal Status Department located in al-Hasakah to estimate our age. They looked at our teeth and knew we were over 6 if one of our teeth had fallen out.”91 Mohammed Hasan Omar was born in Ras al-Ein/ Sari Kani in 1978. He is married with three kids, and a member of a family of about 30 maktumeen individuals. In June 2018, they acquired the citizenship. Mohammed hopes his children will complete their education and be granted all their social rights. His previous legal status stripped him of his rights, and most significantly, from his right to an education: “We are five siblings, none of whom completed their education. People kept asking us: ”What are you studying for? This is worthless”. Something painful is still stuck in my mind is that when I was in sixth grade, my colleagues joined Tala’i al-Ba’ath Camp but I was not allowed to join. All the activities outside the school were organised without the participation of maktumeen and ajanib. I only finished the primary stage and went on helping my father farming. We were renting agricultural lands and working as farmers to get a portion from the owner. I enrolled my children at school under a residence permit from the mukhtar.”92 Zaher Farhan Ali was born in al-Hasakah in 1986. He was maktum and laments his situation as he did not go beyond the primary stage, affecting him negatively. In 2011, he acquired the Syrian nationality after paying several bribes to the Personal Status Department, he expressed93. 91 STJ’s field researcher conducted direct interview with him in March 2018. 92 STJ’s field researcher conducted a direct interview with him in Ras al-Ein/Sari Kani in July 2018. 93 STJ’s field researcher conducted direct interview with him in July 2018. 30 3.2.15. Syrian Lawyers’ Testimonies on the Right of Stateless to Education Redwan Sido, a Syrian Kurd human rights activist, illustrated the issue of statelessness to the Syrian and Kurdish public opinion through his articles, reports and cooperation with the international and local organizations. “For me, the status of the stateless’ students in schools, institutes and universities was the most unfair kind of oppression. Ajanib suffered discrimination, but maktumeen were treated even more poorly. They were denied the right to obtain a certified university certificate, that cut them off from working in the public sector and from joining union trades. Many were expelled from institutes and universities.” Such steps prompted many to quit learning and start working in other fields, he stated. Sido points out to the peculiar anguish suffered by children and women. He sees children being deprived of nationality enduring chaotic educational experience, resulting in high rates of illiteracy and low level of education. Young adults are then forced to work in low-skilled and low-paying field of work like metalwork, carpentry or construction works.94 Mustafa Ouso, another lawyer, agreed deprivation of nationality gave rise to draconian injustice with regards to education. Maktumeen are notably discriminated against, as they are denied of completing education beyond the secondary stage. Although they can not obtain certificates attesting the completion of their degree, ajanib are entitled to complete their university studies nonetheless. They are still, however, forbidden from practicing certain professions such as law. In this regard, Ouso mentioned his friend Mahmoud Abdulhalim Bin Jamil, who graduated from the Faculty of Law but was not entitled to join the bar association and was therefore forced to work as freelancer or enter various unqualified jobs. 94 Mustafa Ouso is a lawyer, a human right activist and a politician. He was born in Qamishli in 1973. He has been a lawyer since 2000. The interview was conducted via the Internet on August 5, 2018.