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‘We want war to end’, Iranian traders in Tripura
Traders like Pervez, who are touring different parts of India building trade relations, remain anxious about their families staying there
24-year-old trader from Tehran Pervez Ali Aman wants peace to prevail amid the ongoing conflict across the Middle East after US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
Traders like Pervez, who are touring different parts of India building trade relations, remain anxious about their families staying there.
Pervez Ali Aman is Iranian from his father’s side and Afghan from his mother’s side. The military strikes, bombings in the war in Iran have left an impact on his family, his brothers who are staying in Tehran and maternal family in Afghanistan.
Pervez has been staying in India since 2013, completing his schooling at a government-run school in New Delhi. He came to Tripura, being part of traders’ group of Central Asia and Iran, to participate in the fairs during the winter months.
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He attended fairs at Delhi’s Pragati Maidan, Lucknow, Kolkata, Pune before coming to Agartala, selling dry fruits, cardamoms, saffron besides silver jewellery.
“My father is from Iran and my mother is from Afghanistan. I can speak Hindi, Punjabi, English along with Dari, Pashto and Farsi”, said Pervez amidst working at his stall at the Ocean World Carnival in Agartala.
When asked about the ongoing conflict, he said the situation remains precarious in Tehran.
“We are trying to get our families out of Iran, if possible. We don’t want any conflict . We want peace. We want the USA and Israel to stop this war”, he said.
His worries aren’t limited to Iran, it is also about Afghanistan where his maternal relatives stay.
Reports of the Pakistan-Afghanistan conflict have also added to his ongoing worries.
“We also want peace to prevail everywhere- Afghanistan, Iraq. Too much violence is going on. The United Nations should intervene in this case”, he said.
He also appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his intervention.
Praising India, he said, “I want to stay in India. India is very good for trade. India is safe and Indian people are good”.
Zakir Ulla Karimi, another trader from Tehran, in the stall, echoed similar sentiments.
Zakir has been touring the similar fair circuit since November last year with Pragati Maidan (now Bharat Mandapam) followed by Lucknow, Pune, Punjab, Kolkata before Agartala.
Zakir’s entire family including his mother and siblings are staying in Tehran.
“All my family members are still in Tehran. The situation there is not good. They are safe as of now. We want the war to stop”, said Zakir.
The US and Israel launched widespread strikes on 28 February, targeting Iran’s missile infrastructure, military sites and leadership in the capital, Tehran, and across the country.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who led the country since 1989, was killed during the first wave of strikes.
