Two men from Iran walk for days to reach Germany

Jakarta –

Mass protests by citizens against the Iranian government in 2022, which were sparked by the death of a 22-year-old ethnic Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini, triggered a sharp increase in the number of Iranians leaving the country.

Amini died in police custody, after being arrested on charges of not wearing the proper hijab. The Islamic Theocratic regime in Iran responded to months of mass protests with a brutal, bloody crackdown.

Iranian security forces killed more than 500 people and arrested more than 20,000 citizens, human rights groups said. The United Nations (UN) condemned Iran’s ‘criminal’ actions against protesters and called them “crimes against humanity”.

Suppression in Iran

Milad, who asked not to give his last name, is a critic of the Iranian regime

The 35-year-old has taken part in anti-government protests since 2008 and has been subject to intense scrutiny.

Milad accused Iranian security forces of shooting him in the eye during mass protests in 2022, which resulted in the loss of vision in one eye. He was also tortured while in custody, but was released after signing an agreement to stop his protests.

Omid, who also did not want to reveal his last name, said he had a similar experience.

This 28-year-old man is an Iranian police officer. He told DW that he was fired in 2017 after refusing to participate in a crackdown by Iranian security forces, backed by the Basij volunteer paramilitary force loyal to Tehran’s rooftops and often used for protests. against the overthrow of the government.

“I played an important role, by not participating in the violence of my people,” said Omid.

Tehran escapes

Omid and Milad both left the Iranian capital, Tehran, in March 2023. Both of them first traveled by plane, from Tehran to Istanbul.

Omid decided to escape, after being attacked and captured twice. “I escaped with the help of my father, who was also a soldier,” he said. “The second time I was arrested, my friend told my father, who is now retired. He used influence to free me. After that, I left the country.”

When they arrived in Türkiye, the two continued their journey to Greece. “The journey from Turkey to Greece took four days and four nights on foot. We spent ten minutes on the boat and walked until we reached the resting place,” said Milad in a phone call from great Mainz, Germany, where he is now. alive

After arriving in Greece, Milad continued to escape by taking a bus. “From this time, I took a bus with a guy from Afghanistan, who gave us money and a place to stay one night during the journey.”

Omid tells how he survived without food for three days in Greece. “I only survived by drinking water stored in leaves and swamps. It was very difficult,” he said. He also said, “The soles of my feet hurt. Throughout the trip I only thought about being able to live freely after this trip, and that kept me going.”

“In total, we crossed 10 or 11 borders,” said Milad, who spoke for himself and on behalf of Omid, and met frequently with police officers at almost every border, which they saying that it was very inconvenient for them.

For Milad, the most difficult checkpoint was in Serbia. “The police arrested me more than six times there.”

“When I tell it, it’s easy, and we can quickly discuss the details of the story … . It was the rainy season, and I didn’t want to be wet

“We only brought a backpack, peanut snacks, and two bottles of water. It couldn’t be too heavy, or we wouldn’t be able to walk.”

Meanwhile, the toughest checkpoint for Omid was in Croatia. The police there threatened Omid, saying, “We will send you back to Iran.”

Go to Germany and apply for asylum

Starting from Serbia onwards, Omid joins the group, of which Milad is also a member. “We walked to Germany together,” he said, with a deep sense of exhaustion, as he recalled the difficult journey.

At the end of the dangerous journey, Omid and Milad finally arrived in Germany.

Omid noted that unlike other border checkpoints, they were well received by the German police. “The treatment here is really humane and kind,” he said.

Milad echoed Omid and said: “I feel very safe in this country.

Like many other refugees, they also applied for asylum and are now living a normal life in Germany.

Omid hopes that the German government will continue to support Iranian citizens who are forced to flee. “They had to leave their homes, their country, their families and their belongings just to save themselves,” he said.

Iran’s reformist president, can he make changes?

The social and political situation in Iran has worsened since the wave of protests after the death of Jina Mahsa Amini. Many activists, including teenagers, were persecuted, sentenced to long prison terms, and even executed.

Serious violations of women’s rights and human rights by the country’s religious leaders have encouraged many of its citizens to choose to flee, despite the great risks.

However, with the election of a president who is considered a reformer, Masoud Pezeshkian, there has been speculation about how things in the country could change.

During the campaign, the 69-year-old promised to build trust between the “central government” and the Iranian people, but did not promise radical change.

Furthermore, in the political system of the Islamic Republic, the president is not the head of state but only the head of government who is elected through general elections.

Most of the power is in the hands of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Ighan Shahidi, an Iranian researcher at the University of Cambridge, told DW last month that he does not expect any improvement in Iran on human rights, especially women’s rights and persecution of religious minorities. such as the Bahais, despite the leadership of Iran.

“What is clear is that there are directives and regulations issued by high-ranking government organizations and institutions in Iran, such as the Supreme Council for the Cultural Revolution, which will cause many violations of the rights of the Iranian people,” he said.

“It seems that the president does not have the authority or ability to achieve change or improvement in such cases,” he said.

Feeling safe in Germany

“As long as the Iranian regime continues to suppress people’s basic rights, persecuted Iranians will often choose to make the dangerous journey to flee the country,” he said. the activists.

For those who have successfully escaped, this journey has very high risks, as experienced by Milad and Omid, two of hundreds of people who fled Iran in recent years.

The two also emphasized that the effect of the closure of Islamic institutions by the German government, especially those linked to the Iranian government, had increased their sense of security.

“Furthermore, now that the German government has closed Islamic institutions dealing with Iran, my request, and the request of all Iranian people, is to include Sepah in the list of terrorist groups,” Omid said, referring to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is in charge of protecting the regime in that country.

(kp/s)

(eng/ita)