Before 1962, Kurds in Syria held full Syrian identity and enjoyed citizenship rights in fields of education, employment, elections, and other basic civil rights.
But in 1962 came a pivotal turning point; on October 5th, 1962, an exceptional census was carried out in Al-Hasakah under the pretext of « verifying illegal presence on the northern borders ».
The census resulted in stripping about 120,000 Kurds of Syrian citizenship, categorizing them into two groups: « Al-Hasakah foreigners »: holding a red card. and those with unrecorded status: having no legal existence in official registries.