BURIED ALIVE

One woman describeda man whowent with peoplesmugglers: “On theway, he was shipwreckedand left onan island with 25other people andwith little food orwater for 14 days…They knew they weregoing to die andbegan digging theirgraves by hand.They were rescuedby an Australianpilot who happenedto be flying overthe island…”Ironically, they are still required to payproperty taxes to the government on the landthey do not legally own. Some register theirproperty under the names of friends orrelatives who are nationals to circumventthese issues. Yet this arrangement forcesthem to rely upon the good faith of suchpersons, and the problem still remains thatthey cannot pass on ownership of property totheir children. One man described how hesold his house, but the new owner is unableto move in because the current tenants whoare renting the house refuse to leave, and hehas no legal recourse to evict them due to hislack of registered legal ownership of theproperty.Individuals who marry Syrian nationalsoften register property under the names oftheir spouses. Passing the property title on totheir children is dependent upon how closelythe spouse’s family adheres to custom. Insome instances of divorce, the spouse withnationality will retain the house, even if thestateless spouse purchased it. In other cases,many stateless Kurds are living in housesregistered to the names of previous Arabowners, even though they paid money topurchase them because they cannot registerthe title under their names. Hence, theirsecurity is subject to the good graces of thesellers and the government to whom theyoften pay large bribes.The Right to Freedom of MovementStateless Kurds are unable to obtain traveldocuments for purposes of travel outside ofSyria, regardless of whether it is for study,travel, attending funerals or family gatherings,or obtaining urgent medical treatment.One example cited was that of two Kurdishmusicians who were prevented fromtraveling with their troupe to attend a musicfestival outside of Syria. The InternationalCommittee of the Red Cross has agreed thatit might be possible to issue travel documentswith an invitation from abroad andSyrian government approval.Many stateless Kurds report difficulties intraveling within Syria’s borders as well. In thepast, they were required to obtain permissionfrom state security for internal travel, butrecently have been permitted to travelinternally with more freedom. However, theystill report being stopped and interrogated bypolice, forced to obtain permission if they arestudents, and prevented from staying inhotels without permission from state security.As noted above, married couples are notallowed to sleep in the same room in hotelsbecause they are listed as “single” on their redcards. Many Maktoumeen are prevented fromstaying in hotels at all due to lack of anidentity document. Those without anydocumentation often face trouble in obtainingbus tickets and are questioned by the police,even after producing a birth certificateverifying their birth in Syria.There are additional problems for Ajanibwho wish to change their residence. UnlikeSyrian nationals, they must obtain permissionfrom state security in order to changetheir place of residence. One young universitystudent in Aleppo was required to dothis when he wished to move out of thestudent dormitory.The restrictions on movement are a gravedisadvantage, preventing possible economic,academic, cultural, and civil society projectswithin the Kurdish community and in Syriaas a whole. Furthermore it contributes to theculture of frustration that has characterized alarge portion of the Kurdish population inSyria. The obstacles to free movement haveenhanced the risk of regional discontent andinstability.Human Smuggling & TraffickingHaving few options to ensure basic survivaland experiencing depressed relative development,some stateless Kurds seek theiropportunities abroad. One estimate offered toRefugees International was that up to 50,000Kurds have now left Syria, the majority ofwhom are stateless. While no official statisticsBURIED ALIVE: STATELESS KURDS IN SYRIA