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Saheba - AFghan from Iran  ·  Iran

Arrival

"I only want to be treated like a human being. I just want to be free and to live in peace and safety..."

Photography by Christophe Mortier
Editing by Twila Bird
ARRIVAL SUPER STORY PORTRAIT REFUGEE WOMAN TRAIN

I was an Afghan woman living in Iran. My parents fled to Iran in the late 1970’s, when their little town was taken over by the Taliban. I was born in Iran. As a woman, and especially as an Afghan woman living in Iran, I had no rights, no freedom to choose my path.

My family and I had to leave everything and flee again because our lives were once again threatened by the Taliban- even in Iran. Now I am an Afghan woman living in Germany.

I only want to be treated like a human being. I just want to be free and to live in peace and safety.

Saheba, Afghan from Iran

Informed Consent

Our team members obtain informed consent from each individual before an interview takes place. Individuals dictate where their stories may be shared and what personal information they wish to keep private. In situations where the individual is at risk and/or wishes to remain anonymous, alias names are used and other identifying information is removed from interviews immediately after they are received by TSOS. We have also committed not to use refugee images or stories for fundraising purposes without explicit permission. Our top priority is to protect and honor the wishes of our interview subjects.

What would you do if you had to leave everything behind?

By the end of 2025, more than 117.8 million people worldwide had been forcibly displaced by war, persecution, or human rights abuses — and 45 million of them are children.

They arrive in refugee camps and countries seeking safety and carrying little: legal papers, if they're lucky. A backpack. A child's hand in theirs.

What they carry that we can't see is heavier: fractured families, homes they'll never return to, professions they loved, friends and relatives they may never see again.

In a climate where immigrant stories are often ignored or twisted, we believe stories are a form of justice. When someone shares what they survived, they reclaim their voice. When we amplify it through film, photography, and advocacy, the world listens. Hearts soften. Policy begins to shift.

Because when a lawmaker sees a person instead of a statistic, and a neighbor understands instead of fears, rebuilding becomes possible.

Your support helps us share these stories where they matter most.

— Kristen Smith Dayley, Executive Director, Their Story is Our Story

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