Sunday 27 December 2015

Open Letter To The United States President

Dear President Barack Obama, 

CC. Jeb Bush. Ben Carson. Chris Christie. Ted Cruz. Carly Fiorina. Jim Gilmore. Mike Huckabee. John Kasich. George Pataki. Rand Paul. Marco Rubio. Rick Santorum. Donald Trump., Hillary Clinton. Martin O'Malley. Bernie Sanders, Jill Stein

Following the new H.R. 158 bill that restricts Iranians and others from admission into the U.S. (which recently passed the House of Representatives with an overwhelming majority), I feel it not only necessary, but also obligatory for myself, as a targeted party of this movement, to write to you alerting you of some grave oversights that not only violate and negate, but also contradict the sheer Americanism that underlines the national constitution, before this goes any further.  

For those who don't know, the new bill proposes that people of certain ethnicities, namely those who hold dual citizenship with Iran, Iraq, Syria and Sudan, be restricted from United States entry. This means that as an Iranian who was born and raised in the UK, I would not be permitted to travel to the USA without applying and paying for a VISA, a luxury which my white, black, latino, chinese etc. peers are by default entitled to as citizens of Europe or the USA.

Yes, my parents are from Iran. Yes, I have dual-citizenship. Yes, I have visited Iran. Twice to be exact. This is because my father's family, for the most part, still reside in Iran. It would be a grave act of ignorance to assume this is compromised of an undercurrent of any political agenda, nor is it likely that any of these political theologies can have genetically rubbed off on me, simply because there was a one year window in which my parents lived in a country that was fundamentally islamic before I even existed. Outside of genetic premeditation, where one was born and how one was raised constitutes the biggest precursor to individual blueprint, sculpting mentality, behavioural patterns, political beliefs, savoir faire and cultural dynamic. Certainly not some mute and alien history which is only a fragment of one's ancestral genealogy, and runs millennia further back than it's current governmental disposition.

Yet, as I sit here justifying my story to you, a part of me is dispirited at the autocratic semblance of the country that compels me to explain away my race, creed or colour in order to be granted acceptance. A country that was once the spearhead of egalitarianism, that promised liberty and justice for all, now instead backdates it's disposition hundreds of years through imposing ethnic sanctions on it's clemency, totally and effectively nullifying amelioration.  

Since humans fear the unknown, let us try education over banishment to mollify fears. Iranian history teaches us a lot about how 'dangerous' and 'threatening' we truly are on this sphere of terror, that we have been clumsily thrust upon. Firstly, to go back a little, the widespread diaspora of the Iranian people all over the world is largely a result of the 1979 revolution, which vanquished the Pahlavi dynasty and the Monarchic administration under the Shah (King, backed by the USA). This was succeeded by a fundamentalist Islamic regime. Their polarised native support was largely rooted in the conservatives who felt the westernisation and secularisation of the country had gone too far under the Shah, who's ideals mirrored the liberality of the U.S. and the West. It had been, in fact, a time when Iranian democracy superseded it's governmental contemporaries in the West.

Prior to the revolution, Iran was a country of deistic autonomy. It was ripe with Mosques, Synagogs, Churches and Temples. Subsequently, the Islamic revolution drove out those who were not prepared to stay and live by the hardline ideals the new regime had adopted, resulting in the diaspora of hundreds and thousands of Iranians, seeking asylum in Europe and America. How, then, can those who have uprooted their entire existence to hotfoot the extremisms of a certain ideal, be not only bound by those beliefs, but also have their children punished for it? Further, let me remind you that no acts of terror in the United States or Europe have ever been linked to Iranian people. This demonstrates poor cognisance of our history and culture, and frankly lazy investigation ahead of a loaded mandate. Please do not treat recklessly such a delicate and convoluted thing as ethnicity. If you wish to act, act on understanding, scrutiny and knowledge.

As UK nationals with Iranian citizenship, our parents are children of the Shah. We are the children of the children of the Shah. Nobody can take liberty, compassion and democracy from the core of our being. No matter how much it is sullied by an egregious stigma. Yes, there are some people in Iran who agree with and comply with extremist ideals, just as there are members of the Westboro baptist Church in the USA who believe that "all fags should be killed", and Neo-Nazis in California who would burn a jew at the stake if given the opportunity. Neither of which, might I add, are having their citizenships challenged despite acts of terror within their community. Nor must either one acquire a surplus visa to be granted reentry.

