Part 1 and Part 2 of this piece...
Or read the whole Ending Statelessness or Ending Statehood? *** In the “Open Letter to End Statelessness” of UNHCR they ask you to sign “and become part of the global movement to end this injustice.” Their letter starts with: “#IBELONG to a world where everyone has the right to a nationality.” #IDONOTBELONG to a world where everyone has to have a nationality to live a dignified human life. #IBELONG to a world where everyone has the right to basic human needs to live a dignified life without having to have a nationality. As there is no such world, or as we don't live in such a world, #IDONOTBELONG So now let me go through the rest of the letter as I did with the ENS campaign: UNHCR: Across the world today more than ten million people are told they don’t belong ANYWHERE. They are called ‘stateless’. They are denied a nationality. And with it, they are denied their basic rights. Statelessness can mean a life without education, without medical care, or legal employment. It can mean a life without the ability to move freely, without prospects, or hope. Statelessness is inhumane. G: It's not Statelessness that's inhumane. It's the world political system that deprives and denies a person to live like a human being, to lead a normal life if s/he doesn't belong to a state... That's what's INHUMANE! And why should they be told they don't belong anywhere? They belong to the WORLD, they belong to HUMANITY. We all do. #IDON'TWANT2BELONG2ASTATE #IWANT2BELONG2THEWORLD #IWANT2BELONG2HUMANITY . To whatever is left of it... UNHCR: The main reason people are stateless is because of discrimination. Because of their ethnicity. Because of their religion. Because in some countries women cannot pass their nationality on to their children. We believe it’s time to end this injustice. With enough courage we know it is possible. G: With enough courage?? What courage are you talking about? Yes, governments should have the guts to annihilate people's dependence on themselves instead of making us their subjects. The discrimination of people according to the state which they “belong” to needs to end. That's the injustice that has to be put to an end and its time is way past. UNHCR: Governments can change their laws and procedures, and give stateless people their rights and a place to belong. Within ten years, we can ensure everyone has a nationality. Because if we don’t this injustice will only get worse. G: Yes, surely governments can change their laws and procedures, and give people a right to choose where they want to belong. I'm not sure if we can ensure anything within a decade. It will probably take much more than that for nationality to become history the way it is defined and works today. But we certainly need to start doing something about this now, because if we don't, this huge injustice that almost everybody takes for granted will only get worse. UNHCR: A child is born stateless every ten minutes. By the time you finish reading this letter another person may have started life without a nationality. We are ready to make our voices heard. We believe that if we take a stand, others will join us. And if enough of us stand up we will end this inhumanity. That is why UNHCR has launched the Campaign to End Statelessness in 10 years. Sixty years ago, the world agreed to protect stateless people. Now it’s time to end statelessness itself. G: Huh! I am ready to make my voice heard but it is of no use. Not even on the cyberspace does anybody hear me. People are too busy reading other things. Even “followers” or friends do not read. People do not have the time or the mind to read and try to understand long and analysing articles. We are fed up by the hot topics of the day which seem to never end. We seem to never have a lack of “news” to follow up in the world. I'm not sure if I take a stand, others will join us. In fact, I have taken a stand and not many joined. True, if enough of us stand up, we could end this inhumanity. Trouble is... There isn't enough of us. And it seems there will not be enough of us for a long time. I search until the horizon, there doesn't seem too much hope. Still... I refuse to give up hope and leave these notes on the cyberspace hoping my message will reach someone one day. I do not care much what the world agreed to sixty years ago. That was a different time and age. Now it’s time to end statehood itself. #TIME2ENDSTATEHOOD To Be Continued... Or read the whole Ending Statelessness or Ending Statehood?
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