Stateless for Life

Hello Anna,

I hope you're doing well!

Thank you so much for sharing your story with us. We're really glad you found our forum.

We’re truly sorry to hear about your situation — it must be incredibly difficult for both of you. Please know that you're not alone. We're in this together, and we’re all working toward meaningful change.

We completely understand your wish to connect with other stateless people. Would you be interested in joining one of our Community Labs in July 2025? It would be a great opportunity to meet and exchange with others who are in a similar situation. If you're interested, I’d be happy to schedule a call to get to know each other and share more details about the event.

In the meantime, feel free to visit the websites of Apatride Network and the European Network on Statelessness. Both organizations might be very relevant for you.

Best wishes,

Victoria Bukalo & the team

Hello Victoria, thank you for your kind message and for the invitation. I truly appreciate the work you’re doing to support stateless people.

I just want to clarify that while we’re grateful to connect with organizations like Statefree, our focus right now is very specific. We are not looking for emotional support or community-building, we are trying to resolve a serious legal situation that has affected our lives for over two decades.

We are stateless siblings who have lived and worked in Malta for 22 years under temporary humanitarian protection. We pay taxes, renew our documents every year, and contribute to society, but we remain legally excluded, without citizenship or the ability to move forward in life.

What we’re seeking is legal recognition, a path to citizenship, and support in pushing for real, systemic change. 

I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but I want to speak openly.

For us, attending an event to meet others in our situation doesn’t feel like support, it feels like a painful reminder. A reminder that we’re still stateless, still excluded, and that nothing is changing.

We come home from meetings like that and feel even more desperate. Because the truth is, it is a violation of human rights to keep people under this status for 22 years, asking us to renew documents again and again, as if our lives are temporary.

We are not asking for comfort. We are asking for justice. For a way out of this permanent limbo. For the right to have a nationality, to live fully, and to not grow old and die without ever belonging.

Please understand: being stateless isn’t just difficult — it’s illegal to let it go on this long without a solution.

If Statefree, ENS, or Apatride Network can support that kind of advocacy or help raise awareness of our situation in a legal or institutional context, we’d be very grateful. 

Anna Psaila
(on behalf of Yuri Kerimov)

Hello ​@Anna Kerimov ,

I hope you had a relaxing and pleasant weekend!

Thank you so much for sharing your honest thoughts about the invitation to one of our Community Labs. We truly appreciate your openness and perspective.

I completely understand that gatherings like these can feel emotionally heavy and even upsetting at times. Please know that our intention with these events is to create a supportive and inclusive space — especially for stateless people. We want to listen, learn, and make sure that your voices and experiences are at the heart of what we do. Ultimately, our goal is to push for real, legal changes that can improve people’s lives.

The organizations ENS and Apatride Network can support that kind of advocacy aswell.

Once again, thank you for your honesty and trust. It means a lot to us.

Warm regards,

Victoria Bukalo & the team

Thank you for sharing your story about being stateless—it’s powerful and incredibly moving. I especially appreciate the way you describe the sense of not belonging and the challenges that come from missing legal recognition. One question I have: what part of your journey has given you the most strength or hope, and how have you managed to keep pushing forward despite the obstacles?  Derma roller lip