“We should not expect the Afghan children to become friendly unless Iranians change their attitude toward them,” An Afghan school principal in Iran said.
According to “Voice of America Radio,” principal of “Culture” school that enrolls out of school Afghan children, Nader Mousavi said, “The real reasons for Afghan children quit school are disrespect and humiliation they are exposed to in the Iranian public schools.” During the “Child’s education: a way toward peace” conference in Tehran, Mousavi expressed his sorrow for the negative image Iranian children have about Afghan children, which reflects their parents’ beliefs, calling for the elimination of racism against the Afghan immigrants. He added, “Through the letters Afghan children write, we notice they complain of discrimination, disrespect, and humiliation inside the Iranian society.”
There are no accurate statistics about the number of Afghans residing in Iran. In fact, tension is growing between Afghan immigrants and Iranian citizens. Some reports mentioned that Afghans are beaten up and humiliated repeatedly by Iranians. Other reports said that Afghan students were prevented from going to school and other Afghan immigrants were prevented from entering public places such as parks.
Some humanitarian organizations have condemned the oppression of the Afghan immigrants and deprivation of their basic rights in Iran. This bad situation forced many of them to flee to other countries in search for self-respect and a better future for their children to avoid the same destiny of the Afghan girl Staish Quraishi who was raped and murdered by an Iranian young man last April.
