Migration as a Way to Say No: Iranian Migration to India and Malaysia
Migration as a Way to Say No: Iranian Migration to India and Malaysia

Summary/Abstract: Over the last two decades, a sizable community of young Iranians has made its way to Malaysia and India. Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Pune in India have become hosts to some of the biggest Iranian communities in Asia. In the 1980s, in the wake of the Islamic Revolution and during the Iran – Iraq war, waves of Iranians moved to the West. Many presumed that their stay in the West, mainly in southern California, but also in Germany, the UK, Sweden and France, would be temporary They had their bags packed during the first few years, ready to return back home as soon as things would calm down. The situation did not reverse however, and thousands of Iranians made the US and Europe their home. 30 years later a common topic of conversation in Iran is the ways available to leave the country. Moving abroad has become an obsession for the urban youth of Iran. In the days of the Shah, it was easy for someone with an Iranian passport to visit Europe. Today, because of the political situation, it has become very difficult to get a visa for the Schengen area or North America – the traditional destinations for Iranians.

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