Zahra Kamalfar is an Iranian refugee living in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

. She was originally from the Muslim

Dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from fa, درویش, ''Darvīsh'') in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage i ...

sect and her husband was executed in Iranian custody. After her husband's death, she fled the country with her son Davood and daughter Anna. From

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

, they fled into

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. From Russia, the family planned to go to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

and then seek

political asylum The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another entit ...

. When Kamalfar went to

, the German authorities sent her back to Russia. Russia planned to deport her back to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

but they did not. Instead, she lived in the

Sheremetyevo International Airport Sheremetyevo Alexander S. Pushkin International Airport ( rus, links=no, Международный аэропорт Шереметьево имени А. С. Пушкина, p=ʂɨrʲɪˈmʲetʲjɪvə ''Mezhdunarodny aeroport Sheremetyevo imen ...

for ten months, and finally went to

where she has been residing since March 15, 2007.

Plea Message from Zahra Kamalfar from Sheremetivo airport

On Saturday November 18, 2006, Zahra Kamalfar passed the following video message from

Sheremetivo Sheremetyevo Alexander S. Pushkin International Airport ( rus, links=no, Международный аэропорт Шереметьево имени А. С. Пушкина, p=ʂɨrʲɪˈmʲetʲjɪvə ''Mezhdunarodny aeroport Sheremetyevo imen ...

airport: :We have nowhere to sleep, nowhere to rest and nowhere to bathe. :My kids have not seen the sun for 16 month, no sunlight. They haven't seen daylight or nighttime. :Life in here is very hard. My kids have nowhere to take a shower to clean themselves. :There water here is from the toilet, we drink from the toilet water. :In the toilet we fill the bucket of the water in the middle of the night away from the eyes of the authority to take the bath. :I have no place to wash my clothes, all doors are close on us. :In here they disrespect us, police have attack us they throw our belongings in the middle of the transit hall, she push me, I hit the wall and blood drip out from my mouth. She told me you have too much staff, don't sit here sit there. Every night she questioning us: Who you are? Where are you going too? There is not humanity here, no human rights, nobody care about us, nobody hears our scream, and all doors are close to us. :We sleep on a cold floor. :My son is 12 years of age his teeth are falling off. He pull three teeth with his own hands without a medicine. :I beg to come to our help and save us from this hell. :My daughter is ill there are brown spots all over here body, her teeth are falling out she needs to see the dentist. :Please help us.

Plea Message from Zahra Kamalfar from Sheremetivo airport

References

See also