Will My Children Have No Identity, Like Me?
I’m 25 years old, born in Iran and married to an Iranian woman, but I can’t have Iranian citizenship.
In Iran, refugee status comes through two conditions, either based on soil or based on blood. There are now many people in Iran who have both conditions, but still are not considered Iranian.
My parents are Afghan. They came to Iran years ago and lived in a village near the city of Mashhad. My parents were illiterate and never thought of getting residency documents. My dad was an ordinary man. They didn’t care about my education, but I studied and worked, and I’m now a university student. No matter how much an Afghan man studies, he can’t get anywhere. I’m still a construction laborer. Not much is left from my graduation, but I’ve been told to leave the country, and get a visa if I want to come back.
I consider myself Iranian. My wife is Iranian. I’ve been living in Iran for 25 years and yet I’m not considered Iranian. I don’t feel very connected to Afghanistan. I went there once a few years ago and realized that I can’t stay there.
There is no restriction for the marriage of two Muslim people in Islam. My wife is Iranian but her family has disowned her because of marrying me. My wife has endured my poverty and we love each other. Our marriage is halal (permissible) in Islam, why does the Iranian law consider it haram (forbidden)?
How can you tell people not to marry when they fall in love? If she was from anywhere in the world I would marry her. Her human personality was important to me. Ask the officials what their interpretation of love is. You fall in love, you don’t learn it. I don’t know what will happen to our children if we have any in the future. Will they become like me? Having no identity?
Source: Sarmayeh.net
Entry Filed under: Testimonies