Wadi al-Masharei

This poor neighborhood just outside of Damascus is populated mostly by Kurds, most of whom are known as Maktoumin, or those whose records are officially sealed. The Maktoumin are descendants of Kurds whose been stripped of their citizenship back in 1961 following a highly controversial census. The Maktoumin are not considered Syrian citizens by the ruling Baath regime, with its official Arabist ideology, they cannot hold government jobs, own property, bequeath or inherit property, or go to college. But they are required to do their military service and pay taxes. This is what so many Maktoumin refer to bitterly as Baath justice. Maktoumin often live in shantytowns like the one shown here. According to widely accepted estimates, their number around 300,000 inhabitants.

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