While politicians and intelligentsia in Iran often blame the US government for racism towards minorities, their track record at home is far from perfect. The Afghans’ experience is a case in point.

When American George Floyd was killed on the street in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in late May, his death sparked a global movement demanding justice for minorities. However, the movement has not fully reached the Middle East in general, and Iran in particular. When "Black Lives Matter" echoed across the Middle East, many members of media and intellectuals used it as another example of American hypocrisy. However, a discussion on racism and discrimination is long overdue. The difference is in the victims of oppression, not all of whom are black, in countries across the region.

There are many things that set Iran and Afghanistan apart from one another. However, few countries in the world have such a tight bond. They have share a cultural heritage and mythology and celebrate the same literary figures and heroes. They were part of the same political entity until the mid-19th century, when Afghanistan became a nation-state in its own right. Despite this history, few foreigners are treated as foreign as Afghan immigrants in Iran.

At the time of Iran’s Islamic Revolution of 1979, there had been 400,000 Afghans in Iran, working and living in Iran’s eastern provinces, sharing a border with Afghanistan. However, the situation changed dramatically when the USSR invaded Afghanistan following a communist coup in Kabul. Thousands of Afghans sought refuge in Iran, a country with the same language, religion, history and culture. It was the beginning of their saga.