To go ahead with the amended Visa Waiver program also constitutes a grave and flagrant miseducation of American citizens about the nature and intent of Iranians. The bill, entitled “Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015", will marginalise and defame an entire ethnicity through vocabulary alone. In such fragile constituents, we must be careful what we teach Americans about who foreign bodies are. To be branded under a terror prevention act has far reaching implications that mar the reputation of Iranian people and slaps a caveat on our once unequivocal citizenship. It ultimately forces us to move to a mental and cultural space that begrudges us the entitlements we were born with, and relegates us to second-class citizens. This will perpetuate a perception of Iranians as terrorists in the American eye and can lead to violence, expulsion, distrust, alienation and misinterpretation of a body of people who comprise a great deal of the American public, ultimately creating more problems than it solves. Further, outside of jeopardising merit and galvanising racial notoriety, it also gravely dampens morale and dissipates the union between ethnicities that constitute the charismatic and dynamic melting pot of the USA. We are vilified into the proverbial monster that not only are we not, but we, too, are running from. European and American Iranians are artists, doctors, lawyers, philosophers, scientists, pharmacists, humanitarians, politicians, comedians, actors, musicians, and have been elementary to advancements in the aforementioned fields. What we are not, is terrorists.  

Some might say that the visa 'improvement' act is "no big deal", since having to pay for a visa is seemingly only a minor setback but is a worthy solution to a universal problem. This is a dangerous standing to endorse because it instigates racial profiling and ethnic finger pointing. It permits us to accede that some races must be punished in order to protect others, an ideal that will foster a discordant society. The bill requires that we, as European and American Iranians, pay for a separate visa to even be considered entry. One that my black, white, chinese etc. compatriots are exempt from. I can not pay for who I am, nor where my parents were born. Doing so would injuriously compromise my integrity. This requires no lengthy explanation, since it is clear how discriminatory and unjust a thing it would be to prejudicially levy taxes on my race. 

I understand that Americans are afraid. I, too, am afraid. But one thing I have learnt is that edification is a far better pacifier than reprehension. So, perhaps the first step to mitigate fears is to re-educate the American public on who Iranian people are. Why not teach them of our history, why not show them through our works of art, science, philosophy and literature who we are, to muffle the misconception that introduces us before we have the opportunity to speak. A government that exists in our homeland can not account for the millennia of majestic and richly dynamic culture intrinsic to our history and being. Restricting entry does not banish fear, but promulgates fear. The only way to nullify fear is through education so that fear, if necessary, exists only where it is due.

All things being considered, I am of course in favour of finding methods to deter terrorism. I can't pretend that I hold the answer, but what I can say with a great degree of certainty is that banning and restricting people on the bases of their race or religion alone is not it. Not only is this ineffective, but it is also counterproductive, forging a moral fissure at a time where union is imperative. National and international disparity, at this time, engages the divide and conquer ploy that ultimately backslides us into the demise of Western democracy and the instigation of an anarchic renaissance. Fear and misunderstanding can be tolerated to a certain degree, but what can not be tolerated is the illusion that people can be categorized by race, gender, sexual orientation or religion. People are free-standing, dynamic and autonomous individuals, who can not be held accountable for the actions of their demographic counterparts. If we are to reprimand people on such a basis, it will not be long until all those who were formerly protected under civil rights are locked in a punitive chokehold. 

So in conclusion, Mr President, since at this point you must be wondering, who am I? I am a person who believes in unity. I am an advocate of humanitarianism, a proliferator of ubiquitous justice, an empath, and an egalitarian. Above all, my ultimate and final goal in this lifetime is to better the world, through the dissolution of divisive concepts and edification, evoking a sentiment of compassion, empathy and union. This is the British-Iranian that you are teaching your citizens to be afraid of, while the Caucasian male who shoots children in schools continues to be lauded for his superior ethnicity. What's wrong with this picture?

Finally, For all intents and purposes, I consider the United Kingdom to be my country, and I have explained myself in lengthy essay format for just a glimmer of hope at being permitted entry into yours. Please note that nobody is asking you to do the same in order to enter mine, because no matter where you are from, what you look like, what your peers have done in the past or where your parents were born, we, as children of diplomacy and liberty, accept you. I hope that my words will echo in your conscience and remind you what that means. 

Sincerely yours,

Ms. E. Le Bon.