Stateless residents: a social reality that requires attention
By our reporting team

23 March 2006

ABU DHABI/DUBAI/ SHARJAH/AJMAN — A recent decision by the Ministry of Social Affairs to stop social aid given to a number of UAE women married to stateless persons, who neither hold UAE citizenship nor any other nationality, has brought to the light once again the issue of this category of citizens commonly known as Bidoun, a term referring to stateless residents in the country who have no documents on their original nationalities.

Although the authorities reject the term and prefer the use of 'stateless', this category of residents remain a reality and a component of the social texture. It is a social segment that is denied rights to education, health services, travel and more importantly a right to better future for their children.

An official in the Human Rights Department of Dubai Police, which had been approached by many stateless residents, admitted the existence of a small population of 'stateless' residents who neither have a UAE citizenship nor any proof of a citizenship of any other country. “Many such persons have lived in the country for more than one generation. Many stateless residents were originally from Iran and South Asia," the official said.

He admitted some stateless persons are facing problems. “Last year, the department received many applications from such stateless persons as their children were prevented by the Ministry of Education from joining schools. We have submitted a report about their problems. In the report, he remarked, it has been pointed out that the denial of such facilities like education will impact on the country's internal security — besides escalating other social problems which may also have international repercussions,” the official told Khaleej Times, revealing that the authorities  are now involved in discussing these issues with all the various departments concerned.

Also, he added, some of UAE women nationals who are married to stateless men have filed complaints with the deparment as they have been denied any social assistance. They have protested their husbands and children cannot find any work, or travel anywhere else, because of their classification as stateless persons.

“Those who are born in the country and have no other place to go and till we solve their problems, have a right to education and health care,” the official stressed.

Social aid

According to the law, only holders of UAE nationality are eligible to apply for social security scheme benefits. Stateless persons living in the UAE are not entitled to take advantage of this scheme, nor are they eligible for any monthly payments.

There are some cases where stateless people have applied to the Ministry of Social Affairs. But the law does not allow the ministry to include them as beneficiaries under the social security scheme. In fact, even if they hold a UAE passport it would not suffice. They can only join the scheme if they have a specific nationality number on their UAE passports — which is a nationality registration number and is given on the basis of a UAE birth document, said a source.

The ministry usually redirects deserving cases to charity organisations for financial assistance, with or without an official recommendation letter, added the source.

A circular issued by the Ministry of Interior has asked all bodies concerned not to mention the word ‘bidoun’ when describing a person of unknown nationality. The description should be written as ‘Not holding identification documents’. Official sources said that the ministries of interior and justice have hammered out new mechanisms for effective and appropriate treatment of the Bidoun or stateless people.

“Many problems happened because of the stateless, with many of them claiming that they are stateless people to get UAE citizenship by circumventing rules,” an authoritative source at the Interior Ministry said.

“Investigations with those people revealed that some people had got rid of their original passports, and then alleged they were of no nationality in a bid to get UAE citizenship,” the source said. “Some people who arrived in the country on a visit visa threw away their entry visa forms  after violating the residency law, and then claimed they are bidoun to avoid paying fines and penalties imposed on them,” the source added, citing investigation reports.

“Infiltrators and those defecting from their countries did the same in an attempt to obtain UAE citizenship. This had prompted the government to hammer out a new rule for proper dealing with the ‘bidoun’ in general and to investigate their claims,” the source explained.

Counsellor Dr Mahmoud Al Kamali, Director-General of the Judiciary Institute at the Ministry of Justice, said the UAE law had addressed the issue of the bidoun by setting rules and conditions governing the process of granting UAE citizenship. There is one case under the Naturalisation Act entitling the person involved to obtain UAE nationality without identification documents.

Foundlings

Dr Al Kamali said a ‘foundling’ is illegitimate of unknown biological parents, and is thrown or got rid off in the land of the UAE without his/her fault. He said UAE citizenship is given to these people on humanitarian grounds. Any other person seeking to get UAE nationality should prove he/she is a foundling or having kinship of maternal or paternal roots in the UAE before 1925, he explained.

