The Voice of a Girl in Exile: A Letter to the People of Iran

Image credit: Wakil Kohsar / AFP via Al-Monitor

Written by Mursal Qaisari, Afghan student in Pakistan

The forced deportation of Afghan migrants from Iran is the most tragic and heartbreaking news we hear these days. Thousands of Afghans who had built their lives in Iran for years are now forced to leave their homes, jobs, and return to Afghanistan.

Men, women, and children are all being sent back against their will, without any assistance, without shelter, and without any hope. This is not just a matter of migration or politics; it is a shared human pain.

What we ask from the people of Iran is to feel the pain of those who once left their homeland out of compulsion.

I am also a migrant who lives in Pakistan and studies. I have never been in Iran, but I deeply understand what it feels like to be away from one’s homeland and I feel the pain of my people who are treated unjustly. I know how difficult it is when you feel you do not belong anywhere.

Many people of Afghanistan did not migrate to Iran by their own choice but because they were searching for safety. Thousands of Afghans over the past years fled war, poverty, persecution, and sought refuge in Iran. They only had simple hopes; to survive, to work, to see their daughters go to school, and to keep their sons away from war.

But now, these people are being driven out with tearful eyes and with the sorrow of losing everything they had tirelessly built over the years in Iran.

Images from the Afghanistan-Iran border tell us the real stories. These photos show children sleeping on ground, mothers with weary faces, and silent men with eyes full of pain. No one asks where they will go, what they will do, or who will support them.

These people are not criminals, but they are treated like criminals. Most of them have worked in Iran for years, served the people of Iran, even bought homes, and some of them have even established their own businesses. But now, all of them have been forced to leave Iran. Even those who were born and raised in Iran are facing forced deportation.

But why is the world still silent? The international community must be aware of this situation. They must open their eyes. The world must not remain a silent spectator.

The deportation of thousands of people, despite having lived in Iran for years, is an injustice. This is happening while Afghanistan itself is facing major challenges, and this deportation has added new crises to the country. Most of these individuals are unemployed, hopeless, and homeless, which worsens the situation.

As someone who lives in exile, I know what it feels like to be away from your country. I did not leave my homeland by choice or with joy. I packed my bags because I had no other option. I was forced to choose migration so that I could continue my education and build a better future for myself.

Most of those who are now trapped between the borders of Afghanistan and Iran were just like me. They had dreams and goals, but no one heard them, and their dreams were buried between the borders.

Among these individuals were families who migrated to Iran solely for the sake of their daughters' education, but that dream remained just a dream.

What I ask from the people of Iran is only humanity, nothing more. We want you to feel our pain.

Mass deportation and humiliation in the streets and media not only hurt the conscience, but also damage the historic relationship between the two nations.

I ask the people of Iran not to allow this to happen and not to remain silent when they see Afghans suffering from such pain. I want them to feel the pain of a girl who has just left her country to pursue her education, or the pain of a man who left his family behind in Afghanistan and migrated to Iran so that he could support them.

All of them came to your country for a reason, and we want you to understand us.

Afghans and Iranians are not enemies. We are all human beings with a shared language and religion. When governments are silent, it is the people who must raise their voices.

This is what we ask of the people of Iran.

We migrants are human. Migration is pain, but it is not a crime.

Those who were once forced to leave should not be punished again for leaving behind the homes they built with great effort in another country.

Perhaps our voices are silent today, but we will never forget the pain of these days. One day, we too will rise, and the world will hear our voice. Until that day, the only thing we ask is to be treated with humanity.