Identity and Exile the Iranian Diaspora Between Solidarity and Difference
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VOLUME 40 Identity and Exile Th e Iranian Diaspora between Solidarity and Diff erence Edited by the Heinrich Böll Foundation in co-operation with Transparency for Iran ̕IDENTITY AND EXILE PUBLICATION SERIES ON DEMOCRACY VOLUME 40 Identity and Exile The Iranian Diaspora between Solidarity and Difference Edited by the Heinrich Böll Foundation in co-operation with Transparency for Iran Idea and editing: Resa Mohabbat-Kar Published under the following Creative Commons License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0 . Attribution – You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Noncommercial – You may not use this work for commercial purposes. No derivatives – If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material. Identity and Exile The Iranian Diaspora between Solidarity and Difference Volume 40 of the Publication Series on Democracy Edited by the Heinrich Böll Foundation in co-operation with Transparency for Iran Idea and editing: Resa Mohabbat-Kar Translations: Bernd Herrmann Design: feinkost Designnetzwerk, Constantin Mawrodiew (derivation design by State Design) Cover: Marjolein Katsma – Flickr (cc by-sa 2.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0) This publication can be downloaded here: www.boell.de Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, Schumannstraße 8, 10117 Berlin CONTENTS Preface 7 Introduction 9 Amy Malek Displaced, Re-rooted, Transnational Considerations in Theory and Practice of Being an Iranian outside Iran 24 Cameron McAuliffe Unsettling the Iranian Diaspora: Nation, Religion and the Conditions of Exile 32 Judith Albrecht «How to be an Iranian Woman in the 21st Century?» Female Identities in the Diaspora 47 Donya Alinejad & Halleh Ghorashi From Bridging to Building: Discourses of Organizing Iranian Americans across Generations 62 Ramin Jahanbegloo Being Iranian today 76 Pardis Shafafi Long Distance Activism Looking beyond Teaching old Dogmatics new Tricks 80 Manuchehr Sanadjian Food, Narrated Dislocation and Diasporic Presence among Iranians in Germany 91 Sonja Moghaddari Engaging with Social Inequalities: The Stakes of Social Relations among Iranian Migrants 105 Sahar Sadeghi Boundaries of Belonging: Iranian Immigrants and their Adult Children in the US and Germany 117 Narges Bajoghli & Mana Kharrazi Iranian Alliances across Borders 132 Yalda Zarbakhch Sitting on the Fence or Straddling it? DIWAN – German-Iranian Encounters 143 «Sometimes we're very noisy, sometimes rather quiet» An Interview with Asghar Eslami, Association for Communication, Migration and Refugee Assistance (Kargah) 151 About the authors 165 PREFACE For over two years now, the Heinrich Böll Foundation has been stepping up its collaborative programmes with groups and individuals that are part of Germany's Iranian diaspora. We aim to improve mutual understanding within the community and to extend the civil society networks of Iranians in exile. Past experience has shown that diaspora communities with their diverse identities and transnational traits are ideally suited to develop visions and promote development in their coun- tries of origin, as well as in the countries where they reside. Well over five million Iranians in exile – about 120,000 of which live in Germany – are influencing politi- cal and cultural debates in Iran on a daily basis, for example via social media, and this gives them the potential to stimulate a further opening up of Iran. However, it is not easy to bring together Iranians in exile – especially when it comes to politics. The Iranian diaspora is very mixed, and it is split along ideological, as well as along social, ethnic, and religious lines. This reflects, on the one hand, traditional social conflicts – baggage that has been carried over from the old home to the new – and, on the other hand, there is political discord that either came about during emigra- tion or even caused it, meaning, issues to do with the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and, to a lesser degree, the suppression of the so-called «Green Revolution» in 2009. This fragmentation of the Iranian diaspora impedes the formation of a collective identity and obstructs the ability of Iranians in exile to organise and act as one. The present volume focuses on the construction of identities and the inter- actions between Iranians in exile. The aim is to promote a process of reflection within the diaspora and provide an input concerning the role and potential of the diaspora community. The Heinrich Böll Foundation can only assist such a pro- cess by offering a secure space for debate, while the actual reconciliation has to be undertaken by the exiled Iranians themselves. We hope that this volume will be able to kick-start such a process. We are happy to have so many excellent contrib- utors to this volume – experts who as academics or practitioners have been dealing with the Iranian diaspora and its organisations; our special thanks go to them. This publication has only been possible due to the support