Iranian refugee turned pop star denounces Tehran’s ‘gangster regime’

how the child feels that their country is not safe? for IranianBorn Shabnam Kamoii, 44 years old, known as Shab, his first signs were in school. “It felt like 90% of the teachers out there were trying to get you,” she told Express.co.uk.

“They were there to hurt you.

shabu was talking Dallas, Texas, her current permanent home where she lives with her husband and two children. From the other side of the screen, her hair grew thick like a lion’s mane and her eyes glistened as she remembered her past. Sometimes they cry. Unsurprisingly, Shab’s life wasn’t as smooth sailing as it was for many other musicians.

shabu was born Tehran We are going through a radical transition. The days of worldly freedom are over. Immediately following the Islamic Revolution of 1979, a new religious order was being imposed. Everyone had to comply, and the consequences of not doing so were often a fine line between life and death.

This previous country was not a paradise. The Shah’s secret places have made life hell for millions. But things took a turn for the worse soon after the riots, and slowly but surely glass walls replaced Iran’s borders. Everyone was trapped.

Today, things are going from bad to worse. Iran regularly makes headlines for human rights violations. Recent reports have intensified after thousands of women and girls took to the streets to protest treatments such as: Death of Masa Amini September 2022.

A 22-year-old woman was arrested by state morality police and died three days later after witnesses claimed she was beaten in custody. Her crime? Wearing the hijab “inappropriately”.

Forty years ago, Shab and her family knew this was coming. Pro-state forces had already targeted her family and burned down her father’s workplace.

A successful oil executive, he died of a heart attack in his early fifties. His family believes it was caused by the stress of persecution. “I lost him before I met him,” Shab said.

Her mother had to raise 13 children on her own. With no clear family breadwinner, her one of her brothers decided to start a small business and bring some money into the house. “We didn’t have much money in the beginning, but when the business started, the money came in. We had little, but we had a good life. There was a lot of love. Love propels us forward.”

Their home became something of a haven for friends and family to arrive in the evening to enjoy an evening of music and dancing. This is dangerous in countries where such entertainment is prohibited.

As the years went by, life inside and outside the house became more and more distant and alien. “We’ll be home from school and free,” said Shab. Stay happy. But it was all in our hearts.”

I needed a new life. The family could no longer be at stake for fear that agents of the state would one day show up without notice. Some of her brothers had already left Iran for Europe. and 8-year-old Shab’s mother decided she had to do the same. That was in her late 80’s. AnkaraTurkey, visa arrangements, she finally got the green light to travel and settle in Germany.

But in the year it took to get there, Shab’s brothers and sisters had already left and left for the United States. “I was already separated from them for her four years and now they are gone.”

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Yet she had another sister in Germany. But she was still at her 23 and living her own life. It meant that Shab gained a kind of independence that did not exist in Iran: “I used to go to school by myself. I go to tennis classes for myself. All activities.” do it yourself and find your own way.”

Hundreds of schoolgirls, who were probably a little older than Shab when he arrived in Germany, are trying to change Iran. They take to the streets, confront teachers, and confront those in power with billboards scrawled with feminist messages.

One of the images that recently hit social media shows five schoolgirls, each holding a hijab and jet-black hair hanging down their shoulders. put up middle finger in the current photo Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his predecessor, Ruhola Khomeini.

These girls, whose rebellion has shaken the Iranian regime to its core, face fierce resistance. Since last November, about 700 people have been poisoned by toxic fumes in and around schools, many suffering from respiratory problems, nausea and illness. Some see it as a deliberate attempt to close schools and keep girls away from education.

It is unknown who the culprit is. However, accusations have been directed against pro-government forces and religious extremists.

“It just makes me sad,” Shab said. Now look at us.”

Schab spent about six years in Germany before heading to the United States to reunite with his family. Here she learned English while working her three jobs.

She went to college, studied law, and built a successful career. Her story quickly became the classic American Her Dream Story, The Ragged Refugee Story.

But where others stopped, her story took another turn. In 2020, she just entered her 40s and became the “breakout star” of the pandemic. She has carried on her love of music while traveling the world and often recalls her wild nights dancing to the beat of drum music at her home in Tehran.

Since that night, she has written music and poetry for her own pleasure, sometimes for her boyfriend, but never put anything out into the world. Persian, Iran’s native language She sometimes mixed it with the language she learned as a way of expressing her affection for. For that short time, Shab was able to forget her things.

“One day, I was reviewing all my belongings and thought, ‘I think I can turn my poems into songs.’ down to the wireOther songs soon followed, and almost overnight, Shav had a worldwide following and a devoted fan base.

She is free in music. The world disappears when she sings. It was a way of healing, a process that allowed her to forget her childhood trauma.

Yet some things never leave you. The oppression that scarred her in her youth remains. Her voice trembles a bit when asked if she’s hurt by it all. It took her a long time to feel comfortable in her own skin, even a woman — I thought something was wrong, for a long time I didn’t let anyone touch me or kiss me . I felt horrible, like I was a bad person. “

Imagine multiplying these feelings by Iran’s female population of 41 million. Of course, not all women in the country feel the same way, but many As Massive Protests Showclearly feels trapped in the regime.

They are not privileged to try to overcome those feelings. And this is what Shabu feels guilty, albeit illogical. She said: “It makes me sad that they can’t do what I do.

“Sometimes I talk to God and start crying for them. I understand what they are going through but I feel like I can’t do anything about it. It breaks me so much.”

The abuse of women in Iran, in Shab’s opinion, is corroding the country from within. As she explained, it will only lead to ultimate devastation.

The problem is that this is not the case for everyone in Iranian society. While many women and girls are forced by law to wear veils, men and boys cannot openly hold the hand of their secret girlfriend in public, and the sons and daughters of the elite are Enjoying the finer things in life.

Social media posts often show the difference in their lives. The only thing between them and their peers is their parents in government offices and a few miles from north to south of Tehran.

1 page, rich kid softeran, posts photos and videos of young Iranians at raves multiple times a day, eating in fancy restaurants and shopping with Gucci bags draped over their arms. . Girls rarely wear veils.

Shab believes the Iranian regime, led by Ayatollah Khamenei and President Ebrahim Rashi, is drunk on power and control.[They say] Wear a veil, don’t wear a veil. Do this and don’t do that. Don’t let anyone tell you what to do: Unless you’re disrespecting someone, you’re hurting someone, you’re minding your business in your own lane and adding value As far as I know what the problem is. How can we maintain a place that treats women like second class citizens? “

Since Shab left Iran when he was eight years old, he returned to Iran only once in 1994, when he was 15 years old.

The reality is that if she were to return today, she would likely be imprisoned and tortured for years, if not forever, with everything she has said publicly about the state.

But does she want to go back? She paused for a moment before taking a deep breath, saying, “I don’t want to see what happened today. I know what’s out there. I’d love to go again when I see a free man.”

There is no certainty when that day will come. For now, the Iranian people are quietly and patiently waiting. for something to happen.

You can download and listen to Shab’s music gentleman.