Citizens of Nowhere

[Philip_B]

“I Was Born and Raised in Egypt, But I am Stateless.” Meet the Man Creating a Whole New Country

Is it time to contemplate the meaning of nationhood and statehood?

“I WAS BORN AND RAISED IN EGYPT, BUT I AM STATELESS.” MEET THE MAN CREATING A WHOLE NEW COUNTRY

Born to Palestinian parents, Mohamed Al Borno is one of 10 million "invisible" people who don't have citizenship worldwide, so, he is setting out to use filmmaking, blockchain, and disruptive ideas to challenge the traditional notion of a nation-state by creating a radically new country.

“I was born and raised in Egypt, but I am stateless,” he says. “My parents were Palestinian refugees, and if you are born in Egypt to non-Egyptian parents, you don’t get to become Egyptian. My parents were one of those refugees who are not allowed to live in Palestine, so I can’t live in one place more than five years, I have to renew my visa every time,” he says as he sits on the bank of the Nile in Sohag, where he travelled to head a speech for Techne Drifts, to inspire Egyptian youth to stay true to themselves and shape their own future.

- - - o O o - - -​

There are currently in the world some 60 million persons who are refugees, asylum seekers, or internally displaced persons (IDP). Whilst we can easily be concerned about those to scuttle across the borders (be it Mexico, Australia's Northern Coastline, The Tunnel, The Bosporus, ...) it seems no one has the vision to start seeing a population 3 times that of Australia, 1.5 times that of Spain as an issue that needs addressing in a meaningful way that looks for real solutions.

- - - o O o - - -​

At the Funeral of Lady Diana Spencer one hymn that was sung and probably pretty out of fashion these days included:

I vow to thee, my country
All earthly things above
Entire and whole and perfect
The service of my love

The love that asks no questions
The love that stands the test
That lays upon the alter
The dearst and the best

The love that never falters
The love that pays the price
The love that makes undaunted
The final sacrifice

And there's another country
I've heard of long ago
Most dear to them that love her
Most great to them I know

We may not count her armies
We may not see her King
Her fortress is a faithful heart
Her pride is suffering

And soul by soul and silently
Her shining bounds increase
And her ways are ways of gentleness
And all her paths are peace​

I guess I am interested in how people feel about the comparative worth of statehood and belonging in tribe, in a world where for so many this seems to be denied. And what should we as Christians (citizens of the other country) see as our response?

 

[Fish and Bread]

UN Declaration of Human Rights 1948:

Article 15.

(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

The treatment of Palestinians in occupied territory by Israel is in direct violation of international human rights standards. They are not given citizenship as part of either an independent Palestine or as Israelis with the right to vote and be represented in Israeli government. Israel is welcome to do one or the other, or both, but it can not continue to do neither- that is unacceptable as a permanent status quo, and it's been more than half a century, so it is hard for them to claim this is some sort of temporary makeshift situation while they work towards something better.

Egypt and Jordan have some issues in their treatment of Palestinian refugees, and I am not going to downplay the importance of them fixing those issues, too, *but* Israel is actually occupying Gaza and the West Bank, so the people there aren't refugees, they are people born in whatever country you want to call it- Israel, Palestine, etc.. And the reason there are refugee camps in Egypt and Jordan in the first place is because of the situation created by the wars in '48 and '67 (Mainly '67, right?) and the fact that Israel still isn't letting displaced persons return, by and large, even after all this time.

It's majority Christian countries that largely prop up Israel and allow it to continue to exist, and I think we need to start being firmer with them and insisting that they respect the rights of the people in the occupied territories, and the right of return for refugees and descendents of refugees who left during war-time and aren't being allowed back (An irony that Israel of all nations isn't allowing people to return to their homelands. The right of return for Jews to Israel is enshrined in their laws and national character- they'll let back a Jewish person who's last ancestors walked that soil thousands of years ago, but not a Christian or a Muslim Arab who fled in 1967 because of a war.). Some of these refugees and people living in Palestine actually *are* Christian, by the way, a fact that isn't often covered by the right-wing media due to a pro-Israel bias.

There are plenty of significant problems with what Arab Muslims are doing in Gaza, and I'll readily admit that. Hamas is horrible. However, we're not supplying them with weapons and money, or anything like that. We are, however, supplying Israel with weapons, money, logistical and intelligence support, and favorable trade agreements. So, we have a greater moral culpability in anything Israel does or doesn't do, and greater leverage, and we should feel obliged to use the leverage created to make our allies extend an olive branch and respect basic human rights. There are some terrorists and criminals in the occupied territories, but that's not everyone, and Israel needs to start making distinctions instead of punishing the innocent along with the guilty.

In fact, Israel is largely failing to even make distinctions between the relatively peaceful stable regional government in the West Bank, and the terrorist government in Gaza. I understand why Gaza can't be given it's independence right now, and I understand that the issue of East Jerusalem may have to be set aside to be negotiated later; but Israel could show good faith by simply giving the West Bank it's independence almost unilaterally (Perhaps with the caveat that UN Peacekeepers or some sort of international coalition can patrol in there for terrorists only) and offering Gazans Israeli citizenship and representation in the Israeli Parliament pending further negotiations with the aim of them eventually becoming either their own country or part of the Palestinian nation created on the west bank.

The thing is, Palestinians understandably after all these decades, and with Netanyahu launching missiles at schools that are designated shelters, while ruling out a two-state solution, and with Israel not putting citizenship on the table either, don't believe Israel is acting in good faith. Someone needs to make the first step towards peace. Israel is the strongest actor in the conflict and the one in the best position to move towards peace. That's not casting disproportionate blame on them, it's just saying that they need to be the ones to take the first steps toward peace- it's the only way that it will happen.

And, if Israel doesn't want peace, we need to stop giving them weapons and cease all forms of military and intelligence cooperation. I am not even necessarily saying cease trade or whatever. Just stop taking sides. Become neutral and let them pay for their own weapons until they are ready to obey international law and respect human rights standards. Same goes for the Gazans, but we already don't pay for their weapons.

And for the love of God, literally, Israel needs to stop building settlements in occupied territory. There is no justification in the world for that. They are moving backwards.