Suzan El Tahhan Bidoons: A Statelessness Plight in Kuwait ‫مجلة الدراسات القانونية واالقتصادية‬ estimates are not available in printed form, and it is estimated that about 103,000 are still trapped in the category of Bidoons.11 Bidoons, who registered their nationality claims with the Executive Committee (the state body in charge of Bidoons), were given Kuwaiti citizenship. However, the numbers were minimal.12 As I move onward in the paper, I'll explain why this government's plan to naturalize many Bidoons was fake. Even the documents issued to Bidoons never helped them neither be naturalized nor get equal treatment like Kuwaiti nationals or have access to public services in Kuwait. Moreover, many of the Bidoons ended up not being issued any documents at all and were stripped of their very fundamental rights till this moment. I.B. Historical View A particular issue in the Middle East was that "the emerging new sub-national states of Arabia cut through nomadic or semi-nomadic societies". The previously unknown concepts of nationality besides that of enforceable borders were poorly understood, even suspected by specific segments of the population. Some people failed to comprehend or prioritize the need for registration to acquire citizenship, continuing their lives instead as they had for centuries before while remaining undocumented and without nationality. This was the case in Kuwait where illiteracy and poor awareness-raising efforts, as well as the fact that the actual relevance of citizenship only manifested itself many years later, all contributed to the failure of Nasra M. Shah, “Migration to Kuwait: Trends, Patterns and Policies”, Migration and Refugee Movements in the Middle East and North Africa, The Forced Migration & Refugee Studies Program, The American University in Cairo, Egypt, October 23-25, 2007. 12 United Kingdom: Home Office, Country Information and Guidance - Kuwait: Bidoonss, Version 2.0, July 2016, P.5, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5853da784.html [accessed 6 February 2019] 11 8