The iranian voices from Luxembourg

Disclaimer: The photos in this article were taken during a manifestation organised by the SIMOURQ association on November 19. The photos serve as symbolic images. No one from the SIMOURQ association appears in this article.

"When I got the news on September 16 about what was happening in Iran, we had a stand for 'Welcome Day' at the University of Luxembourg", recalls Soheil. He looks into the room and seems embittered and emotional at the same time. "We wanted to present our country, our culture, our history. We did our best to show a better image of our country and what do they do? They do the same thing they did years ago." By "they" he means the Iranian leadership, which has been trampling human rights and killing innocent people for more than just a few months.

Soheil has been in Luxembourg since September 2020 and is currently writing his thesis. He is studying civil engineering. The last few months have also been a nightmare for Najmeh, is also willing to share her perspective. She came to Luxembourg in 2015, completed her PhD (doctoral degree) in computer science and obtained her diploma last July. "The first thing I do in the morning: check the news. I do it every hour, almost every few minutes." Her main sources, she says, are Instagram or Twitter (as long as that platform still exists), though this information is mostly second-, third- or fourth-hand, as the internet is almost completely blocked in Iran.