A MIGRANT JOURNEY TO INTEGRATION

From 1983 to 2016, share the journey of Bahman, an Iranian migrant who is now living with his family next to Paris.

Once arrived in France, Bahman went to the administrative centre to ask for asylum. Thanks to the apology note in his visa file, he got accepted easily and was assigned to a young worker’s house in the suburban town of Sarcelles.

There, he was getting some pocket money; his meals and his room were free, but most importantly he had the opportunity to take French language lessons. As he explains it, those classes were helpful because thanks to them he was able to start speaking the language of his new country.

From short-term to long-term stay

He admits that, at first, during his stay at the young worker’s house, he wasn’t able to mingle with the other people. The first reason was, of course, the language issue, but Bahman also stresses the fact that, at that time, he was still in a bubble, focused on his motherland.

During the first months, Bahman wasn’t really interested in integration into his new country. His plan was to stay for a year or two, until the situation in Iran changed, and go back. Therefore, he didn’t put much effort in learning the language or finding an occupation.

When he realised that he had to stay, he started looking for a job and for a way to resume his studies. Instead of going for an industrial training course – as he thought it would get him a short-term job – he decided to study computer science. He then found his first job and started his life as an average French worker.

Interpretation of integration

Bahman confesses that his first motivation to integrate his new country and try to speak the language properly was the need to work seriously. He first started making efforts to speak the language when he started his first job. When working in a French company he got to meet his first French friends and got to learn more and more about the French culture.

After working for a few years, he asked to be naturalised and got the French nationality.

Once he got fluent in French, Bahman was able, for example, to read some classics of French literature. He did read some when he was in Iran, but he stresses the fact that reading those books in the original language was a real pleasure. He still reads a lot and explains that he appreciates this way of learning more about his adoptive country.

When asked if he feels that he is now integrated in the French society, he stays cautious. He insists on the fact that there are several interpretation of the word “integration”. For him, being integrated doesn’t mean transforming into the average citizen of the new country. He feels that each person should keep the culture from their homeland, and add the new country’s culture to it.

As an example, he describes his interview at the administrative centre to get naturalised. He explains that, though the centre employee asked him to pick a French name for his new passport, he refused and kept his Iranian name.

Bahman now lives, with his wife and their two kids, in the suburbs of Paris.