Qurbet Gurbeti Nawar People of Aleppo and Afrin

Description

This report comprehensively examines the Dom people of northern Syria before the 2011 conflict, revealing their extreme vulnerability stemming from deep-seated social, economic, and legal marginalization. It identifies the Dom as a distinct Indo-Aryan group, often mislabeled with pejorative exonyms like Nawar or Qurbāṭ, and highlights their survival strategy of "invisibility" to avoid discrimination. The text details their clan-based social structure, traditional crafts, and endangered Domari language, emphasizing how modernization eroded their livelihoods, pushing them into more precarious work. Finally, the report analyzes their fractured legal status, where many were unregistered or stateless due to Syria's patrilineal nationality laws, a situation catastrophically exacerbated by the ensuing conflict.

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Created on: September 04, 2025