“I Have a Dream”: Al-Kaabi Sheds Light on the Ahwazi Cause in a MEMRI Article

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), based in Washington, D.C., has published an article by Dr. Aref Al-Kaabi, head of the Ahwazi State Executive Committee, titled “I Have a Dream.” In this piece, Al-Kaabi expresses the profound hopes and legitimate ambitions of the Ahwazi people in their quest for freedom and dignity. He emphasizes the importance of international support for peoples’ rights to self-determination and shares a vision for the future focused on liberation from occupation and the preservation of cultural identity.

Here is an excerpt from the article:

“I dream of living in my homeland as a respected citizen, free from racial discrimination and without the humiliation of Persian occupation. I dream of learning Arabic alongside my children and grandchildren, free to practice our traditions, heritage, and Arab culture, to name our children with Arabic names, to wear our Arab attire in schools and public offices, and not to be demeaned because we are Arabs. I hope my innocent brothers, relatives, and friends will be released from Iranian prisons, and that we will have employment opportunities equal to the Persians. I dream of living in a democracy, with genuine representatives in a true parliament. I dream of enjoying prosperity like the Arabs of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, yet I also fear the collapse of the racist Iranian regime disguised as Islam. I worry it would devastate our land in revenge, creating chaos as it did in Iraq and Syria. So, I am caught between two fires.

Yet, God willing, Ahwaz will gain independence with the support of friends, in accordance with international law that Persia violated in 1925 when it occupied our independent land and killed our leader in captivity. After World War I, the British wanted to empower Iran against the Russian communist expansion by giving it Ahwaz, but today, Iran has become an ally of Russia and China – how ironic!

I dream of reclaiming my land’s wealth, rich in oil, gas, fresh water, agriculture, and coastlines. My homeland is vast, the size of the U.S. state of Montana, and we are now about 12 million people (with another 5 million Arabs outside Ahwaz), mostly Muslim, with some Christians and Jews among us. I dream of freedom and independence, for only then will Iran become a marginalized, impoverished state with no ports, and the Ahwazi Strait of Hormuz will be freed from Iranian control. The region will rid itself of Persian hegemony and interference in neighboring countries, the Iranian nuclear military project will cease, and we will finally live in peace!”