“I advise you to drop out of school and learn any trade instead”

Bandaar still feels sorry for himself, since he wasn’t able to pursue his education like any other young of his age, he wasn’t been supported to do so, but rather he used to hear frustrating words, specifically from the school headmaster who always said to him: "I advise you to drop school and learn any trade instead", only because he is a stateless.

Bandaar Ismail Muhammad was born in Qamishli, Qamishlo in 1985. He is married with children working in the field of media. He is a stateless Syrian Kurd, specifically from the maktumeen^[1] category, which makes him suffer many difficulties in all areas of life, as he told STJ field researcher who interviewed him in March 2018:

"My father was a maktum while my uncle was a citizen, and my mother was of Turkish nationality. We couldn’t resolve our legal status, I heard once that a Kurdish family paid 2 million Syrian pounds as a bribe in order to obtain citizenship, but to no avail. We, stateless, are not permitted to register any property under our own name, such as our land, our house, or even our phone.

In education, we also encountered several difficulties. My elder brother, who finished his school and took the first place, was given no certificate proving that he had passed through those stages. I still remember exactly what the headmaster told me when I was in junior high, and specifically in the ninth grade. He said: "Didn’t you see how your elder brother hasn’t got the school certificate?! I advise you to leave school and to learn any trade instead”. His words hurt me a lot and led to me dropping out at the secondary level.”

Bandaar has three children that he could not register in the Civil Status Department because they did not enjoy Syrian nationality. His numerous attempt to resolve their legal status, were in vain:

"In 2011, following the issuance of the Decree 49 on the naturalisation of the ajanib class, we submitted our papers to the Civil Status Department in Qamishli, and followed them up, but we failed to resolve our status. Only a few maktumeen managed to obtain Syrian nationality. The Autonomous Administration gives the maktumeen a marriage confirmation card and a family book, I will seek them soon."