Journal
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Antigone in Exile: On Bombs, Borders, and the Silence We Refuse
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While Israel rained missiles on Iranian cities and the Islamic Republic intensified its internal repression, I found myself sitting on ancient stone, watching Antigone under the open sky in Epidaurus. I am a political refugee from Iran—exiled, but not erased. This reflection is not just about one night of theater…
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We Are Not Your Martyrs: On Resistance, Racism, and Revolution
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This morning, as I was going through the news, the images of a protest in front of the University of Tehran caught my attention—slogans full of nationalist passion, and that during the days of Muharram and Ashura! Hadn’t they been telling us for forty years that the entire Islamic worldview,…
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Iranian Labour Unions Condemn Mass Deportation of Afghan Migrants
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Two Iranian labour organizations have condemned the mass deportation of Afghan migrants as “organized inhumanity” and “a political cover-up” for the Islamic Republic’s domestic and regional failures. According to official figures, more than 380,000 Afghan nationals have been expelled from Iran in a short period, mostly through the Dogharoun border…
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“What’s Happening in Iran?” A Question with No Easy Answer
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One of my friends asked me, “What’s happening in Iran?” It was a simple question, but answering it has become not only difficult, but terrifying. In a country struck by both repression and missiles, it’s not just the roofs that collapse—language has collapsed too. People are trapped under rubble, but…
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Seven Women in Evin Prison Speak Out Against War
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Two separate but politically aligned statements from seven imprisoned Iranian women — all feminist and labor rights activists currently held in Tehran’s Evin Prison — have emerged, calling for an end to war, foreign aggression, and authoritarian rule. The statements sharply criticize both the Israeli government’s military assault on Iran…
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Palestine Between Propaganda and Betrayal
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As expected, the IAEA has finally issued its resolution against Iran. Now, the case will likely be reviewed by the UN Security Council. In response, the Islamic regime quickly claimed it would build a new enrichment facility in a “more secure” location! But that means it would take at least…
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2024: The Year of Gradual Collapse of Labor Rights
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In a year when nearly half of the world’s population is expected to vote, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has released a report that goes beyond just another annual overview of labor conditions. The 2024 Global Rights Index doesn’t just map how labor rights are respected or violated in…
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Guernica in Tehran: From Anti-War Icon to Tool of Hypocrisy
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In a time when the world is blurred by the smoke and fire of wars, the exhibition of one of the most famous anti-war paintings of the 20th century—Guernica by Pablo Picasso—in Tehran is not just ironic; it’s a symbolic disaster. Guernica was created in memory of the brutal bombing…
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The Racism of Anti-Racists: Bourdieu, Said, and Inverted Orientalism
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There’s a kind of violence that doesn’t wear a uniform, doesn’t raise its voice, and doesn’t need to spill blood to be effective. It speaks in well-published books, sits on academic panels, tweets in solidarity, and signs petitions. It insists on cultural understanding. It warns against Western arrogance. It tells…
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What Happened to Protection?
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I have lived in Athens for eight years. Long enough to know its rhythms, and long enough to watch the word “protection” disappear. Every headline speaks of “illegal immigration,” every policy turns arrival into suspicion. The system doesn’t ask why you came—it asks how. And in that shift, survival becomes…
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They Made Her a Metaphor, Then Made Her Illegal
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I still remember the first time I watched Baran. It was 2001. That film did something rare—it showed us what we already knew but refused to admit: that Afghan migrants were building our cities, stone by stone, and sleeping in their shadows. In those years, I saw the world behind…
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Banners in the Wind, Walls at the Border
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In late 2006, I took part in a small gathering in Sanandaj for World Children’s Day. We held signs that said children deserve education, not war—hardly a radical demand. Most of us were under 25. Some were students, some workers, some artists. We were thinking about Afghan children without access…
