I would like to reassure the people of the territories of this critical point. We are not talking about masses of strangers coming to flood your respective islands, it is a very small percent of people with very deep connections to their fathers' homeland's by blood ("Jus sanguines"). We are one of the group's who have worked very hard to highlight the need to change this hurtful historical British nationality discrimination, which has been allowed to exist for many years since 1947 to 2006, and even perhaps even further back. It is designed to get formal citizenship by descent recognition for children, who are now adults, born overseas (not in a territory, e.g. the USA), out-of-wedlock, to an unmarried British Overseas Territories father, who like their parents, were born in British Overseas Territories and have long-standing family descent connections to their home territories and the UK mainland. These are not strangers to your land, and please don;t think of them like this or with suspicion! Respectfully, they are very much part of each island's identity. Since 2014, the same category of children, who now adults, whose fathers' happen to be born on the mainland UK have been given this right. The BOT children of descent were left out intentionally, but the government promised to come back and remedy it. As it stands now, you have the same British nationality law regulating the whole thing, and giving it to one group and not the other. This is very unfair to people of your territories descent. It is extremely demeaning to us adult-children who already have suffered the indignity and shame of being branded less-than due to being born out-of-wedlock. Children of descent, like me, have done no wrong and are simply being denied the opportunity to be embraced and welcomed "officially" by their fathers' home countries and indeed mainland United Kingdom. I am quite sure in the eyes of Jesus, or any good descent human being, he/they would be embracing all children-of-descent no matter the marital status of their parents; he certainly would not be rejecting them. It is so important because it denies a child of descent the ability to become fully engaged in their parent's roots. Also worth noting is: anyone born after 2006 does not have to go through this ignominy, as the law is already written to support them. We hope the good people of the territories' and UK will see and recognize the need to support this vital act of justice & compassion. We are very much part of "Britishness" in all its unique and diverse forms. We want to enjoy family life without restriction. We want to be treated fairly and live in a world that is respectful. We have much to give, and are not her to just take. More information can be found at our website: www.botccampaign.org We would be happy to answer any further questions or concerns.
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