My name is Maha Mamo.
I’m stateless.
Do you know what “stateless” means?
Stateless is a person who has no motherland,
has no nationality, no passport,
you have no role to say that this person exists.
There is nothing.
As you know, you get nationality in two ways:
or the land where you are born, as here in Brazil and the USA,
or the origin of their parents,
as is the case in most European countries.
My mother is a Muslim, my father is a Christian.
They are Syrian.
In Syria, Muslim marriage to a Christian is illegal.
They fled Syria to Lebanon, married in Lebanon,
but in Lebanon, their marriage is not legal, it is not registered.
I was born in Lebanon,
but as in Lebanon you get nationality
only the origin of their parents,
I’m not Lebanese.
As in Syria my parents are not married, it is illegal,
I’m not Syrian.
So I’m not Lebanese, I’m not Syrian.
I’m from nowhere.
I was born, raised, lived in Lebanon for 26 years,
without any document that would identify me.
You may think that a document is a bureaucratic thing only:
“If this I can do without this document,
she might get another document, “
But this is not the case.
I’ll tell you a bit about the life of a stateless person,
of my life, of the life of my brother, of my sister
and other people who are stateless.
My curse as stateless began at the age of eight.
When I was eight, I liked to run, to compete.
He competed in school, but unfortunately,
I could not compete in the league with other schools.
I played basketball, but I played with friends.
I could not play to compete with other people.
After that, the deception of dreams began.
I wanted to do medicine.
When I went to first college, to enroll in medical school,
the director took all the documents, threw it in my face and said:
“Go, get your document and come back,”
but I had no document.
Work: who does not want to work in a very large company,
important as Toshiba?
I did two interviews and then they told me:
“Okay, we want you, but how?
Where’s your paper for you to work on? “
I did not make it.
The worst thing was when I went wrong.
I had a really bad allergy.
I got there at the hospital, two hospitals in Beirut,
and they did not answer me. Because?
Because there was no document,
because for them, even explaining that I am stateless,
that I do not have this kind of document,
for them it is not worth anything.
After that, in the day to day of your life, you will also suffer,
because, on a daily basis, if you want to buy a phone line,
you can not.
If you want to get married, you can not.
If you want a simple thing,
going out with friends to a nightclub, to enter and enjoy,
You also can not.
Until 2014, I thought that I, my brother and my sister were alone,
that there was no one else in this situation,
but [I’ve] discovered that the UN, the United Nations,
has a campaign called “I belong” – in Portuguese, “I belong” –
which is defending 10 million people worldwide
who are stateless.
It is not 1, not 2; are 10 million people who are stateless.
As in Lebanon, trying many things,
I saw that I had no hope or anything,
I began to see a little light of hope in the countries beyond,
in all countries of the world.
I said, “Why not? There are refugees and other people.
I’m going to escape to these countries.
I’m going to try to get a new life somewhere else. “
We sent, my brothers and I, our history.
I wrote that I can not do this, I can not do that,
and I sent it to all the embassies that existed in Lebanon, all of them.
The answers were always negative. At least I got answers.
Many said: “We want to help you, but where will we get your visa?
You do not have a passport! “,
but that’s my problem, that I do not have a passport.
The only country that welcomed me was Brazil.
(Living) (Applause)
It was the only country that welcomed me, which told me: “Welcome.”
I, in Brazil, from the first day I arrived here,
I have a CPF, I have a work permit,
and I have documents at least that I exist
within this territory that is slightly larger than Lebanon …
“a little” much … but bigger than Lebanon.
But the price of this change
was a bit loud.
I left my father and mother, all in Lebanon.
My friends, my whole life, stayed there.
Today, November 29,
It’s been five months since I lost my brother.
Was murdered
in an attempt to assault in Belo Horizonte,
in Belo Horizonte, a city that welcomed people,
city where I did not know anyone in Brazil,
but I was welcomed by a Brazilian family,
who welcomed us as family, and we met them through Facebook,
and we lived with them, my brother and my sister.
I lost him in an attempted assault,
and he died stateless,
he died without any nationality.
Now, I’m here because I’m fighting, I’m going to fight.
I will fight for my brother, I will fight for my sister,
I am going to fight for the 10 million [stateless] people that exist worldwide,
because I am here, you are seeing me, I exist,
like those 10 million people who are flesh and blood.
They exist.
I’ll fight for them to belong too.
Only I did not talk to UNHCR.
At the United Nations, we have a campaign called “I Belong”,
“I belong”.
I’ll want you, all your time, just a minute.
If you go to this site, www.unhcr.org/ibelong,
there is an open letter that you will find.
In this open letter, I am going to ask you to speak on my behalf,
on behalf of these 10 million people,
that they spread and speak loudly, because I want to exist and so do they.
I want you to publicize this campaign,
that you release this open letter, for everyone to sign.
At least we will have people who know our history,
that we are not a shadow that is in this life.
In your bags, if you open it, you have a blue bracelet.
Can I ask you guys to get her, please?
This blue bracelet is from Geneva, for you.
It is a small gift to remember my story,
and I want you, please put her and promise me
which, at least, you will divulge, will speak loudly.
You can put her on. Where is it?
Ah yes.
Because we’re going to change the world. I want to exist in this world.
I belong to this world.
I just want to take a picture … if you do this …
That.
Where is it?
(Live)
(English) I belong.
Thanks.
(Applause) (Live)
”
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