People in the community

(in german below)I come from Germany and I know people who are stateless.I have learned from these people, what statelessness means.-In everyday life, legally and psychologically.Before that, I knew nothing about the “phenomenon of statelessness” and I suspect that manyother people in Germany don't know anything about it either.That's why I think it's absolutely important to make the issue and the associated problems, burdens and discrimination visible.Do you have any experience of how to make the issue more visible in your own city?(and, actually a minor point: Is it still possible to buy one or more statefree T-Shirts?)  Ich komme aus Deutschland und kenne Menschen, die staatenlos sind.Von diesen Menschen habe ich gelernt, was Staatenlosigkeit bedeutet.-Im Alltag, rechtlich und psychisch.Davor wußte ich vom “Phänomen Statenlosigkeit” nichts und ich vermute, vieleandere Menschen in Deutschland wissen auch nichts davon / darüber.Deswegen finde ich es eine absolut gute Idee, das Thema u

Subject: Seeking Legal Advice and Insight on Voluntary Statelessness – A Call for a Borderless WorldDear Statefree Community,I come to you as an ally, someone who has benefitted from the privileges of the current system, but has come to deeply question its foundations. As a white, privileged German, I recognize the immense injustices, hierarchies, and exclusions created by the nation-state system. While citizenship has provided me with rights and opportunities, it has also reinforced a world divided by borders and bureaucratic structures that limit our freedom as human beings.I believe in the possibility of a borderless world—a world where people are not defined by arbitrary lines on a map, where identity isn't tied to the possession of documents that bind us to a state. For this vision to become a reality, those of us with privilege must be willing to take action. I have decided to voluntarily renounce my German citizenship, not to claim another, but to become stateless in the truest

Hey everyone,My name is Elisa, and I am a student at the Cologne International School of Design in Germany. For a university project, I am planning an audio-visual exhibition that will focus on personal voice messages collected from people in a variety of countries. These messages will reflect everyday worries or joys, and my goal is to identify and highlight the similarities within these experiences by juxtaposing them. The motto of the exhibition is: "Let’s focus on what unites us, not what divides us."For several years now, I have been deeply concerned about the political and social developments in Germany. It seems that xenophobia and the rejection of refugees have become alarmingly normalized. People seeking protection are often denied the dignity and empathy they deserve due to their traumas and life stories. This situation is difficult for me to understand, and through this project, I want to contribute to fostering a shift in perspective and breaking down prejudices.  I am conv

Hello everybody, A friend of mine recommended this community for me so here I am. My name is Majed and I was born and am still a stateless (state-free) person. I live in Germany and I work as a data analyst. Please feel free to connect and inform me of any local events. Best,Majed

Guten Abend, Ich bin neu hier und doch kommt es mir vor, als ob ich die hier angesprochenen Themen rund um die Staatenlosigkeit in Deutschland längst kennen würde. Dabei wusste ich seither wenig vom Umfang des Problems. Bisher kannte ich nur eine einzige betroffene Familie mit drei Kindern, an die die „Staatenlosigkeit durch die Mutter vererbt“ wurde. Vier Staaten haben eine eventuell bestehende Staatsangehörigkeit der Kinder verneint. Trotzdem geht die zuständige Ausländerbehörde immer noch von ungeklärter Staatsangehörigkeit aus. Rührt aber selbst keinen Finger, um diesen Zustand zu beenden, obwohl sie eigentlich laut Handbuch über den Schutz staatenloser Personen gemäß dem Übereinkommen von 1954 über die Rechtsstellung staatenloser Personen, verpflichtet wäre. Von anderen im Handbuch genannten Kriterien ganz abgesehen. Unterstützung des Antragstellers, Fehlanzeige. Im Gegenteil, während der Überprüfung des Verfahrens zur Feststellung der Staatenlosigkeit, sollte plötzlich eine weite

I’m lucky enough to have been born here and since carrying a german passport, as well as being the first one in my family to have access to higher education (or any education past 9th grade really).  I’m trying my best in recognizing the many privileges my life has given me while still keeping in mind that all these things are lucky coincidenes at best*, which is why I feel like I should finally put them to use. *I guess my identity consists of a state of being in-between regarding many different aspects of my life, and I hope that gives me enough insight and personal experience on one hand, as well as enough access to existing opressive structures to be able to change them eventually. Feel free to contact me! I’m excited to connect with you, whether it be for private chit-chat, invitations to educational and/or critical events, you need participants on surveys or petitions, or if you want to give me a notice on any use of language that I could improve.Also, please reach out to me if y

Hi everyone! My name is Claire and I am a community ally. I am also a student finishing my Master's in Migration Studies at the University of San Francisco.My thesis work is focussed on understanding how to spur political participation in solidarity with the statefree community, as a step in the fight for citizenship for all. I am currently researching ways to harness the power of first-person storytelling as an educational tool, with the goal of pushing for the recognition of statefree people as the experts on their experiences as opposed to academic researchers. I also volunteer with the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), as a research assistant on asylum cases. I'm excited to listen, learn and fight with you all✊🏾

