"The TransAsia Train" for Polka Magazine (2013) by Kiana Hayeri

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"The TransAsia Train" for Polka Magazine (2013)

kiana hayeri

Apr 15, 2013

Assigned by Polka Magazine in April 2013, we took the TransAsia train to discover and capture stories of travelers on this three-day-long journey. The Tehran-Ankara train leaves once a week from Tehran's central train station and crosses the Iran-Turkey border at Razi, then it boards a ship to travel through Van Lake and arrive in Ankara three days later.

With very few exceptions, almost all of the passengers were either asylum seekers or families of those who had previously escaped the country. Some fearful for their life and others simply searching for a better time ahead. A few knew how they wanted to proceed upon arrival in Turkey and others were clueless of what was awaiting them. Some families entirely packed their life in small suitcases and others left it behind, hoping that one day, they'll be able to return to Iran.

Besides tears, laugh and the food they shared on this journey, only one other thing linked a political activist, a mom, a student, a lesbian, and a baha'i family; hope for a better future. (2013)

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Kiana Hayeri

Also by Kiana Hayeri —

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For The New York Times Magazine (2020):"Now in Prison, They Feel Free."

"Afghan Women Don't Want To Be Saved. But They Demand To Be Heard" for Buzzfeed News (2019)

Single Mothers of Afghanistan on Globe and Mail