“The citizenship seeker could prove this without documents through an acknowledgement and testimony of tribal chiefs or his neighbours, who testify that the grandfather or the father of the applicant for the citizenship were in the UAE before 1925, when entry to the country was possible by land and sea without documents,” he said.

The house where the applicant lives, and has inherited it from his father or grandfather is a piece of evidence for claiming the right to get citizenship, Dr Al Kamali explained. Courts often ruled to naturalise applicants as the law allows them to sue the Naturalisation and Residency Department, which does not grant them the citizenship. “When convinced and satisfied about the evidence, the judge may issue a verdict ordering the Ministry of Interior to grant the applicant UAE citizenship. Courts in the UAE had granted citizenship to many applicants within the purview of the law, even to those who came to the country after 1920, and proved that they had no documents or testimony of witnesses as well as other evidence that next of kin had been living in the country years ago,” he underlined.

The judge may order granting the nationality after the agencies concerned ensure the good conduct of the applicant and his or her eligibility to get it, he said. The UAE law, the Ministry of Justice and the bodies concerned in the country have succeeded in putting together a mechanism to differentiate genuine cases from false claims, the official concluded.

Stories to tell

Several stateless people interviewed by Khaleej Times expressed dismay at their situation. They feel that they are caught in a Catch 22 situation where they are unable to obtain the UAE citizenship and at the same time cannot prove their original nationalities for the lack of documents. Moreover, many are concerned about the bleak future of their children, who without access to education and decent life they fear might turn into criminals. They all share common grievances with regard to their depravation of health services, travel, employment among others.

Al Raissi, a Baluchi family from Iran, has been living in Al Butaina, Sharjah, for about half a century — but they have no country, no flag, no identity they can really call their own. They do not hold any official documents that can clearly establish their identity or nationality. The family of eight has over the years been reduced to near penury.

Hussain Al Raissi, who heads the family, recalls that he came to the UAE with his father, a trader, when he was just 12. Some time later, both his parents died in the UAE and he was left alone to fend for himself. He worked as a watchman in an industrial school, got married, and later had eight children. He has been working with the Sharjah and Electricity Authority (Sewa) for the past 25 years as a driver, but has now been given a letter of termination which will be effective June 1.

To add to his troubles, his children who were all born in the UAE, have no access to any education or medical services, nor are they recognised as UAE nationals. This, he adds, is because there are no documentations which can prove the family's identity and nationality.

Says Hussain: "I didn't even try to go to the Iranian embassy for an Iranian passport because I have nothing to prove I am an Iranian. My children Mohammed, Ali, and Issa (whose ages range between 18 and 21) couldn't get a job after they completed their high school from Iranian School. Fortunately, the school did not insist on any identity or nationality-related documentation during their admission."

"Now, soon I shall have no regular income and I do not know how to run my household. I can't go back to Iran as I don't know  anyone there. I cannot even prove we are Iranian. My children can't speak Persian as they were born and raised here in the UAE."

Interestingly, E.O., a Palestinian stateless citizen who has lived in Ajman since 1960 and spoke on condition of anonymity, said: "Our living condition improved since we came to the UAE. We could own properties in various emirates. But now with a change in the rules we suffer a great deal because of our stateless status."

E.O. said her children can't change jobs and her grandchildren have no access to education even in private schools “because we do not have the necessary documents”.

She explained, "We can't even go back to Palestine as the Palestinian Authority considers us to be non-citizens. I can't go to the holy city of Makkah for Haj and I can't go to any other country for medical treatment. I hope this identity problem got resolved soon so that my grandchildren can enjoy the belonging."

Old settlers

Mohammed Nazer Al Deen Baloushi, a Pakistani settled in Sharjah since 1958, said that he came to the UAE for trading and then decided to settle down here. He works in a government department as a driver.

He said, "I got married and have four children who speak Arabic and can't even understand any Pakistani language. As a stateless person, we do not enjoy any civil rights. Nor do we have access to facilities such as basic education and medical health services."

