Rawan Al bash, a la dreta. Foto Lídia Vilalta
My name is Rawan Al bash, I am Palestinian Syrian, my father is a Palestinian refugee was forced to leave his own country with his family when he was 4 years old in 1984 to come to Syria and live there.
He was grown up there and had his own family when he got married from my mother a Syrian lady.
The issue of nationality
“I was born in Syria, my mother is Syrian but even though my mother is Syrian I can’t have the nationality of Syria in the law in Syria that woman is unable to pass their nationality to their children” that means I have no nationality though I belong to 2 countries…
The issue of being a refugee
I was born like a refugee, all Palestinian that live in Syria are refugees, though I have the same rights of the Syrian but I am a refugee. Syrian government believes that for those Palestinian if they were able to have the Syrian nationality since they born, those Palestinian will forget their rights like Palestinian and they will forget the right of return. But all Palestinian refugees have the right of return to their land, and giving them the nationality will makes them forget their land and accept the Syrian nationality and by the time the Palestinian people will be disappeared totally.
Being a part of the civil society to enlighten and inform those Palestinian refugees about their rights, especially their right of return to their homeland, being involved with the social and political issues of the local society in Syria, the general public issues, being a witness the huge changes that happening in Syria,,, all these reasons establish a back ground that connected me more with the land, people, culture, society and my ID.
Issues that concern me
The great movement of Syria to Europe; Clashes; European countries are not perfect, bureaucracy, corruption. All the efforts we had made in Arab society to develop and change came to nothing. In Europe still they have preconceived ideas about all people who come from any Arab country: all are equal. I think about what could happen and could be done; What it is not right here or in Syria. Life could be less difficult; Being Muslim is not easy anywhere. The more liberal or more tough women; Being part of a new society, difficulties and facilities.
Palestine-Syria, civil engineering technique; coordinator and trainer in Arabic and English in refugee camps and teaching in both languages.
