At that time, Nabila made great efforts to obtain some form of proof that her daughter was Malian. Although she regretted that she was unable to pass her Syrian citizenship to her daughter, Nabila thought that obtaining proof of Malian citizenship would be better than her daughter’s current status of not having a citizenship at all. Mali does not have a consular presence in Syria, so Nabila contacted the closest Malian Embassy in Cairo. Nabila put together a file of her daughter’s history, including birth certificate and school degrees. She also contacted the African Students Department at Damascus University to obtain statements from individuals who knew Nabila’s ex-husband that confirmed that Nabila’s Malian ex-husband is the father of her daughter. The Malian Embassy in Cairo contacted Nabila to say that they were not in a position to say whether her daughter would be entitled to Malian citizenship. Rather they suggested that Nabila’s daughter travel to Mali to discuss her case with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs there. Nabila’s daughter was without any personal documentation and therefore not able to travel outside of Syria; without any guarantees that her travel to Mali would be successful, there was no further avenue that Nabila could pursue to obtain Malian citizenship for her daughter. Nabila’s daughter was able to study French Literature at Damascus University as a result of Nabila’s personal contacts. Despite completing the university curriculum, she cannot obtain her university degree. Nabila’s daughter is extremely bright and multitalented. She has received a number of job offers at home and abroad. Without citizenship and identification papers, however, Nabila’s daughter, at 25, has reached the stage that she can go no further. Not only is she unable to obtain work but her marriage prospects are also bleak as a result of her statelessness. UmAli (mother), Zeynab (daughter) (Lebanon) UmAli, a Lebanese citizen, married an Egyptian man who was working in the Bekaa valley in Lebanon. They had seven children before UmAli’s husband died when her children were young. UmAli’s ex-husband had initiated procedures to register their children with the Egyptian Embassy in Lebanon. When UmAli followed up with the Egyptian Embassy after her husband’s death, she learned that her husband’s brother in Egypt sent a letter ordering that her children be sent to Egypt for him to take custody of them. Refusing to leave her home country and give up custody of her children, UmAli stopped pursuing contacts with the Egyptian authorities, resigning herself to struggle to support her family through her individual means in Lebanon. Her children have birth certificates and “maktoum al kayd” identity cards (cards that specify that the individuals are not registered and do not have Lebanese citizenship). UmAli’s oldest daughter married a Lebanese man. While this daughter is listed on her husband’s family’s civil record, she is unable to acquire Lebanese citizenship through her husband. According to Lebanese practice, an individual must have at least one nationality in order to be granted another one. One of UmAli’s sons married a Lebanese woman and has two children. His family also continues to face problems as his Lebanese wife can neither transfer her citizenship to her husband nor confer her citizenship on their children. This son owns a car, but it is registered in UmAli’s name. UmAli also signs all official documents for her children, even those who are adults. UmAli sent two of her daughters to an Evangelical Christian orphanage where they could be educated. Her daughter Zeynab was particularly bright and rose to the top of 7