Insurance, explained like a conversation

I want to support them, but I can’t.

On the other hand, I also met people who said they couldn’t support the Iranian national team.

S Gorjian (41), who runs an insurance agency, was born and raised in Iran and says that as a child he used to play soccer with his friends in the alleys.

At the time, the Japanese anime “Captain Tsubasa” was being broadcast on television, and he said he looked forward to watching it every week.

However, it is said that Gorjian’s family, being a minority Christian group in the area, has faced a difficult position under the Islamic regime.

In 2010, he happened to witness an anti-government demonstration and posted about it on social media. After receiving a warning from the authorities, he and his family fled to the United States.

Hearing that many civilians were killed in the large-scale anti-government demonstrations held in Iran in January of this year has further increased discontent with the government.

Gorzian says he cannot support the national team
because seeing the Iranian flag raised at matches reminds him of the people who died standing up in protest against the government.

Why do we have different opinions?

I felt like I caught a glimpse of the complex emotions of people of Iranian descent.

Atsuko Tsubakihara, an associate professor at Ryukoku University who is knowledgeable about Iranian communities abroad, says that factors such as when they left Iran, including around the time of the Islamic Revolution when the current anti-American regime was established, have an influence.