Iranian students in Lund are hurting from the economic sanctions on their country. Their pockets are emptier, and their money now comes from strangers in Malmö rather than the banks.
— It isn’t easy to receive money from our parents because all Iranian banks are under the sanction. Often, students must find someone in Iran who has a connection to someone in Sweden, said Kourosh Hooshmand, a chemistry student from Iran.
This is the tiresome chore that receiving money for living expenses has become for Iranian students in Lund. Kourosh continues:
–The students must trust these contacts to transport the money as promised. However, this is no guarantee.
The economic sanctions on Iran by the United States and several EU countries has made access to funds difficult for Iranian students all over the world.
–Since one month ago, I have to go to Malmö to meet someone who has arrived from Iran to pick up my money, said Zeynab Kahlor, an Iranian Master’s student in political science. I don’t always know who this person is, so it feels risky.
But the sanctions has not only made accessing funds more difficult, but also devalued these funds enormously.
–I am twice as poor today, said Ali, a student from Iran, to Sweden’s P3 News Radio. When I came to Sweden a year and a half ago, the krona equaled 1430 rial (Iranian currency). Now it costs 3100 rial.
With less money in their pockets, basic expenses naturally become more challenging to meet.
–A friend of mine was living in a very nice flat, but has since been forced to move because the weaker currency has made the rent too expensive, said Zeynab Kalhor.
Even Iranians with Swedish bank accounts are affected by the sanctions.
–My friend recently received a letter from Handelsbanken saying that they were forced to block his card and terminate his electronic account in accordance with the sanctions, said Kourosh.
Koroush is among the luckier ones, being on the final leg of his studies. Many of his fellow Iranians, however, will have to somehow overcome their financial difficulties.
–We’re all very cautious with our expenses these days, said Kourosh.
32 Comments
Phile Ivey12345
ive seen this guy driving a bmw m3, what is he talking about?
Saeedalaei17
Dear.Phile,Ivey12345 ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
He
is talking about facing with many basic problems as his other country-mates are facing with. Something that maybe you never think
about.It is not a joke. We are in this situation not only because of our government
but also because of people who call it a joke and do not care about
it.
Ana_cociorva
This guy is my friend and he definitely doesn’t have a BMW!
Kourosh Hooshmand
I am living in Delphi and my phone umber is 0738907368! lets meet to have a cup of tea together in my little nest Phile! Maybe you meant my bicycle because sometimes I call it BMW. It is quite rusty bike but it is still working very well.
Gabor
That wasn’t his BMW, trust me, I know him…He is a good friend and a good scientist, you don’t have to judge him from the appearance which is not even true….and I’m not Iranian 🙂
Farshad
Yes, that’s is the way that many Iranian students have lived. We don’t want people around the world feel sorry for us and we don’t want to show ourselves as victims however we are actually! Anything have been happened between Iranian governments, US and Europe has had nothing to do with Iranian people rights.. I as an Iranian student has not experienced a normal life since I always had to be concerned about something in Iran or even here in Europe..I don’t really know what should I say!!
Amir
ٰAs an Iranian student who arrived in Sweden in 2009, I am able to compare the life of my friends then and now. What Koroosh and other students in this article say is definitely true. However, this is only part of the truth. The real difficulty is much bigger. We have always been facing negative judgement from people just because we look differently and come from Middle East. This cultural and social pressure, however, was managable. Now this economic challenge is making everything just out of control. Imagine a piece of bread is now more than twice expensive as it was 1 months ago.
The real question is, who US and EU would really like to pressure? How is this situation pressuring the administration in Iran? Who is really suffering?
Guest
how would you stay in sweden by applying degrees over degrees in a country that is not so cheap in terms of living cost? please tell us how long have you been living here in Sweden? 5 years? how would you travel to other countries in EU and have fun while you believe you have money problem? Please do not make fool out of people in Sweden and stop leaving such bad impression on Iranian community living here. best of luck!!
