In relation to stateless Palestinian refugees who came from Lebanon and who have prima facie a refugee status, the Refugee Appeal Board may decide whether they can be returned to Lebanon as a safe third country. According to the DRC, the question is whether the living conditions of stateless persons in Lebanon cumulatively fulfil the requirements of a “safe third country.” The Danish-Bhutanese culture organization Håndtryk og Hatemalo explained in 2012 that the first group of Bhutanese refugees came to Denmark in 2008. At that time, they did not understand the text in the papers they received from the Danish authorities, including their residence permits. The Danish-Bhutanese culture organization was also not acquainted with the entitlement to Danish citizenship if a child is born stateless in the country. Most Bhutanese refugees were illiterate. According to the organization, it was not enough to disseminate information at Danish language schools. In the opinion of the organization, the municipality, the “accompanying group” or a “spokesperson” should provide information. This way, this population would be better informed, for example, of their children’s right to acquire Danish nationality. The chairperson of the Danish-Bhutanese culture organization himself did not realize that he had been wrongfully registered as a Bhutanese national, rather than as stateless. First, when he started his education at an education center, he found out that he was registered as a national of Bhutan, even though he had lived as a stateless refugee in a camp in Nepal for 17 years and was not allowed to enter Bhutan. In 2012, he received a letter from the Danish Immigration Service, informing him about the possibility to change his incorrect registration from “Bhutanese national” to “stateless.” For many Bhutanese refugees, it was a particular problem that they could not document their age, since they had their age “altered” in the refugee camps in Nepal in order to get access to education, which was only offered to persons up to a certain age.126 In Denmark, their low age on paper had unexpected consequences, among others in relation to the qualifications for old-age pension. 2.3.3 The human face of statelessness The Danish-Palestinian Friendship Organization noted that having a nationality gives security and makes family life possible. In a residential housing area in Copenhagen, Mjølnerparken, many of the residents were elderly people who were not born in Denmark and who could not acquire Danish nationality.127 This was a problem in families where children and grandchildren were Danish nationals. It was difficult to explain to the old generation that they could not become Danish nationals. Often, they could not travel with their families. Nationality is also important for feeling included in the Danish society. Moreover, without a nationality it is not possible to vote in parliamentary elections, which they see as the ultimate expression of citizenship and inclusion. For various reasons, many stateless Palestinians from Lebanon had problems acquiring Danish nationality, while they, at the same time, were unable to return to their former country of habitual residence. They had their whole family in Denmark. For them, acquisition of a nationality was of great importance, and this feeling was shared by their children, who had become Danish nationals. Stateless persons appeared to value acquisition of a nationality most of all. This was also illustrated in the so called “statelessness case,” where it became apparent from a number of interviews with stateless persons in the media that acquisition of a nationality made a tremendous difference in the lives of stateless persons. Similarly, RW explained that most stateless persons shared a feeling of disgrace and displeasure when their country rejected them as citizens with equal rights. 126 This was explained during the interview with the Danish-Bhutanese culture organization on 26 August 2012. 127 Many elderly persons have difficulties learning a new language, and an exemption from the language requirement for naturalization for applicants over the age of 65 was repealed in 2002. UNHCR Representation for the Nordic and Baltic Countries 39