Stories of Iranians who moved to Africa from 1960 onwards
The Iranian diaspora is like dust beaten off a Persian carpet and scattered across the world. Some of us landed in Africa and this is where our story begins. This is a collaborative project with a dear friend of a similar cultural identity, Mona Hakimi. We are the daughters of this dust. Our parents brought us to Southern Africa where we belong but do not blend in. Africa mothered us and Iran holds our roots and ancestry. Through this work, we make sense of our place: the ambiguity of our identities and what it means to be doubly ‘Other’, as Africans, and as Iranians. We share untold stories from the unique perspective of Iranian migrants to the continent, and from their viewpoint learn new insights into pivotal moments in African histories.
