persian/iranian

just a few days one of my classmates asked me, with a sign of disgust, that why do people coming from iran call themselves persian, not iranian. i myself am very good at answering persian related questions, but i was stunned by this. What should i have answered him? 

well, they got a lot of turks in germany, so thats why they probably thought you were turkist.

anyway, i have also always called myself iranian.

i have a question myself. i am persian by ethnicity, but what do persians call themselves in Parsi? because persian was the name given to people who were from Persia, both are western terms for iranians.

does persian mean iranian?

have you lost faith? is the life of kurds in iran really that bad? worse than that of azeri's, persians, arabs, etc..???

hmmm, pls have patience with me

Well i think its ok if u reside in iran and call urself an iraninan. But when u r not situated in that country shouldnt u call urself by ur ethnicity?`

I mean when ppl ask me "what re you", in effect my origin, i say i am kurdish. Not iranian.

And i have great respect for ur father Mr. Zagros. We need more kurds like him.

I know it can be a bit nagging when i all the time refer to the kurds and their right. But u have to understand the kurdish question is very dear to me.

Let me tell u a story:

During the time i lived in iran we moved around alot, i felt kind of like gypsie. When i was going to start 3:rd grade in tehran, massodia, the headmaster in school did not allow me to enter. No kurds with green pass were allowed he said. So i went home.

My uncle was in the armie during the time, and when he heard about that he got really upset, so he put his military cloth on and went to the headmaster. I dont know what he did to him but the next day i was welcome.

Another story:

One day me and my mome where going home after visiting a realtive, on our way we witnessed a "burial train" (ppl goiing after the remnant of a dead man/female). We asked what had happened to the man, they said he has been martyred in kurdistan. One of our neghbors saw us and told us to leave fast, coz if they know u r kurdish ur life would not be safe.

Another story:

As a kid u r allways sensitive of being different from others. And one thing that kept nagging me was that they always called me for "arabe malakh-khor") ehich means Arab grasshopper eater. 

So in iran i was arab, (i am a fayli kurd), and my parents have told me how the arabs called them for Ajam, arbic term for fars. So u see if they dont want me, why do i have to clasp to them and call me for an iraninan? 

@Saiwan, please don't be offended, but i don't believe you if you say they call you Arab malakh khor. This is not typical for iranians. And i don't believe you either if you had to go befor your life would not be safe to stay by the burial. I have never heared befor someone call a Kurd an arab malakh khor. and i have never heared of etnicity problemes between Iranians.

@Cent, if there is an oppresing against Kurds this is from the islamic gov. Iranian people have no probleme with Kurds. your claims are due to ignorance. as i said befor i am a Kurd too. My father was respected from people in our city part of Tehran, and they all knew he is a Kurd.

Me or my family have never experienced such a thing in Iran, we have family who moved to Tehran and they went there as Kurds one generation ago and still dance Kurdish and can speak Kurdish.

Iranians in general have respect for Kurds, they have a reputation as brave and honest and there are many songs in Persian language praising Kurds. The only bad words we have heard have been from iraqi Kurds who said Iranian Kurds aren't real Kurds and they used to make fun of us.  But now for some reason everyone in Iran who is not Persian, Arab or Turk is Kurdish to them.

Yao as a fayli kurd without iranian citizenship u r at the merci of the governments hands.

When my little brother was born in tehran and my father went to name him they refuse to write down his name Ardalan. Why?

All of my other cousins have arabic name because of their faith, names like ahmad, mohammad, ali, hasan , husein ....

I never said we were not allowed to speak or dance in kurdish Mr Zagros. That is allowed, but for god sake, we shouldnt even discuss such a thin, every human should hav e those rights. It's not easy to be a kurd, so at least let the kurds themself act as one. U think like that, i think like this. It doesnt work this way, we have to be united.

U said earlier about ur fathers bad experiences, and now u say there is nothing bad happening?

Would u pleas tell me what are those bad experiences?

Why should i as a kurd convince u Mr Zagros about kurdishness, about or rights? Isnt those right God given? The turks in iran are called Turke khar. The arabs are called arabe malakh khor. I lived there man, i was there man, i heard those commentaries. I didnt dream about all this.

So is it so wrong of me to be proud and call myself kurdish instead of irraninan? yes sure we kurds are famous for bravery, but also for treason. We have a bad habbit to betray eachother as fast as the ottoman, safaid, iranina, turk or arabs pays the right  price.

Stop this nightmare pls. I am begging u as a kurd, as a brother, dont let or martyrs blood be for nothing!

My uncle died in the iran/iraq war, he defended iran against the invading armies of Saddam, he was martyred. But for what? They have called a street in qarchak/tehran after him, so what? My other uncle has been in the arme since he arrived to iran from iraq. And now when saddam is gone they forced him to go back to iraq, is that the way human beeings should be treated?

Zagroz bragam, we have to deny the oak of the invaders. Let us make ourselfs a Kurdistan, and i swear by the almighty, then i will say that arabs, persians and turks are my brothers. At that time i will have the choice to say so. But till then we have to fight, and stay united. By fighting i dont mean that u have to get phsical, no, the power of mind is far greater. But we now that u cant go long with the pen, cos it will do u no good when u havr a gun pointing at ur face.

Stand united.