Mohammad (left) and his brother Anwar should be enjoying their teenage years. Instead, because they were born into the Bedoun community of Kuwait, they are now living as asylum seekers in squalid conditions in the Jungle camp near Calais, desperately waiting to find a way to reach Britain.
The Bedoun community of some 300,000 people are people who were born and raised in Kuwait, but who are not allowed to go to school or university. They are also denied access to the job market, and even their births and deaths aren’t registered by the authorities. Bedoun, in Arabic, means “without”.
Mohammad, now 16, told MSF that had he stayed in Kuwait he wouldn’t have a life at all, though he dreams of learning English and having a future.
Anwar, his 15-year-old brother, said shyly that he wants to become a doctor.
They travelled to France alone, dreaming of reaching Britain — where their father was smuggled over a year ago.
Their mother and their three sisters remain in Kuwait and all their father’s attempts to bring the family over to Britain have been fruitless so far.
“We want to live in a place where we are treated like human beings,” said Mohammad.
Now, as the fate of the Jungle camp grows ever more uncertain, they are terrified.
“There is talk they want to raze the entire Jungle. For us, that’s awful news, because there is no way back for us to Kuwait, even if we wanted to go back,” Mohammad added.
“We want to get to Britain before it is razed, so we can bring our mother and our sisters over too.”
The Bedoun community of some 300,000 people are people who were born and raised in Kuwait, but who are not allowed to go to school or university. They are also denied access to the job market, and even their births and deaths aren’t registered by the authorities. Bedoun, in Arabic, means “without”.
Mohammad, now 16, told MSF that had he stayed in Kuwait he wouldn’t have a life at all, though he dreams of learning English and having a future.
Anwar, his 15-year-old brother, said shyly that he wants to become a doctor.
They travelled to France alone, dreaming of reaching Britain — where their father was smuggled over a year ago.
Their mother and their three sisters remain in Kuwait and all their father’s attempts to bring the family over to Britain have been fruitless so far.
“We want to live in a place where we are treated like human beings,” said Mohammad.
Now, as the fate of the Jungle camp grows ever more uncertain, they are terrified.
“There is talk they want to raze the entire Jungle. For us, that’s awful news, because there is no way back for us to Kuwait, even if we wanted to go back,” Mohammad added.
“We want to get to Britain before it is razed, so we can bring our mother and our sisters over too.”
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