‘I Must Be from Somewhere. I’m Not from the Moon’ identity.’ 46 As Zak explained, ‘[w]e miss the camp: we miss Yarmouk and then Syria’. 47 C Leaving Syria When the participants reflected upon their experiences of the labels, and how they interacted with them, all noted a significant shift that began in Syria around 2011 to 2012. As Mamdouh described: Previously we wouldn’t even say we are two countries — Palestinians and Syrians were one. It’s only after the war that people started talking like this. And the Syrian regime fostered this idea, that Palestinians and Syrians were separate. 48 The experiences of this socio-political, though not legal, separation differed for the participants, but was generally reflected upon as a point of either confusion, anger or a site of resistance to their Syrianness being withdrawn or contested. For example, when trying to flee Syria, Zahra noted how she, for the first time, was confronted with very restricted freedom of movement within what she perceived as ‘her country’: Why couldn’t I reach the northern areas of Syria legally? Why did I have to reach it illegally? That’s because I’m Palestinian. That’s because I’m a Palestinian living in Syria. Why should I be smuggled inside Syria, from one Syrian city to another Syrian city? 49 For Zahra, this restricted freedom of movement, along with other factors, led to her reconceptualising the relationship between her Palestinian and Syrian identities. At this point she no longer considered herself as a ‘Palestinian-Syrian’ but, rather, a Palestinian who was living in Syria. SYRIA’S NEIGHBOURING STATES AND THE WIDER REGION A Obscuring Their Palestinianness Upon leaving Syria, the participants occupied a rather unusual position. Unlike most other stateless refugee populations, they had to enter into a set of negotiations over how their already existing, widely acknowledged and deeply politicised stateless and refugee labels were to be recast, rejected or upheld by various actors. In line with Roger Zetter’s claim about how the refugee label is imposed more generally, 50 in Syria’s neighbouring states, and the wider region, this process was reflected upon by the interviewees as being non-participatory. There were, however, many examples of the rejection, resistance and obscuring or deployment of these labels by the participants. Some detailed how they hid their Palestinianness when dealing with bureaucracies or for pragmatic reasons when trying to navigate everyday life. As Mohammed explained: 46 47 48 49 50 Elia Zureik, ‘Theoretical and Methodological Considerations for the Study of Palestinian Society’ (2003) 23(1–2) Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and Middle East 152, 156. Interview with Zak, 42 years old from Yarmouk (Tom Rollins, 22 April 2017). Interview with Mamdouh, 46 years old from Yarmouk (Jason Tucker, 10 February 2017). Interview with Zahra, 24 years old from Yarmouk (Tom Rollins, 29 April 2017). Zetter, ‘Labelling Refugees’ (n 25). 339