Bidun

Bidun

"Bidun jinsiya" (or "bidoon jinsiya") is an Arabic term meaning "without nationality." Usually referred to simply as "bidun" (بِدون), the term refers to the stateless people of certain Bedouin tribes in Kuwait and Bahrain whose members were not granted citizenship, and so are seriously legally disadvantaged in comparison with the regular citizens of these countries.

Biduns may be people who did not fill in proper paperwork (perhaps due to illiteracy, xenophobia or ignorance) prior to 1920, have illegally entered these nations to avoid poverty or war, or those who have settled there since 1920 but who have not been recognized by the state. They are not afforded the rights of a full citizen of the country. The children of "bidun" fathers are themselves considered "bidun".

Before 1990, the majority of bidun were Bedouin settlers from the northern Arabian Peninsula. Following the invasion of Iraq, a third of the 300,000 bidun living in Kuwait before the invasion either fled to Iraq or produce proofs showing their citizenships (mostly Saudi or Syrian). Many Bidun succumbed to the Government's pressure and produce mostly faked passports from other nations to allow them to get a job or simply reside in the county. In the last few years, many Kuwaiti citizens and international organisations criticized Kuwait for its handling of the Bidun issue. Most of the Bidun people are not allowed to work, obtain a drivers license, or are allowed to travel as they lack any travel documents. Despite the Government's claims of trying to solve this issue, it has mostly ignored all calls to put an end to the suffering of these people. It granted citizenships to less than 2000 bidoun families and failed to ease the restrictions on basic human rights imposed on more than 90,000 persons.

External links

* [http://www.hrw.org/reports/2000/kuwait/kuwait-04.htm Human Rights Watch]

http://www.refugeesinternational.org/content/article/detail/10143/?mission=10080http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10219923


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