The children of Syrian refugees are at risk of becoming ‘nowhere babies’- babies without an identity.
Time: 12:45 a.m.
Location: Killis State Hospital in southern Turkey
Iman Hamid has been in labor for the past 6 hours. Finally, she hears her baby’s first cry. As the doctor hands her her newborn son, she looks to the left where her husband should be standing- but he is not there. And the beautiful baby boy that she is holding in her arms- he is no one.
When the Syrian Civil war started in 2011, over 6 million refugees escaped to other countries such as Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. Since then, over 100,000 babies have been born. Most of these babies are what are called ‘Stateless children’–children born without a nationality. These babies are born with no identity. They have no past and no future. This is the start of the lost generation.
Syrian law does not recognize a mother’s right to pass on her nationality to her children. Therefore, in order for a newborn to receive Syrian nationality, the family needs proof of the father’s nationality. But what about during a war where husbands are killed, are missing or are fighting? What does the mother do then?
In countries such as Turkey and Lebanon, tens of thousands of births are occurring without a father being present. These children are unable to get Syrian citizenship, which means that they cannot get a birth certificate, a passport, or any legal documentation at all.
In many of these countries, the women are treated very poorly, especially if they do not have a husband. Many of these women are susceptible to underage marriage, sexual exploitation and polygamous marriages. These ways of marriage are illegal in Syria.
When a baby is born in one of these circumstances, he or she is usually born in someone’s home rather than in a hospital. If the government finds out about these illegal marriages, the parents can be prosecuted, and their child can be taken away. The births are therefore kept secret, and without documented proof of the father’s nationality or any other hospital records, it is nearly impossible to identify that child’s nationality. These babies are stateless.
There is also the case of the father forgetting or losing his proof of citizenship. When this happens, the parents can register their baby for citizenship. But this can take years. Over 92% of refugees are not able to complete the legal and administrative steps to register the birth of their children.
Registering costs money that the refugees do not have and, therefore, they are unable to access the resources that should be available to them. Most refugees do not speak the language of the country in which they are living, and the thought of going to government offices terrifies them. For the small percentage of families who can register their child, the government rarely gives the baby citizenship of any kind, which leaves these children nationless.
These children are being born without a future. Without any documents they are unable to access any education, healthcare or social services. Similarly they cannot apply for a legal job or travel anywhere freely.
One of the biggest fears that parents of a stateless child have is that when the time comes to return to Syria, they will not be able to take their child with them. These children also have a high risk of trafficking or child recruitment by violent groups such as ISIS. These children have no chance of life.
For those of us who are fortunate enough to know our nationalities, we do not think twice about what that nationality is.
When asked where we are from we do not even think before answering. But, imagine having no answer. We identify ourselves by our nationality. Who we are is based on where we were born and to whom we were born.
We know our past and we get to choose what our future will be.
These children don’t have a choice. So we must ask ourselves–what is going to happen to this lost generation in the future?