Kourosh Hooshmand
My dear unknown Friend,
Maybe u are working in Sweden and you dont have this difficulty which we have encountered right now. Sure If I get a job or phd then I will be not nagging about this problem. Yes the time that the rate of our currency was ok and it was easy to receive money from the bank I didnt have serious problem. But come on now the rate of our currency has changed 100 % and no banks are providing you money from Iran. so you should contemplate that in this supercritical condition we should do something. I am not taking about you because it seems you dont have this problem here and my talk was about Iranian students all around the word who are dealing with such a difficult situation. I recommend you my dear friend to read the book The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain again.
Cheers
Guest
there are people in your neighbors living 3-4 students in 18 square meters and they work all night long distributing the papers making 13,000 SEK per month BUT they dont complain about life or they don’t feel ashamed of their origins. of course some of them prefer to send a part of this income to their families abroad, not going to parties concerts or spending their times on vacations! please please please be more self-esteemed and dont try to find reasons to justify all your laziness in life. instead of connecting your problems to your country to feel more relaxed about yourself be more responsible in life finish your degree and look for a job. best of luck!
Shabnam
Dear Mr./Ms. Guest!!!! I am so sorry about the way of your thinking!!!! Who has said that these guys are going to parties or traveling around or studying degrees over degrees!!!! if you reas the article more carefully, you will see that by depreciation of the exchange rate, the students are even unable to live in the flat that they were used to!
Also, who are you to tell the people to live 3- 4 in 18th square meter!!!!! why do think that you can ignore the problem and give such shameful solution to this!!!!
Fortunately, the people around me know really well Iranians and know that this is not a bad impression about Iranians! It just shows the international community that although they claim the sanctions do not affect people, it exactly make people to suffer from it!
Do not just leave comment to show off! I am also not student here, but I know many students not only in Sweden but also in some other countries!
These students are talking about their real problem! Remember, if depreciation of the exchange rate is not affecting you (good for you) they are some others, who are suffering, and stop advising people to feel more responsible! They do themselves!!!!
Instead of being offensive try to help!!!!!!
Guest
who are you to think that those international communities dont know the exact situation of people you? an international student who spend 24 hours a day studying science? if you read the history, you would find so many iranians who spend their nights at parks yet they became true contributors not only to their countries but to the world. i feel so sorry to see such comments from a country man who instead of focusing more on resolving the problem is becoming a new problem that has to be solved!
Shabnam
I hope at least your solution as a problem solver(!!) works by just suggesting people sleep in parks or a group in 18th square meter room!!!!!
This is the way that they thought may work! If they want to talk about their problems is not a problem!!!!
I am also so sorry to see such country man!!!! Instead of helping each other do not point to others and insult!!!!
Guest
i dont suggest people to sleep at parks ! what i exactly say is reminding you that there are people who are facing hard situation and they try to solve the problem by finding a job or finishing their studies and get back home. if you feel that you are not able to study by sharing your room, maybe you are not really here for studying. i don’t know about you but there are people who would die for their studies without putting their country under the question marks. just open up your eyes and see people around you, i doubt that you did your best to manage your difficulties concerning your monetary problems.
Shabnam
You cannot decide for others how to live! How do you know that when I was student in Sweden I was there for studying or not!!!! This is a really stupidity to turn the subject like that!!!!! You know, I think discussing with such narrow minded person is waste of time!!! Everyone has the right to decide how he/she wants to live! It is up to people to decied if they want to share their room according to their personality or their habbits not by their goals!!!
Guest
I did not decide for anybody,i just left my comment. and i dont really think if you would have the right to call me names 🙁
Sahar pooria
وقتی زندگی چیز زیادی به شما نمی دهد ، به خاطر این است که شما چیز زیادی از ان نخواسته اید .افتاب به گیاهی حرارت می دهد که سر از خاک بیرون اورده باشد .کوروش کبیر
Martin
who the fuck are you to tell people how to live?
guess you need to work on your english dude
lundagard
Keep on with the discussion. But please, keep it civilised.
Kind regards// Jacob Hederos, webeditor.
