Name: Chisom
Date of birth: 29 December 2003
Country of birth: The Netherlands
Nationality: unknown

Chisom and her sister Vanessa long to be like every other teenager. But because their mother died in childbirth whilst their asylum procedure was still under way and their father can’t be traced, the municipality has them registered as ‘nationality unknown’. Their nationality has never been established, and their Dutch foster mother Irene has been fighting for years to have their status changed to ‘stateless’. This would enable them to apply for Dutch nationality – provided they are still minors. On reaching adulthood, the process would get more complicated. Time was running short. How can they prove they fall under any of the 195 recognized nationalities?

Update 2018:
In 2018, Vanessa and Chisom’s case was finally resolved. After their photos and story were shown in the Rijksmuseum in 2017, the media in their hometown asked for clarification about their status. The rigid bureaucracy suddenly became flexible. Vanessa and Chisom were given Dutch citizenship in late 2017.
“It was a tick in a municipal box. That’s how simple it can be,” says Irene. “That tick ended our years-long struggle for the girls.