Mohsen. I,1 an Egyptian young man born to a Syrian mother, was born in
Syria and lived there for more than 20 years. He mastered the Syrian dialect, which was his way to overcome the difficulties imposed on him by the
Syrian law depriving him of his right to his mother’s nationality. Throughout the years he spent in Syria, he was forced to renew his residency every
year, as a companion to his mother or as a university student, he will never
forget the fine that he paid for unintentionally postponing the renewal of
his residency in Syria.
Mohsen says: “It happened that I was late twice in renewing the residence
permit for some days, which led to my arrest for several hours by the authorities and releasing me after paying a fine. That residence permit which
caused Mohsen to be detained, had this provision: “The holder of this
residence permit shall not be allowed to work.” that accompanied him
throughout the years of his stay in Syria.
Mohsen was forced to work illegally, which prevented him from obtaining
the necessary insurance provided by the Syrian state for any employee
holding Syrian nationality. And while his Syrian accent helped him in obtaining the appropriate work for his experiences and diploma in Syria, it
did not help him in Egypt.
15
Mohsen adds: “In Syria, some people always remind me that I am not Syrian, and in Egypt they do not recognize my Egyptian nationality, because
I did not master the Egyptian dialect well, so they treat me as a Syrian. In
short, I am lost between the two countries, although I consider myself Syrian, because I lived most of my life there, and I participated in the Syrian
revolution, before I was forced to leave in 2012.”
This legal discrimination that the Syrian regime has pursued over many
decades has left negative psychological and social effects on women and
their children alike. It is worth noting that the issue has not been dealt with
1
During the period of the research, which lasted for two and a half years, the team met with
several cases representing all affected and targeted groups of the research.
HUMANS WITHOUT RIGHTS
Mohsen, despite all the circumstances that accompanied his life in Syria,
was able to complete his education and study in Syria, as a citizen of another country, but this does not apply to other children of women who were
unable to prove the lineage of their children.
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