A Stateless People Living in the Shadow of Wealth

In the oil-rich Arab Gulf, hundreds of thousands of people live with no legal identity. They are al-Bedoon. In Arabic, their name means “those without.”

The history of the Bedoon begins in 1961 when the fledgling nation of Kuwait gained independence from the British Empire. Kuwaiti families were required to register to receive citizenship.

The Bedoon say their forefathers, tribes of Arab nomads who couldn’t read, didn’t know they had to register with the government. After borders were drawn, they continued living as they always had, moving their herds across the desert.

Their forefathers, tribes of Arab nomads who couldn’t read, didn’t know they had to register with the government.

Today the Bedoon make up 10% of Kuwait’s population. Many live in flimsy shacks in the towering shadows of modern apartment buildings.

On paper, the Bedoon don’t exist. With no legal identity, they can’t own homes or property, and they don’t have access to state-funded secondary education and healthcare. As stateless citizens, they lack the right to vote, and they hold the lowest-paid jobs.

Lost in the shadow of the country’s privileged classes, it’s no surprise that the Bedoon feel hopeless.

It wasn’t always like this. Immediately after independence, the Bedoon helped build the country’s infrastructure. Until the 1980s, many Bedoon had government jobs in the oil industry, military, and police. They fought in the armed forces during the 1991 Gulf War.

Lost in the shadow of the country’s privileged classes, it’s no surprise that the Bedoon feel hopeless.

But after the war, the government narrowed down who could benefit from the nation’s increasing oil profits. Some political leaders started alleging that the Bedoon were nomads who had quietly drifted in from other countries to cash in on the country’s wealth.

Restlessness is growing among the Bedoon. The last decade has seen a rising tide of protests from the Bedoon community. During the Arab Spring of 2011, police broke up Bedoon protests for citizen rights.

Christ is building a church that is a home for all peoples—for the Bedoon, for those who don’t belong, and for all who are without.

Of Zacchaeus, a man who didn’t belong, Jesus said:

“Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” — Luke 19:9–10

Christ welcomes the Bedoon into His body. He invites them to receive their inheritance of salvation as children of Abraham. Who will bring them this message? Until they hear and receive the Good News, the Bedoon will always feel lost.