✍️By Shabana Shabdeez
In the midst of a scorching summer, somewhere along the border between Iran and Afghanistan, an image was captured — an image that leaves words faltering and hearts unable to bear its weight: an Afghan child, too young to grasp the meaning of “border,” “deportation,” or “homeland,” sleeping on top of suitcases that hold the entirety of his family’s life. Under the blazing sun, defenseless, exhausted, and hungry, amid the crowd of other deportees, this innocent child stands as a symbol of a human crisis that has persisted for years in silence and indifference.
He is one of thousands of children who, along with their families, have been forcibly expelled from Iran — families who had crossed into the neighboring country in search of a better future and a piece of bread, only to return disillusioned and adrift to a land that still offers no safety for its children. For many of these children, Afghanistan is either an unfamiliar and unknown land or one shrouded in vague, terrifying memories.
This child, in temperatures exceeding 40°C, with no shelter, no access to clean water, his eyes half-open from exhaustion, sleeps on suitcases that are no longer luggage but a makeshift bed in the no-man’s-land. There is no sign of relief teams, human rights organizations, or serious media coverage. This image is not merely a moment of forced migration — it is a reflection of the wounded conscience of contemporary humanity.
The forced deportation of migrants, especially children, is a blatant violation of human rights. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which the Islamic Republic of Iran is a party, emphasizes children’s rights to shelter, education, healthcare, and a life free from violence. Yet in practice, what we witness is discrimination, neglect, and injustice.
The years these children lived in Iran were marked by deprivation, discrimination, and humiliation — from standing in line at bakeries to attending school, university, and even playing in parks, the bias against them was evident, and their lives were always harsh and unjust.
Today, this image must serve as a cry in all our ears: do not remain silent in the face of children’s suffering. This Afghan child is not merely a statistic in migration reports; he is a child with fragile dreams, with the right to live, and with eyes that can still look toward the future with hope — if the world chooses to care.
