A new era has begun for Syria’s disenfranchised Kurdish community. In a packed hall in Qamishli's sports stadium in northeast Syria, Firas Ahmad is one of dozens of Kurds waiting to apply for citizenship after many in the minority were barred from doing so for decades.
Since last week, "unregistered" Kurds, who have been stateless since a controversial 1962 census, have been flocking to registration centers across Syria to apply for citizenship, based on the Interior Ministry's instructions.
"A person without citizenship is considered as good as dead," Ahmad, 49, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"Imagine not being able to register my children or our homes in our names," he said, adding that, "My grandfather never had citizenship, and we have been living without official documents ever since."
The move aligns with a new period in Syria’s northern neighbor, Türkiye. In 2024, Ankara launched the terror-free Türkiye initiative with a key goal: disarmament of the PKK terrorist group, which exploited Türkiye’s Kurds for decades. The initiative, in the words of its architects, primarily targets cementing unity between Turks and Kurds who fell victim to the PKK’s vicious campaign to carve out a so-called “Kurdistan” in the southeastern Türkiye. Through the initiative, Ankara also seeks to realize the goal of a “terror-free region” where the PKK’s wing in Syria is dissolved as well. Similar to the PKK’s goal, its wing in Syria, the YPG, has declared a self-styled autonomy in the northeast during the civil war. After the war ended and following a string of clashes, Damascus and the YPG finally agreed on a deal for the integration of the YPG into the army. In parallel with the deal, Syria also started restoring the rights of Kurds in the country.
On the tables facing long lines of people in Qamishli, registration forms were scattered along with personal photos and old documents, while government employees were recording the data.
The new measure follows Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's January decree granting citizenship to Kurds residing in the country, including those who have been unregistered for decades.
It also enshrines the Kurds' cultural and language rights, and recognizes Kurdish as a national language.
The integration included government forces entering the previously YPG-controlled cities of Hassakeh and Qamishli in February, and the appointment in March of senior YPG member Sipan Hamo as assistant defense minister for the eastern region, among other steps.
The lack of citizenship affected many aspects of daily life, from the inability to register births and property ownership to difficulties in studying, moving around, traveling and working, leaving many without full legal recognition of their existence.
"We suffered greatly," said Galya Kalash, a mother of five, speaking in Kurdish.
"My five children could not complete their education, and we could not travel at all. Even now, our house is not registered in our name."
Around 20% of Syria's Kurds were stripped of their Syrian nationality in a controversial 1962 census in the northeastern Hassakeh province.
Ali Mussa, a member of Hassakeh's Network of Statelessness Victims, told AFP that there are around 150,000 unregistered people in Syria today.
There are around 2 million Kurds in Syria, most of them in the northeast.
Mussa called on authorities to show "flexibility in implementing the decision and to provide facilities for residents outside Syria" who may not be able to travel due to their refugee status in Europe or fear of flight disruptions due to the Middle East war.
Authorities are expected to keep registration centers open for a month.
Abdallah al-Abdallah, a civil affairs official in the Syrian government, told AFP the period could be extended.
"The most important compensation for these people is gaining citizenship after being deprived of it for all these years," he said.
In the registration center, Mohammed Ayo, 56, said not having citizenship made him feel "helpless," including being unable to get a driver's license or book a hotel room in the capital Damascus, as it required prior security clearance.
"You study for many years, and in the end they say you have no certificate," he said, adding that, after finishing high school, he was unable to obtain an official document to study at university. "We did not even have the right to run for office or vote."