 Hello everyone, Prince already introduced himself, however, I would like to use the opportunity and share this short video with you (4:22). Thank you very much for watching. Cheers Alma  https://www.rnf.de/mediathek/video/staatenloser-mannheimer/

Hello everyone, Just joined the community! 😊 I am here as Prince Lenny Penaloza’s ally. Let’s make a difference together.  CheersAlma

I learned about this platform via an online webinar of ENS (European Network of Statelessness).I am studying law in Switzerland and only learnt in a module on international migration law about the issue of statelessness. I was baffled that I have never heard of it before and moments later I was shocked, at how little interest there is for statelessness and the people affected. So the decision to write my thesis on statelessness came naturally, as I wanted to understand more about the issue. I am in progress of writing my thesis, so if you want to have a chat or exchange information I would be more than interested in getting to know some of you!

My name is Omar. I am Palestinian and now live in and study in Belgium.I grew up in southwest Palestine in what is known as the Gaza Strip. My family ended upthere because they were forced to escape Yazur, Jaffa, in 1948. Today, the Israeli town ofAzor stands on the former site of Yazur which was depopulated and mostly destroyed by thetime my grandparents fled from there. Over time, the word “Palestine” was removed frommaps and dictionaries – locally and globally – and Palestinians were shot if they attemptedto cross back over this artificial border. Think the Berlin Wall before 1991.I eventually escaped the stress and violence of Palestine and the Gaza Strip, but it was notthe end of my misery. Between, 20XX and 20XX, I lived the life of a refugee in two countries.Both labeled me as ”stateless“, trapping me in an endless loop of hope and rejection. I wasexhausted, could not obtain a work permit, was not permitted to travel and could not gethealth insurance. I invested in myself the be

Hello everyone! I am really excited to be here. My name is Alex, I am a design student in the Netherlands, and I am an ally. In my work I focus on social design, this means tackling social issues through creative thinking and making. I came across Statefree about a year ago while doing research on statelessness for my studies. Since then I've been keeping myself informed and trying to help raise awareness by organising a few lectures at my university. I am currently working on a longer term design project about claiming virtual territory to create space for stateless issues.I look forward to getting to know you!

Hello everyone, we are the International Defense Association. We accept free citizenship applications from stateless people around the world. We have established a constitutional monitoring state in Bir Tawil, an unclaimed land. We look forward to people from all walks of life to assist stateless people in obtaining citizenship. For details, please refer to the FB page: @CSSIDA 。

Hi everyone!The Institute on statelessness and Inclusion (ISI) is so excited to see the launch of StateFree World and we are really excited to begin using this platform!About UsISI the first and only human rights NGO dedicated to promoting the right to nationality and the rights of stateless people globally. Our mission is centered around working together to counter discrimination and intolerance and promote inclusive societies by realising and protecting everyone’s right to a nationality. Our vision is a world in which everyone’s right to a nationality is respected, securing inclusion, equality and access to rights for all.How we Work:We have three core programmes and five priority areasCore Programmes Movement Building Human Rights Advocacy  Capacity and Resource Development  Priorities  Children Citizenship Stripping  Rohingya  Discrimination  COVID-19 Response  Socials: We post regular updates on: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram StateFree! And we have a monthly bulletin which

Hello everyone! So nice to see a Statefree platform being active and helpful for the stateless community around the world! My name is Nevenka and I am here as an ally. I work in an Roma NGO in Montenegro. Roma community in Europe is one of the most affected by statelessness and Phiren Amenca and me (as part of that organization) are doing everything we can to strengthen the Roma and Egyptians in Montenegro and Western Balkan region. We don’t see affected people as cases, we see them as neighbors and family deprived of their rights. 

I’m Hans-Georg (he/his) or just Hans, if the double name is too awkward. I’m German, but still got a taste of what it means to be unable to travel the world. I grew up in East Germany, the former GDR, a country in which the German word “Weltreise” (voyage around the world) was removed from dictionaries and in which people were shot when trying to cross the border. Think of the Berlin Wall. I eventually escaped, along with a circle of friends, which took three years of preparation. West Germany recognizes all Germans, no matter where they lived. So for me it was only all too easy to walk into the office and get a passport. Now that I’m reading here, I understand how lucky I was and still am. Looking for a job, I got a job offer that I could not refuse. One of my escaped friends and I went to East Africa, working on a computer system for foreign trade statistics in Nairobi, Kenya. A year later Kenya had become my second home. Geographically I knew it much better than West Germany. I knew

My name is Guille (he/him). I’m a geographer, and I am trying to collaborate with statelessness everyday doing my research about the global situation of stateless people in the world and composing a graphical and cartographic analysis. It is a writing to expose the reality of being undocumented and also to make awareness in the rest of the Spanish society about sahrawi issue.That is why I am here, I joined to be an ally and create a bigger community where people can discuss their situation, but most important, people can feel that they are not alone. I hope that Statefree become a special place where people can feel free to express themselves.Thank you for inviting me!With joy and hugs from Spain!