Javad Parsa

IRANIANS IN EXILE

I started taking pictures at age 18, before moving from my hometown Sari in the north of Iran to Tehran at age 19.

I started out freelancing, but then I landed my dream job with the Fars News Agency, Iran’s largest news agency. I travelled around the country and abroad, meeting leaders and presidents.

June 2009: After the presidential election, millions took to the streets. At Fars, all the photographers were ordered not to take pictures of the demonstrations against the regime. Doing so would be dangerous for the photographers, according to management. Moreover, the agency would not be able to help anyone if they got arrested.

Naturally, I went straight out on the street and started taking pictures. There were millions of people out there. Everyone was thinking that now, now, the revolution about to begin. I started working as a freelance photographer for the French photo agency Sipa Press.

One day, I looked at the cover of Time magazine, and there was my picture. It came as quite a shock, but it was, of course, wonderful, and thrilling for me. At the same time, it was a bit difficult and sad. One of my photos made the cover of Time, and I couldn’t tell anyone about it. Only my girlfriend.

Not long after, all the photographers were summoned to a meeting with the editor. He said they knew that two photographers had sent pictures abroad, and that those co-workers had been paid a great deal for doing so. The feeling of fear was very real, since I was, of course, one of them. I went home to my girlfriend to discuss what I should do. I had not received any payment for the job.

I bought an airline ticket to Ankara. Turkey is one of the few countries that does not require Iranians to have a visa.

I sought out asylum refugees in Ankara.

In Turkey, I began taking photos of Iranians in exile. In my new life, I have encountered many Iranian immigrants, causing me to decide to dedicate this project to documenting their lives. They all have different reasons for leaving their native country. Yet every person I talked to hopes to be able to return to Iran someday.

At the outset of the project ‘Iranians in exile’ in 2009, one of my main motivations was to show what happened with Iranian immigrants. Thousands left Iran each year, driven by the lack of political, religious, and social freedom as they embarked on their quests for a better life.

I have documented Iranian communities in Norway, the US, Canada, Turkey, Greece, Spain, Sweden, France, Dubai, and Israel.

This project is my personal story of Iranians in exile all over the world. This is my opportunity to live, dream and see the world through new eyes every day, without forgetting my home country.