Khaberni - Artist Ayman Reda demanded Syrian citizenship and a national number, emphasizing that the matter can no longer be postponed for him.
Legal loophole
He said during his appearance on the program «Last Question»: «Postponing my acquisition of Syrian citizenship is now unjustifiable in light of the current transformations», stressing the importance of making a decision in this matter that ends the waiting situation he has been living for years, confirming that obtaining the national number has become fundamental for him.
He added that carrying a passport without a national number is no longer acceptable and represents a legal gap that disrupts my life inside and outside Syria.
Reda continued: «I no longer accept carrying a Syrian passport that does not have a national number, if it doesn't have a national number, I won't accept it», indicating that his deprivation over the past years from obtaining Syrian citizenship contradicts his affiliation and professional career.
Ayman Reda highlighted his artistic career that spans decades and his works that formed part of the memory of Syrian drama, confirming that this presence does not agree with his current legal status.
A crisis since birth
The crisis of artist Ayman Reda's citizenship dates back to his birth to an Iraqi father and a Syrian mother, and he did not obtain Syrian citizenship according to the laws in place in the previous phase, despite his settlement in Syria.
Years ago, Ayman Reda revealed in an interview with the media personality Rabia Al-Zayat that he does not hold Syrian citizenship, explaining that he was born to an Iraqi father and a Syrian mother, therefore he was denied it, and at the time described the existing laws as bad, since he was born in Syria to a Syrian mother and studied and works there as well as his wife being Syrian. Yet, he and his children still do not have Syrian citizenship. The laws in place in Syria do not grant the mother's nationality to her children, unless the father is Syrian, which means he does not have the right to own the identity, although over the past years the laws allowed Arabs of other nationalities to stay and reside in Syria without a visa, and Ayman Reda refused years ago to renounce Iraqi citizenship in order to obtain Syrian citizenship.
