Slavery in the Iranian authorities system

 Slavery in the Iranian authorities system

Sunday, September 21st, 2014

Kamil Alboshoka

According to the article 4 of the universal declaration of Human Rights, ”no one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave shall be prohibited in all their forms” (The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 10th December 1948).

Slavery is a kind of forced hard labour throughout the life of slaves working as indentured labour in the work force majeure, wars and was returning ownership for people who forced them to be slave (Steven Mints, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American history). For instance, around 11 million black people were taken from west Africa to USA and Central America to be slave in the trade reason, but slavery can be other things such as slavery in economy, culture, politics, and geo-demographic, which all of them have a political background. It means the stronger or who have power run group of people who are politically and economically weak like the situation of Ahwazi who are under control by the Iranian regime that have extreme radical ideologies.

Slavery were completely abolished in the UK in 1833; but in the USA the law that were sent by the Senate to abolish slavery was on April 8, 1864, and by the House on January 31, 1865, and were finally abolished on December 6, 1865 (National Archives). However, slavery still have route with the Iranian regime ideologies such as historical, religious, politics and economy routes.

The Iranian regime encourage Persian settlements to buy Arab people’s land, and make Arab to work as a cleaner, or farmer in the lands. It means the regime indirectly encourage Persian settlements to make Arab as a slave for their economy plan. For instance, Akbar Torkan, the vice president of Iran on the TV interview encouraged Persian to buy all Arab lands in Abadan and Mohamereh city.

The Iranian regime also closed all Ahwazi NGOs that have linked with cultural and language background, and were arrested majority of the founders. In the revolutionary courts, majority of the activists were faced critical behaviour of the judges which made the activists to think are they serf or whether not. For example, the case of the members of Al-Hewar cultural organisation, and Al-Shabab organisation.

Many cities and villages in Ahwaz have faced demographic change, many lands have been confiscated and were given to Persian settlements to make Arabs as a minority in their lands. Arabs are also having difficulties to access job opportunities which make over 20% of Arabs are unemployed and some cities like Mohammerah unemployment rate reach 40%. In fact, all these inequalities and discrimination of the Iranian authorities against Ahwazi have a political background that have began since the occupation of Ahwaz in 1925.

The Iranian authorities use Arabs as a slave and very rarely give them opportunities to be thrive on economy, politics and education although article 4 of the universal declaration of Human Rights pointed out that ”nobody has any right to make everyone as a slave”.

Violations of human rights in Ahwaz have reached a serious stage between the Iranian regime and Ahwazi Arab people, which this policy motivate Persian settlements to insult Arab culture, history and ethnicity directly on their TVs, universities, schools, media, newspapers; and look for Arab as poor culture and slave.

The policies of the Iranian authorities against Ahwazi Arab to isolate them from the world is increasingly rise up. For instance, majority of police stations run by Persian, services run by Persian, many Arabs lost their jobs in the oil and gas industries which Arab only make few percentage of the workers; and the regime also deprived Arabs of accessing clean water, and move Ahwazi rivers to Persian cities like changing the way of Karon from Ahwaz to Isfahan.

To conclude, there are several ways to put the Iranian authorities under pressure to stop the regime system to make Arabs as a slave through media, NGOs groups, international formal diplomats reports, governmental condemnations, United Nations pressure, and also through protest inside Ahwaz against Iranian authorities system.

What is more, having contact with some organisations like ‘International Covenant on Economic, social and Cultural Rights (1966)’ in the base of right to non-discrimination, right to work, just and favourable conditions of work, trade union rights, right to social security, right to health, right to education, and right to an adequate standard of living can play massive role in putting Iran under pressure to stop its treatment against Ahwazi Arab people.