IrANIAN-AMERICANS STUDENTS REFLECT ON U.S. AIR STRIKE Text and photos by ALLISON CHANG and MIA BALDONADO
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Anushe irani
HE LONG-STANDING conflict between the United States and Iranian governments greatly escalated at the beginning of the year with the killing of the Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. These tensions have been felt even within the Palo Alto bubble; they have impacted some Iranian-American students in personal ways, and have had little to no effect on others. Since the assassination of Iran’s top general, Palo Alto High School sophomore Anushe Irani and her family have been wary of traveling internationally. Although Irani’s family normally travels five to six times annually, stories of Irani’s friends and relatives who have been questioned at the airport — sometimes even banned from returning to the United States — have discouraged her family from traveling internationally. “I have been affected indirectly for traveling this year,” Irani said. “My family does not want to travel outside the country because we are scared that we may not be let back in, at least for a while.” To Irani and her family, the Soleimani’s assissination has allowed them to better understand how the relations between two countries can greatly impact individuals like them.
This is the first time that I’ve actually started to realize a little more about what it’s like to be part of the minority. Through traveling, I [feel] pushback on some of my freedoms. It’s important to not reflect [Iran’s] actions on me. I haven’t even lived there. Just because I am Iranian doesn’t mean that I would do those sorts of things or agree with it.”
40 FEBRUARY 2020
