On 23 August 1962, the government conducted a special population census only for the province of "Jazira" based on reports of illegal infiltration of tens of thousands of Turkish Kurds into Syria. As a result, around 120,000 Kurds in Jazira (20% of Syrian Kurds) were stripped of their Syrian citizenship even though they were in possession of Syrian identity cards. The inhabitants who had Syrian identity cards were told to hand them over to the administration for renewal. However, many of those Kurds who submitted their cards received nothing in return. Many were arbitrarily categorized as "ajanib" ('foreigners'), while others who did not participate in the census were categorized as "maktumin" ('unregistered'), an even lower status than the "ajanib"; for all intents and purposes, these unregistered Kurds did not exist in the eyes of the state. They could not get jobs, become educated, own property or participate in politics. In some cases, classifications varied even within Kurdish families: parents had citizenship but not their children, a child could be a citizen but not his or her brothers and sisters. Those Kurds who lost their citizenship were often dispossessed of their lands, which were given by the state to Arab and Assyrian settlers. A media campaign was launched against the Kurds with slogans such as "Save Arabism in Jazira!" and "Fight the Kurdish Menace!".