Explanation

Photo taken in the Open Air Museum in Arnhem

So, those Iranians last weekend, what were they all about? Well, as someone said in one of the comments: they probably were refugees and that is correct. A few Iranians didn't think staying in Iran was good for their health and they left home, hearth and family behind to try and make a new life in Europe. They tend to end up in refugee camps where they are thrown in with people from Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Tunisia, China and whatever other country refugees come from.

After a while they start to be 'processed', basically: someone verifies the person and the story to come to a conclusion that a. they are genuine refugees and have the right to stay in the country they are in at that time or b. they are lying through their teeth and will be send back to the country of origin at the earliest possibility or c. anything in between. This process can last up to ten years! In which period the refugees are not allowed to work and can only go to school up to the age of 18 (in the Netherlands).

Of course many of the refugees would like to return 'home' to their families and friends, to their jobs and their own culture. But, in the case of Iran, sometimes the country they come from has not changed (enough) to allow for a smooth transition back home. The minute they step off the plane in Teheran (the Iranian capital), there is in many cases a serious threat of being arrested and ending up in jail for years!

Enter an Iranian charity that paid for the venue, the hotels, the buses and the food so all those Iranian people from all over Europe could come to Paris and meet and wave some flags and do whatever else they did.