Adriana
I found your comment so impolite. I never thought an Iranian guys would be this much impolite. You dance very well but you dont know how to show your respect to other people. I am deeply sorry for your language.
iman
Dear Guest
I don’t know why you afraid to write comment with your name !!!!
Roozbeh_n
the worst thing that my coapplicant and I are going to pay twice for extention of my student visa, 4000SEK/year . although I got and attached a letter from the university that I am supposed to finish the master program in January 2013, the migration board has extended our permit from Feb till end of the June and again I have to pay 2000kr for extending June to Jan.
Iranian students afford hardly their lives here in Sweden and they should deal with this rigmarole extending duties.
Why does the migration board put these barriers infront of Iranian students’ applications, Is in’t it better to give , at least , application fee discount to them while their national currency value is droping down daily in compare to SEK?
Arash
why do you think that migration board is responsible for considering discount on your application fee????
Sahar Nasseri
Dear friend who called us lazy or… I am a girl who should study first and then should try to find a job, but as you know we couldnt work at midnight , and really no job is available for us whom couldnt talk swedish so good, But you couldnt deny that if we could transfer money with the bank price of Iran, we can live here more easily. Please dont look at us like people who are always in party or…. which if you go is normal life here , but so many students they are just in the universities campus and they dont travel more often.
I becom glad if you dont judge us easily
Guest
I am also studying here in sweden. unfortunately iranian students are always seem to nag about life and their background while there are boys and girls that work so hard to manage their lives here without any support from their countries. obviously you could improve your language skills in swedish and in the next step find a proper job. last but not least you would get back to your country if you feel like learning a language or working at midnight is hard for you. i dont really judge you but i can’t really ignore those people who really try to manage their lives without blaming life and country. best of lucks!
Kourosh Hooshmand
My Dear guest friend,
First I should remind you that it
is against a law in Sweden to live groups of 3 or 4 people in 18th square meter
room. I am not going to take your advice in this issue my dear friend and I have
never seen any Iranian people who are living 3 or 4 in 18th square meter room in
Lund never.If you can show me one evidence I would be very happy to see.
Second as my friend Hadi and
shabnam mentioned (we don’t feel shame of our origin ,we are proud of
shame of our origin). I think is better for yourself to not hide yourself
behind this 2500 year-old civilisation which I did before but now I have
changed a lot! You are right, it is no problem at all from the sanctions, you
can get your money directly from the bank of your country, the exchange rate
are very stable ,you can travel with the airline of your country directly from
Sweden to Iran without stop in second country for getting fuel, no accident of airplane in Iran because of ban on selling
aircraft and repair parts to Iranian aviation companies., inflation is not
raising day by day, the war is not imminent and ….. I am not worrying to
reflect a bad news from my country my dear friend, I am proud of that.
Third, are you thinking that I am just
staying at home, lying on the couch and do nothing. Man please please open
your eyes and don’t consider that we are not care and not doing anything. Now I
have applied for 10 phd positions and many jobs even cleaning (which I am not ashamed
or embarrassed
to
do it) and hopefully I will get one of them. But I am not going to close my eyes
and see no one except myself from the problem of others because I have been
suffering from it a lot. Maybe you were lucky or knew the relation the time you
came in Sweden and got your job or phd right after but you were just lucky
because I know many many talented Iranian students here which are still looking
for a job day by day.
Farshad
Hello to everybody! Please read and think and don’t judge until find the message!
