If you felt that you have been discriminated against while living in the diaspora or traveling, write a short note about it here. It would be nice to have people aggregate their experiences.
Please stay on topic if you want to participate. Thank you.
=================================================
UPDATE:
ONLY 2 PEOPLE LEFT SUBSTANTIVE COMMENTS OUT OF 11 POSTS ON THIS ATTEMPT TO DO SOMETHING USEFUL FOR THE DIASPORA COMMUNITY — THE REST WAS JUST SPAM; THE TWO SUBSTANTIVE COMMENTS ARE BELOW SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO WASTE YOUR TIME WITH THE REST:
by Tabarzin on Fri Aug 26, 2011 01:12 PM PDT
Is a fact of life if you don’t belong to a dominant group. Immigrants are always subject to discrimination no matter where they are and what their status is.
In 1980 as an 8 year old kid in Orange county, southern California – and less than a year out of Iran – I experienced relentless harrassment, bullying and discrimination in elementary school as a result of the US embassy hostage crisis. There wouldn’t be a day on the school playground or as I would walk home from school that someone wouldn’t taunt or harras me with “f-ing Eye-ranian, give us back our hostages!” Teachers would also treat me and the other Iranian kids a little differently than they would treat the white American kids. As a result of the nightly news broadcasts from Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather, the American public was hyped up to unbelievable levels against the newly arrived Iranian immigrants amongst them, never thinking that the newly arrived Iranians had actually come amongst them to escape the situation in Iran.
To make a long story short, and given constant physical threats, bullying and intimidation by the white American kids, I took on the martial arts (Praying Mantis Kung Fu) and within months got good enough at it that I was decking kids older than me who dared to bully me. From that point on, whether on the playground or outside of school, no one dared to call me an “f-ing Eye-ranian” ever again! ======================================
by Soosan Khanoom on Fri Aug 26, 2011 11:49 AM PDT
I have never felt any discrimination living in the states for the last 22 years of my life, quite contrary I have been blessed having American friends and coworkers who truly respect me, as an Iranian-American and as a muslim.
I know U.S has it own problems and I have voiced my opinion very clearly in numerous occasions; but if U.S is not perfect it is at least the best compare to the rest of the world. I hope things stay as they are but sadly with all these Neocon agendas and Islamophobia fever that has started I am not sure which direction it is taking especially for the next generation….
The more I enjoy this freedom and the more I see how my rights are being protected by the democratic laws , the more I want it for Iranians who live inside Iran. That is why I think even IRI supporters who are living in the west should think it twice and be fair and for sure very much critical to the ruling clergies and their undemocratic laws otherwise they should either go back to Iran and live there or stop being such a hypocrites …..
