Farah: Syrian in Lebanon and Lebanese in Syria
Farah was born in Beirut in 1995, to a Lebanese mother and a Syrian father. Her mother used to obtain student residence permit for her and her 3 sisters on an annual basis. Back then, the information issued by the general security regarding Lebanese mothers and their children were very ambiguous, so Farah’s mother used to ask for these annual permits, until she discovered by coincidence that she could ask for the infamous courtesy residency permit.
Theodora: Her Gender made her an incomplete Lebanese citizen
“No words express the extent of the injustice that befalls us as women. What is this country that treats me as an incomplete citizen and rejects my daughter and deprives her of her right to be Lebanese?" With these words Theodora begins.
Heba: Many obstacles, limited options.
Heba's father used to work in the Palestinian National Crescent, and in the early nineties he had three options: either to immigrate to Europe, or to stay here and obtain Lebanese citizenship, or to stay here while refusing citizenship. He chose to stay because he was attached to this land, but he refused the Lebanese nationality as a principle related to the Palestinian cause.