What Is in This Book Leaving Iran 4 My Homeland Iran 6 Zahra’s Story Life Before the Conflict 8 The Conflict in Iran 10 Zahra’s Story Living Amid the Conflict 12 Nations Unite to Send Help 14 Zahra’s Story Fleeing from Tehran 16 What Paths Do Refugees Take 18 Zahra’s Story The Journey to Australia 20 Some Countries Welcome Refugees 22 Zahra’s Story My New Home in Brisbane 24 Challenges Refugees Face 26 You Can Help 28 Glossary 30 Learning More 31 Index and About the Author 32
Leaving Iran In Iran the government wants to control people’s beliefs and actions It stops them from expressing opinions that are different from what the government believes People in Iran cannot gather in groups to protest against things they disagree with Those who do so are treated harshly People are also treated badly because of their religion beliefs or ethnic group The government does not want its citizens to have beliefs or religions different from their own There are also some terrorist groups in Iran Because of this many other countries will not do business with Iran Turkey Syria Jordan 4 Caspian Sea Tehran Iran shares borders with many countries including Afghanistan Pakistan Turkey and Iraq Iraq Iran Afghanistan Kuwait Saudi Arabia Pakistan India Gulf of Oman Persian Gulf United Arab Emirates
UN Rights of the Child Every child has rights Rights are privileges and freedoms that are protected by law Refugees have the right to special protection and help The United Nations UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is a document that lists the rights of children all over the world Think about these rights as you read this book Around 7 million Iranians do not have enough money to buy the basic things they need to survive such as food and clothing Over the past several years thousands of people have been killed or arrested by the government because of their different values Many have left their homes to find safety Some people remain in the country They are called internally displaced persons IDPs Thousands of people have fled Iran These people are refugees Refugees flee their homeland because of unsafe conditions They are different from immigrants Immigrants choose to leave to look for better opportunities in another country Iran’s flag 5
