Individual and social identity is formed through interaction and collective communication. Family and then school are the first social groups where an individual distinguishes themselves from others, finds their identity, and can develop it based on political, social, and economic conditions. In Iran, individuals need identity documents such as birth certificates to benefit from social and economic privileges. Those who do not have identity documents in Iran are deprived of receiving any social benefits such as medical services or economic benefits such as subsidies. By providing a ration card to purchase bread, these individuals will also be deprived of eating bread.

The old man was sitting on the sidewalk next to the pedestrian walkway with his shopping bags. A girl slowly passed by him. The old man called out to her with a trembling voice: “My dear, can you help me?” The girl stopped and turned towards him. The old man, with tearful eyes and a crooked smile, said calmly: “I am lost. I don’t know where I am. I don’t know who I am.” The girl approached him, taken aback, and asked: “Are you feeling okay?” The old man replied: “I don’t know. I can’t remember. I don’t know what happened.” The girl took his hand, put down his shopping bags, and said: “Have you even forgotten your name? Would you like me to get you some water?” The old man answered: “I don’t know anything.” His voice choked up and his shoulders trembled. The girl asked for permission to check his pockets and

If a neurologist hears a high narrative, he may say that an old man has developed Alzheimer’s; a disease of memory loss; but can anyone forget themselves? Who am I? What was my name? Where did I come from? The concept of self and others and the ability to distinguish between “self” and “other” is a problem that has engaged philosophy, sociology, and psychology for centuries. The question of who I am is a question of self-reflection, but this “I” (1) that is described in relation, similarity, and difference with “we” and “they” is the result of each person’s historical, social, political, and lived experience. Each “I” uses common and opposing identities in introducing themselves to others and the surrounding environment. This “I” or, as Freud would say, the “self” is undeveloped in children, in crisis in adolescents, and something that has taken shape in adults, but is fluid.

“I” always knows who it is and doesn’t know; it knows when it wants to introduce itself to someone else or it knows when it thinks about itself; and it doesn’t know who it is because it can’t have a unified and consistent “self”. Time, place, and surroundings all influence “I” and make it impossible to have absolute access to itself. Social life is influential in shaping one’s identity or understanding of oneself and others. In social life, a person becomes “I” and can create their unique identity and at the same time shape their social identity, but how do these identities take shape?

In traditional societies and social groups, personal identity was formed within the refuge of social identity. This means that an individual could introduce themselves not only as a completely independent and unique human being, but also as a member of a social group. The defining element of identity was a collective identity. This identity was often the name of a tribe or clan, which referred to the person’s way of life and geography. Additionally, this identity or personal identity was not tied to economic privileges. Each individual had a duty and responsibility within their tribe or group and used the resources available to them. With the emergence of great civilizations, the concept of “self” became a philosophical issue. It was after civilization that humans began to search for a distinguishing characteristic from others and uniqueness within themselves.

But what we know today about “I” is the achievement of the modern era. Modernity and its pursuit of modernism have transformed all past definitions of “I” and created the meaning of “identity”. The emergence of this new “identity” has become entangled with new political, social, and economic laws and rights. Modern society has changed the individual’s access to society through a new division of social labor and separation of systems. Now, a simple and collective identity is no longer sufficient for self-introduction. Depending on who they want to be introduced to, whether it be a person, group, or subsystem, and what privileges they want, the individual needs a document to prove their claim of identity.

One of the characteristics that modern society has preserved from the past is the system of scoring. (2) In modern society, in order for an individual to be accepted, integrated, and benefit from scores, they must be verified by the upper-level government agency and law, and these authorities must recognize them as citizens; also, individuals must earn scores in order to advance and obtain official social identity; for example, they must have a suitable educational degree or possess special skills and talents in order to find a job and receive welfare benefits. The government, as a private distributor of public resources, assigns a numerical identification to citizens, which serves as their personal identity. Public resources are only available to individuals who have this numerical identification; for example, by presenting this identification and number to the education subsystem, they can access educational facilities, or by using the health subsystem, they can receive cheaper or even free medical services, find a job, buy a house, and experience a normal social life. Anyone who does

In Iran, the issue is more complicated. The system of government, such as the Islamic Republic, makes it much harder for individuals to access public resources compared to developed Western societies. Obtaining an identity card, as the first form of identification for accessing public resources, is only possible through a father or legal guardian who must have Iranian citizenship. A person without an identity card in Iran has no access to any facilities; it’s as if they don’t live here. Official government statistics state that approximately half a million people in Iran do not have identity cards. These individuals, some of whom are over forty or fifty years old, were born here and have spent their entire lives in this geography, but according to the Islamic Republic, they are not considered Iranian and are left out of the official society. Border provinces such as Sistan and Baluchestan and Khuzestan have the highest number of people without identification papers; as well as areas like Darvazeh Ghar in Tehran,

But what has made the issue of identity documents more important than ever for these individuals is the subsidy. Since birth certificates were initially outside of the economic system and welfare facilities, they do not receive any subsidies. The government has not yet provided any mechanism for them to receive subsidies. ILNA news agency, in a field report from Kerman, quoted a Sistani immigrant as saying: “From taking the DNA test to getting a letter from the border guards of our previous residence in Sistan and Baluchestan province, we have presented everything to the officials of Kerman city and province, but every time they throw a new obstacle in front of us and come up with a new excuse. I am 29 years old and have been married for several years, and the result of my marriage is also a stateless girl like myself. Years ago, my family was forced to leave our place of residence due to natural disasters such as floods and then drought. We came to Rafsanjan, which

Many people similar to this Sistani migrant exist. Their stories can be read by searching for the keyword “undocumented” on the internet; those who, despite years of follow-up, requests, and testing by the UN, are still wandering in the chaotic bureaucracy of the government, but the issue of subsidies has become more important for this large social group with the introduction of the Kalaberg. The government and related organizations have not provided any plans for this group. If they announce tomorrow that bread can only be obtained with a Kalaberg, what will be the fate of these people? They say, “We don’t want subsidies, we work and eventually we will get bread.” But just like for the past few years they haven’t been able to buy bus and metro tickets because it’s no longer possible to buy transportation tickets with cash and they must have a bank card, soon they will also be deprived of bread.

Birth certificates are taken away from them from the very beginning, their social identity becomes unstable and fragile, they live their whole lives in multiple and diverse discriminations and cannot integrate into society. No government organization, no parliamentary representative, and no official has taken responsibility for the situation and care of these people. Everyone says, “First, their birth certificate must be determined.” The Provincial Welfare Council is responsible for processing and handling the requests and files of these individuals to obtain a birth certificate, but since the DNA test must be taken by themselves, which is expensive and requires complicated documentation, almost all of these individuals are unable to obtain a birth certificate and continue to live in a state of discrimination, and now they will even lose their nightly bread.

Notes:

۱- Selberg, Daniel, on identity: a philosophical perspective, 2013

1- Selberg, Daniel, on Identity: A Philosophical Perspective, 2013

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov translates to “National Center for Biotechnology Information” in English.
“من به دنبال یک زندگی بهتر هستم”

“I am looking for a better life.”

2- Nikfar, Mohammadreza, “Collection of Lectures on System Theory”, Iran Academia Institute, July 2020.