of our partner organisation Transparency for Iran. We would like to thank Resa Mohabbat-Kar for his excellent work as project co-ordinator. Berlin, November 2015 Bauke Baumann Dr Antonie Nord Middle East & North Africa Department Middle East & North Africa Department Preface Heinrich Böll Foundation Heinrich Böll Foundation 7 INTRODUCTION «Whether ‹diaspora› is a common word, a scientifically constructed concept, or a rallying cry that gives meaning to a collective reality, it is highly contem- porary. Denying this would be pointless» Stéphane Dufoix (2003, p.106) Exile and diaspora The above quote from French social scientist Stéphane Dufoix sums up his research into the colourful term «diaspora.» On the one hand, this categorisation obviously refers to ambiguities or controversial debates about what is meant by the term. Depending on the researchers' scientific background, concepts of diaspora tend to stress different aspects, which, in turn, result in different research focuses.1 Subjects discussed when using the term «diaspora» include experiences of social dislocation and marginalisation of migrants, concepts of home and belonging «when in distant lands,» relations with and interrelations between the country of residence and the home country, and the mobilisation and negotiation of collective identities and «ethnicities.» On the other hand, Dufoix's statement also accentuates how remark- ably popular the term is – for example, as a set phrase in politics and media used to explain certain phenomena, or as a way in which an ever increasing number of «affected» social groups and actors choose to describe and define themselves. Scien- tific efforts to establish clear definitions and analytical approaches towards diaspora mainly aim to distinguish it from related terminology – above all that of exile. The close semantic and historical links existing between the two terms makes such a dis- tinction difficult, which is also why diaspora and exile are often used synonymously, not only in common parlance but in scientific discourse, too. One concept central to both categories is that of displacement – of being uprooted from one's home. This situation may be used to distinguish between the two concepts, at least in terms of ideal types.2 Both terms describe more than just geographical uprooting, they also refer to ways of dealing with this situation and the ensuing process of coming to terms with and framing these experiences on an individual as well as collective level. In this respect, major differences appear among the affected groups regarding 1 The contribution by Amy Malek and Cameron McAuliffe in this volume presents a detailed overview of scientific discourses on diaspora. 2 A detailed overview of the shared as well as distinct characteristics of concepts of exile and Introduction diaspora can be found in Kuhlmann (2014). 9 processes of identification and ideas of belonging and home, which, in turn, result in distinct patterns of social, cultural, and political interactions and relations (Naficy 1993; Said 1994; Kokot 2002; Ghorashi 2003; Olsen 2009; Calandra 2013). Experiences of exile are characterised by powerful emotional bonds to the home country, meaning the people concerned mainly identify with the «lost» home they left behind, and that this is the focus of their symbolic links as well as actual social relationships, all of which are ruled by the longing and by efforts to return back home. This fixation on the home country impedes or prevents the social, political, and cultural re-orientation and settling into the country of residence, which is why the experience of living in exile is often perceived as paused existence, as «living in limbo,» a provisional state – and a double marginalisation. A diaspora, on the other hand, means that its members are able and willing to renegotiate questions of home and belonging and let themselves in for a life outside of their home country, that is, they are trying to put down new roots. In this process, the old home country will still be an important beacon, something that may continue for some generations, however, the diaspora as a whole and its individual members build an active rela- tionship with at least two other components, which may also impact the formation of identities and loyalties, namely, the public system and culture of the country of residence, as well as networks of other communities that share the same origins and are spread all over the world and that are interrelated to differing degrees. Thus, diaspora evolves within a triangle of exchanges and networks – as a community that, although dispersed all over the world, views itself as one and, based on this self-image, will develop its own identity policy and try to make it a reality. The Iranian diaspora – identity and experience between continuity and change Over 35 years after the Iranian revolution, which marked the beginning of the con- tinuing history of Iranian immigration, diaspora has become a key term for writ- ing or describing this ongoing history, «what it is Iranians are and experience as a result of having left Iran» (Elahi/Karim 2011, p.382).