There is huge mass of comments which makes it difficult to read all, I have already read most of them. Dear Guests, unknowns and my Persian friends! I agree that sometimes we Iranian feel as victims and complain more than what it really is BUT dear unknown friend keep in your mind that Iranian life since 1979 revolution has faced a dramatic change regarding to the liberty, freedom, economy and people interactions,etc. So, imagine yourself as a 7 years old kid, has grown up in a rich enough family regarding to well educated parents, nice house and interesting relationships with people around. And some years later, suddenly you loose all those things and instead you find yourself in a frustrating condition as teenager. Now, you don’t have those friends and that fine condition. I just wanted to depict how Iran has changed and how Iranian kids from this transition period have found themselves. I don’t want to say we Iranians are doing well and complaining is the solution BUT you also can’t say these guys shouldn’t have fun, to travel or to party. Drinking, partying, sex or going to concerts are not waste of time, those are part of life for a certain age and you should know in Iran, me and my friends were deprived of those while just some years before we were born many things despite internal political situation were fine. Yes my unknown friend, If me or him is complaining,it is because of the mismatch in our life. We lost that part of our life since we had to compete hard to get the admission in Iran for going to university (The demand was crazy high and the seats were crazy a few) and I remember 2 years of hard time studies for getting in to University not even that field I was interested in. And then was 2 years obligatory military services. The first club I visited in my life was at the age of 27 when I came to Sweden (Is not late?!! while going to club was not such amazing thing just before 1979!). The first drink legally in public was here in Sweden before in Iran I had to find in black market and be concerned if it is not poisoned by Methanol, the first time I kissed a girl in public without watching around if the police is coming to arrest me was in Sweden, and I still have passed 80% of my courses by high pass here in Sweden (let’s send you a copy of Ladok) and soon will start with my thesis and hope to finish it soon. I have no intention to get degree over degree. So, I am not here to do dilly dally. I agree we should make our life in a way we want but this process is not that easy for my people because of dramatic change.. I am a self financed student who earned all money by himself during 2 years of work and living a factory. I have not got even 1 :- either from parents or government but still I don’t beg for money in anyways. You also need to keep in mind when my uncle went to study in US before 1979, each $ was 70 Rial and now is around 13,000 for students abroad. I really would like to talk to you in a friendly meting. Please feel secure, Iranians are well open minded to discussion. you can reach me by this number 0722930368, Farshad
Regards,
Ali
Its becoming so difficult for students, receiving money as cash and even for depositing money in the bank they require receipt from us.
Ali
Its becoming so difficult for students, receiving money as cash from unknown and even for depositing money in the bank they require receipt from us.
Sepehr
I get the guy, it doesn’t matter if he applies for degrees one after each or has a BMW, who cares? he says I want to have my money transferred into my account here in Sweden, that’s it. His money!! not yours, not mine and it doesn’t matter if he wants to gas up his car or buy a baguette and eat it with his 8 other roommates. He pays for his stupid government’s mistakes…
Kourosh Hooshmand
Thanks Sepehr! You exactly got the point! The subject was something else and Mr Guest who knows me very well put irrelevant comments! Thanks for clarifying that the topic was beyond the discussion that Mr guest has been initiated here!
Cheers
Garshasbi Manoochehr
I am myself a Student here, I am so confused, stressful, sad, angry at the same time.
This is unfair that we students here should pay for a war among IRAN,USA, Europe all of which were friends for many years in hidden, and now there is Atomic issue is a problem among them.I invested my time.life, and money on studying here and now I feel I lost everything in this condition. It is obvious that those countries which put sanctions in this way on IRAN and did not count us are enemies of us too.They are destroying our life, hopes, wishes, investments, efforts, mind, and any other things by their act.If a governing system is untrustable and dangerous for their world and even for its nation and people, while they accepted it for more than 30 years and did business and other projects with it. Why did they buy Petroleum and so many other stuff and even send their companies into the country and got different projects in all sectors while there are many unemployed engineers and specialists. I am sure that all you know the whole story.The result is obvious. They just think on their unsustainable Business values and no humanity and democratic issues which they claim for. If Humanity and democracy was a real factor, IRAN was not in this condition.When they are hurting us in many terms, it shows what the real story has been from many years ago.Believe that many Persian people that came here as asylum or small-business people are really happy on current condition and if ask their opinion they will say to you ”why do not wanna come back”. They are full of ”Obsessions and hateness”.The point for working is even much tricky. Just imagine that you are lucky and find a job here. For two courses that you should study 400 hours in 2 months to get at least ”Pass”, how you can work and afford your expenses.