Shahin Murad, a stateless employee with Sharjah Police, said that his parents came from Baluchistan before the Federation was formed and he was born in the UAE 42 years ago. He said that he didn't have a birth certificate because at that time no such records were maintained. He went to a school and when he graduated from high secondary school in the 1980s, he applied to Sharjah Police where he was allowed to work. Later, he married an Omani woman and now has four children and his salary is only Dh1,400. He said that the his children have joined schools, but his problems started last year when the Ministry of Education issued directions to schools not to accept any student without proper documents.

“My eight-year old son, Ahmed, was affected by this decision after he completed his Grade 2. All schools, including even the charity schools, refused to admit him.”

He said that he knocked on all doors and contacted the Ministry of Education, Naturalisation and Residency Department and Dubai Police, but to no avail.

"Ahmed now cries every day because he has seen his elder brothers go to school. There are a large number of such stateless children who cannot go to the school. In such a situation, my fear is some of them may think of turning to crime if they have no education and can find no jobs," Shahin observed.

"No body will believe that in this era and in such a developed and prosperous country like the UAE, there are some people denied access to education. This can lead to various social problems."

He urged the authorities concerned to allow stateless children who were born here to attend educational institutions and other benefits like medical care — especially in cases where parents are willing to pay for such facilities.

Shahin said: "Since I don't have a passport, I cannot leave the country even to visit Oman with my wife. Incidentally, most of my family members are living here and have UAE nationality. I know only UAE and I am loyal to it."

Native born

Yousuf Mohamed Hassan, a security official at Sharjah Police, said: “I was born in the UAE and I have two brothers and sisters. I went to school and completed my secondary school studies, but I could not join the university due to financial problems. I then joined the Sharjah Police."

Yousuf also commented, "I feel I have no future. I have financial problems and I cannot even think of getting married. Even if I do, I wonder what will be the fate of my children."

Ibrahim Hassan, a policeman with Sharjah Police, said his family came to the UAE 40 years ago from Makran. The UAE borders were open at that time. After the death of his parents, he was raised in the Emirates. He added, "I married a UAE national woman and have eight children. Because I married a UAE national my children got their birth certificates and passports. But later their passports were not renewed because they don't have citizenship."

Ibrahim said that five of his children have finished school while two girls are still studying. One 30-year old son is working for Dubai Police while another works for the UAE Armed Forces. The girls who completed their higher secondary are sitting at home because they can neither get a job nor complete their education because their citizenship status is not clear. However, Ibrahim added, he has applied for citizenship and is now waiting for it to be granted.

Ibrahim said one of his sons married a UAE national woman while another married a Palestinian, but he has no idea what will be the future of their children.

Ahmed D., also a stateless person of Iranian origin, said: "I face a difficult financial situation and my children have no future here because they will not be able to study. I took my children to the Saudi border to go to Iran, but the Saudi authorities prevented us from entering their borders because we had no papers."

NO FLAG

Al Raissi, a Baluchi family from Iran, has been living in Al Butaina, Sharjah, for about half a century — but they have no country, no flag, no identity they can really call their own. They do not hold any official documents that can clearly establish their identity or nationality.

SINCE GENERATIONS

Many such persons have lived in the country for more than one generation. Many stateless residents were originally from Iran and South Asia. — Official

LOYAL TO UAE

'Since I don't have a passport, I cannot leave the country even to visit Oman with my wife. Incidentally, most of my family members are living here and have UAE nationality. I know only UAE and I am loyal to it.'

SOCIAL ASSISTANCE WITHDRAWN

Some of UAE national women who are married to stateless men have filed complaints with the Human Rights Department of Dubai Police as they have been denied any social assistance. They have protested that their husbands and children cannot find any work, or travel anywhere else, because of their classification as stateless persons.

NO ACCESS TO EDUCATION

I came here with my father when I was just 12 years old. My children, who were all born in the UAE, have no access to any education or medical services, nor are they recognised as UAE nationals. — Hussain Al Raissi

WITHOUT BIRTH CERTIFICATE

I don't have a birth certificate because at that time no such records were maintained. I have knocked at all doors and contacted the Ministry of Education, Naturalisation and Residency Department and Dubai Police, but to no avail. — Shahin Murad