A dialogue about freedom, statelessness and the power of the mind
What does freedom mean when you officially don't belong to any country in the world? In dialogue with the Museum of Values, activist Christiana Bukalo shares her profound story. It's a tale of the painful realities of statelessness, the limits of freedom of travel, and the discovery that sometimes the only truly free place is one's own mind.
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The shock: When a personal fate becomes a global crisis
Christiana Bukalo was born stateless in Germany. But it wasn't her personal distress alone that led to the founding of her organization "State Free." The real trigger was shock. "I thought there were maybe 50 stateless people worldwide," she recalls. "Then I discovered there were 15 million. That made me incredibly angry." This realization transformed a personal fate into a global mission.
What does statelessness mean? The reality behind the term
Being stateless means not being recognized as a citizen by any country in the world. It's not a matter of feeling, but of legal reality.
The airport experience: When freedom of travel ends
The consequences are brutal. Christiana recounts her attempt to travel to Morocco. Despite having a valid travel document for stateless persons, she was denied entry. She was stuck at the airport for 20 hours. "A travel document says you can travel to any country—but it doesn't say how. The right to travel does not imply the right to enter." A painful lesson in how fundamental human rights are tied to citizenship.
The search for freedom: A photo and a painful memory
When asked what freedom symbolizes for her, she falls silent. "It was very difficult for me to bring something that represents freedom because, to be honest, I've never really experienced true freedom." She shows a photo of herself as a child. It was taken during a rare respite from life in the asylum, when her family was looking after the home of a family away from home.
A house with stairs as a symbol
"That was probably my first real feeling of freedom as a child. They had a house with stairs—which seems normal to many, but wasn't for me." This memory shows how fundamental and yet unattainable freedom is for many.
The laptop as refuge: The inviolable freedom of the mind
Where do you find freedom when the outside world denies it? Christiana points to her laptop. It's her tool, but also her symbol of the only space no one can take away from her.
"When things get really difficult emotionally [...] I remind myself that they can't take my mind and my thoughts away from me." In that moment, she formulates one of the most powerful definitions of freedom:
"The only true freedom I have now, and which I deeply value, is my mind and everything that happens in it." - Christiana Bukalo
State Free: Creating Outer Freedom from Inner Strength
This inner freedom is the driving force behind her activism. With her organization "State Free," she fights to change these structures and enable real, tangible freedom for other stateless people. It is the act of transforming one's own resilience into a tool for collective liberation.
Her message to all of us is a call for empathy and reflection: "In moments of your own freedom, reflect on how this may not be possible for others. Try to live life in a way that respects the freedoms of others."
