A refugee from Iran and Ball State student shared the story of his struggle to get a higher education at a film screening Monday night.
The screening for the documentary “Education Under Fire,” presented by the university’s Bahá’i Student Association, shed light on a policy under the Iranian government prohibiting members of the Bahá’i religion to attend higher learning institutions.
Students in Iran must check a box next to one of four listed religions when applying to a school, Misagh Hakimian, the student, said. Bahá’i is not an option.
Hakimian said his friends suggested he lie on his applications and select a different religion. But he refused, saying he could not lie about his faith because of his Bahá’i principles.
“There is no hope for higher education in Iran,” Hakimian said. “Other religious minorities are persecuted as well, but not to the same intensity.”
Hakimian remembers being called into his principal’s office twice for “teaching” his Bahá’i faith when he answered questions from students and teachers. He was threatened with being kicked out of his school if he continued sharing his faith.
“People lost their lives [for being Bahá’i],” he said. “I would just lose my education. It wasn’t as bad.”
After being prohibited from attending a higher learning institution because of his religious beliefs, Hakimian had two choices: join the Iranian military or flee the country. He chose to leave Iran and spent a year at a refugee camp in Turkey. Hakimian came to Indiana in 2011 to pursue an education in biochemistry.
“It’s a tough experience,” he said. “It’s a different culture and there are few Iranian students.”
But Hakimian said he understands the risks being arrested if he were to ever go back to Iran.
The documentary highlighted the Bahá’i Institute for Higher Education, an underground education system established in 1987 aiming to “provide its youth with a new means for access to higher education,” according to its website.
The University Coalition for the International Criminal Court co-sponsored the event.
“The UCICC is all about making an equal playing field for everyone,” director Matthew Smith said. “Many times, the governments themselves are the ones doing these injustices.
“It’s important to look for venues, like the International Criminal Court, to keep the most powerful people in the world accountable.”
The film screening and Hakimian’s story made students in the U.S. thankful for the opportunities they have.
“I just thought about how you could equate this to blacks and whites in America,” Jessi Ireland, a criminal justice major, said. “I feel like I should be thankful that I can actually go to class even if I don’t necessarily want to go.”
Rebecca Burkart, Bahá’i Student Association’s faculty adviser, said she hopes today’s technology can spread the word about the discrimination in Iran against the Bahá’i.
“It’s so much easier for people to get the word out,” she said. “If people go online and sign these petitions the Iranian government will see it. They will pay attention.”
