This article is from page 22 of the 2011-12-13 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 22 JPG
AN Iranian man now living in Ennis has documented his 12-year struggle as a refugee in a new book launched on Saturday. Hassan Faramarz (42), author of The Flagless Ones , says he is “proud” to have told his story.
He adds, “I really wanted to tell everybody that this is happening to 70 million people. You don’t have to repeat my experience. You can learn from my experience. I wanted to share this is with everybody so people can learn what’s going on in Iran. We should learn from each other.”
Hassan was speaking in the West County Hotel on Saturday at a conference focusing on equality and diversity in Clare.
The book tells the story of the father of four’s upbringing in Iran, the oppression his family suffered at the hands of the Ayatollah Khomeini’s regime and his life as a refugee in India, China and Ireland. Hassan grew up in Iran at a time of political unrest in the late 1970s and ‘80s. Members of his family who opposed the ruling regime were imprisoned and executed.
He recalls, “I was not arrested but being a member of a family whose four brothers are involved in that movement, it’s not easy for you to have a normal life. I didn’t have a normal life. I couldn’t have a normal life.
“I graduated from high school and went to Open University and I learned some English. I married and I also did my military service. But after that I could not get a job, anything. They don’t arrest you but they don’t see you anymore. You are like a shadow in society. Nobody is listening to you. It’s a strange condition.”
Hassan left Iran for Indian in 1996 but found life as a refugee no better than his “shadow” existence at home.
“I spent three years in India as a refugee. In 1998, my wife joined me there. There we had our first son. We spent three years almost in India. The situation was hard. It was horrible. There are thousands of refugees there. You are struggling with your food, your clothing, shelter everything.”
Instead, with the help of a friend, Hassan and his family secured a visa to travel to Canada. However, the family encountered difficulties while travelling through China and ended up spending nine years living in refugee accommodation in Beijing.
The family moved to Ireland in 2008, eventually settling in Ennis. A former journalist and language teacher, Hassan is now studying theology and philosophy at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick. Of his life in Ennis, he says, “It’s great and my children are integrating very well. I have three children, two boys and one girl. Their English is improving very fast. They have already started criticising me, saying ‘Daddy, your English isn’t very good’. They are actually learning very, very fast. I’m very happy here and for Ireland accepting us.”