I still hadn’t started school, in the early 1990s, one day we went to visit one of our relatives and I was playing with my cousin in the alley. A childish argument broke out and both sides were using the word “Afghani” as an insult towards each other. I didn’t understand why “Afghani” had to be an insult; to be honest, I still don’t understand..

These days, as opposition to the presence of citizens of Afghanistan (whom I will refer to as Afghans from now on) is on the rise, I often think about it. I carefully read the arguments of both supporters and opponents and think about what can prevent one from the other (in this case, Afghans) and at the same time address the concerns of those who are against their presence. Based on this, I first list the reasons for opposition to their presence, as far as I have seen, and then examine each one separately.

1. Security risk of millions of people present in the country without identification and identity documents.

2. Losing their job due to low wages.

3. Their use of the subsidies that belong to the people of Iran;

4. Committing crimes by Afghans.

5. The ugliness of the cities of Iran;

6. Feeling of insecurity due to the presence of foreign nationals in the country.

1) Well, there is no doubt that the presence of millions of foreign nationals in a country without proper identification documents can be dangerous. But this statement needs to be verified, which is beyond our capabilities. Afghan identity documents in Iran are diverse: residence card, passport (in various individual and family forms, with or without visa), student residence permit (known as “Barghi Madreseha” in the Afghan community), census card, and sometimes travel permit. It goes without saying that those who possess any of these documents are registered in the Foreign Nationals and Immigrants Affairs Office (BAFIA) and are not without documents. Their address, personal information, and even biometric data are in the possession of the Iranian government. It is not possible to accurately determine how many of these document holders are residing in Iran and how many are completely without documents. Any statistics are mere speculation and cannot be relied upon. It is the duty of the law enforcement forces to identify and determine the fate of

2) Afghans living in Iran with a degree are required to obtain a work permit. This permit may vary depending on the region they live in, but it usually does not include jobs related to health and nutrition. Additionally, jobs that are typically in demand in different regions are more likely to be approved for Afghans. As a result, Afghans fill in the gaps left by Iranian workers in every region they are present in, making competition for jobs scarce or intense. It should also be noted that Afghans are completely prohibited from entering sixteen provinces in Iran, and in the authorized provinces, certain areas are designated as off-limits for them. Therefore, there is no job competition in the sixteen provinces and only in certain areas in the authorized provinces.

3) For years, the Iranian government has been pursuing the best plan to target subsidies. This includes Iranians as well. Plans such as rationing, allocation based on place of residence, allocation based on income, and even based on foreign trips have been proposed, but still, in cases like bread, even with inaccurate regional rationing, this targeting has not been implemented. An example of this is the heavy burden on the Iranian economy, which is gasoline being sold at the same price for both multi-million dollar cars and multi-billion dollar cars. Since this subsidy is the share of the Iranian people, the government is obligated to optimize and target it, as they claim. As a result, as long as they do not do this, it is not possible to sell bread to Afghan workers at a higher price without the existence of the bread law. In fact, it is not possible to hold Afghan or Iraqi citizens or anyone else responsible for the Iranian government’s failure to act.

4) A few years ago, my mobile phone was stolen by a few of my fellow citizens in Tehran and they also stabbed me with a knife. This made me more cautious and of course I held the police responsible. This does not absolve the individual thief of responsibility. In fact, committing a crime is a personal matter and one person from the Iranian community can be a thief or a murderer, and we cannot blame all Iranians for their crime. Anyone who commits a crime anywhere in the world must be held accountable to the law. The police should also make it more difficult to commit crimes by implementing preventive measures. Currently, there is no accurate statistics on the rate of crime in the country with a breakdown by nationality and origin; therefore, we cannot attribute insecurity and crime to Afghans; unless it is proven in court and at that time, the individual should be held responsible, not all Afghans. With the same logic, it is obvious that we cannot blame the Iranian nationality for

(5 and 6) I do not answer cases 5 and 6. The reason is that case 5 is very subjective and someone may feel that seeing a fellow countryman in Balochi, Kurdish or any other local clothing has made the city ugly. Another person may feel the same way about a fellow countryman with or without a veil. Case 6 is the same and in my opinion, the person who has such feelings should focus more on themselves and their sense of security rather than the outside world. Because xenophobia can be an ocean of statements that can take away peace from a person and be ignited by any sparks. This spark can be an Afghan or a fellow countryman of the person.

“When resources become scarce – like the economic problems currently present in Iran – the struggle for obtaining resources increases. This can lead to class, ethnic, or national conflicts and sometimes place the responsibility on individuals who are themselves victims of the situation, not the cause. Governments or right-wing groups may take advantage of this situation for their own gain and deepen the divides. Governments may cover up their own failures in economic or security fields, while right-wing groups use nationalist sentiments to sell more of their slogans during elections. In the midst of all this, it is the innocent who suffer. Those who wear Afghan clothing in Iran or Hazaras who have sought refuge in Iran due to persecution in Afghanistan, may be victims who have no place to call home, neither in exile nor in their own country. I hope Afghans know that there are still people like me in Iran who not only want to seek refuge from tyranny and cruelty, but also hope for a change in Afghanistan’s destiny and for them to experience prosperity