JOSHUA SOBHANI
Creative and Passionate
ALL ABOUT JOSHUA SOBHANI
I first dove into the world of film and photography when I was 6. My dad, who was getting into directing and movie making, purchased a camera for me and I began to take photos and videos on it. As I grew older, I kept my interest in film and photography and decided to spend some of my time using this talent and passion to address world issues and to promote good morals. I combined my passion for film and photography with my passion for international relations and writing by telling stories of refugees I have encountered and how they were helped to safety by international organizations and nation-states.
REFUGEE STORIES
MY FAMILY’S JOURNEY
In 1979 Iran’s regime was on course for a slow motion radical conversion to a theocracy with the Islamic revolution. The country became religiously governed by Sharia law and most religions, besides Islam, faced persecution. However, the persecution Jews and Christians and other minorities faced was challenging and, in many cases, dire. However, as the United Nations’ investigations later uncovered, the new regime had a particularly heinous special pogrom against the Baháʼí s, the largest religious minority in Iran.
During and after the revolution, hundreds of Baháʼís were executed by the government and thousands imprisoned. The Iranian government’s inhumane treatment of Baháʼís still persists today. Although Iran has been condemned on the world stage by numerous countries, human rights organizations, and the UN, they have only intensified their efforts at imprisoning Baháʼís, denying them basic rights on incalculable instances, or executing them. Many of my relatives were killed and imprisoned at the hands of the Iranian government, but fortunately my grandfather, grandmother, and father were able to escape only hours before they too were subject to the wrath of the newly established government.
HOSPITALITY TO A UKRAINIAN
In early July 2022, three plane loads of Ukrainian refugees landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia with the help of the UN and ISANS (Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia). Each family was assigned to a housing unit in cities across Nova Scotia and then put into the immigrant support system to receive financial aid, employment options, and language classes.
In July I happened to be visiting family in Halifax and decided to go to Subway for some lunch. It was a hot summer day and I walked briskly towards the air-conditioned restaurant. As I walked in the door, I noticed a middle-aged woman behind me and held the door for her. She looked up and said “Thank you.”
PEACE BY CHOCOLATE
The Hadhad family created and shipped chocolate all over the middle east and Europe for nearly 30 years. Their chocolate and their brand were renowned and they were the second biggest chocolate business in the middle east. When the Syrian Civil War broke out in 2011 their chocolate factory in Damascus, Syria was bombed and destroyed. They were forced to leave much of what they had left behind and flee to Lebanon. In Lebanon they were granted refugee status by the UN, and after three years, were informed that they would be immigrating to Canada.
When they landed in Antigonish, Canada, they were greeted and processed by ISANS workers (Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia). After being without a home for three years they were eager to get to their new living accommodation and were the first ones out of the arrival’s terminal. Little did they know a news crew was waiting outside the terminal with the intention to give a grant to the first refugee family that walked out the door to support a business idea they had. Tareq Hadahad and his family walked out of the arrivals door and were met with the warmest of welcomes as people rushed towards them and congratulated them. They didn’t know what was going on and would soon find out the truth; they were going to build a new chocolate business in Canada.
PHOTOGRAPHY
"Don't only practice your art, but force your way into its secrets"