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Salam for Democracy and Human Rights (SALAM DHR) is a UK and Lebanon-based NGO that focuses on Bahrain
and other Gulf countries. It advocates for human rights and democracy, including the rights of the stateless and
those deprived of citizenship.
The Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion (ISI), is a human rights non-governmental organisation (NGO) dedicated to promoting the right to nationality and the rights of stateless people globally.
This report is a collaborative undertaking by members of the SALAM DHR team, with support from ISI. The report
has been developed as part of a Kuwait focused project implemented under the COVID-19 Emergency
Statelessness Fund (CESF) Consortium, which both ISI and SALAM DHR are members of.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Drewery Dyke drafted this report based on work started by Andrew McIntosh. Shayma AlQahs provided a written
analysis. Marie Dominique Karam, Sharaf Yassin, Lena Haytham, and Meriem Oukacine analysed project data
and undertook translations for the project. Ahmad Jaber (Benswait) reviewed and commented on the project survey. Yoana Kuzmova provided invaluable feedback on the draft report. Amal de Chickera conducted a final review
and edited the report. Alena Jascanka is responsible for the design and layout of the report.
We thank the scores of other stateless Kuwaitis and Kuwaiti citizens who helped shape this project and those,
such as Sima Watling and Stephanie Huber, who took the time to comment on the draft report.
ABOUT THE COVER
Image: The Bidoon Alphabet
Artist: Abdulrahman Boland (@A_RahmanBoland)
Date: 16 April 2020 (via twitter: https://twitter.com/A_RahmanBoland/status/1250670603100659719?s=20&t=DzrXThI1ESUb8ZEwmpkT8Q )
Used with permission of the artist
The cover image sets out the Arabic alphabet, evoking the style of a primary school teaching material. The artist,
however, uses images of the initial letter that reflect fundamental themes of a stateless Bidoon person’s reality.
The juxtaposition of textual and visual elements illustrates key struggles in Bidoon people’s lives, such as identity,
prison, and suicide, in a simple but expressive way. From top right, moving from right to left, in keeping with the
text direction of Arabic, the image reads as follows: