We met Razan and her family in 2011 in their home, in a neighbourhood of Abu Dis which is separated from the rest of the community by the West Bank Barrier and can be freely accessed only through East Jerusalem.

❝In our neighbourhood,❞ her mother Salam told us, ❝there are four families of West Bank ID holders who, after the Wall was built, are stuck on the Jerusalem side without Jerusalem ID cards or permits to stay in Jerusalem.❞

Razan's father is one of those 'West-Bankers' whom Israel does not recognize as Jerusalem residents and therefore need permits to stay in Jerusalem.

In the absence of such a permit, in 2010, he had to leave and reside on the other side of the Barrier.

Razan and her siblings lived without their father for more than six months.

❝The children have a hard time separated from their father. Every time they say a prayer, they ask God to give their father a permit to bring him back to them.

❝However, I can’t risk my or the children’s status [Jerusalem residents] by moving to the [other side] to live with him.❞