Mohammad Kazem Kazemi, Afghanistan’s Famous Poet, Has Rejected Iranian Citizenship
Mohajir Times
According to Mohajir Times, quoted by Afghanistan International, Mohammad Kazem Kazemi, a famous Afghan poet, refused to accept Iranian citizenship. He told Afghanistan International that he might have lost “A Lot of Things” by receiving Iranian citizenship, while as an immigrant, he could better play his cultural role.
This Afghan poet recently said in an interview with the Etilaatroz newspaper that the Iranian authorities told him he could get citizenship in this country among some of the Afghanistan elites in Iran.
Mr. Kazemi told Afghanistan International: “The truth was that I felt that as an Afghan immigrant, I can better fulfill the cultural role and duties that are on my shoulders. As a person from Afghanistan, but I am living in Iran, I can facilitate some activities and represent the face of Afghan immigrants in Iran.”
He added: “Of course, that citizenship could be very useful for me in terms of solving the legal bottlenecks of immigration, but I felt that I was missing something, or it could be said that the scope for some other activities would decrease. Now, as an Afghan migrant, I represent the Afghanistan people in the media, in Iranian literary circles. At that time, this was no longer possible.”
This famous emigrant poet added that many Afghanistan immigrants and people might be “Unsatisfied” with the acceptance of Iranian citizenship, that one of the cultural figures of their country has been separated from them. Mr. Kazemi said that instead of accepting Iranian citizenship, he requested to be issued a “Special Residence Permit.” In response, the Islamic Republic has granted him a “Ten-Year” residence permit.
According to him, the Islamic Republic has been issuing special residences to elite Afghanistan immigrants for several years. However, Mohammad Kazem Kazemi added: “It is the right of many immigrant people to have Iranian citizenship; Especially those who were born in Iran. I wish this position would be provided for many people, especially those born in Iran. The fact that I refused it was due to my personal situation, and otherwise I would recommend it to anyone else who can get it.”
This Afghan poet and researcher has been living in Iran since 1984 and mainly works in editing and publishing books. Mr. Kazemi became famous in Iran by publishing his poetry collection “I Had Come On Foot.” In addition to his poetry collections, the books “Rozenah” (Window) “Hamzabani Wa Bizabani” (Colloquialism & Languagelessness) “Marqa Sad Rang” (A Hundred Colors Patched) and some other works have been published. Meanwhile, the works of Khalilullah Khalili, “Criticism of Bidel” by Salahuddin Saljuqi, and “Afghanistan in the last five centuries” by Mohammad Sadiq Farhang, edited by Mr. Kazemi, have been reprinted in Iran.
This is while the Islamic Republic of Iran, on September 29, 2021, issued a ten-year special residence permit to Mohammad Kazem Kazemi and his family members during an official ceremony at the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Mashhad.
