Research Diary

— I am studying in Ukraine. — Is that Russia? — No, it’s a separate country, next to Russia. — But they speak Russian? — Many do, but the official language in Ukrainian. — Isn’t that the same as Russian? — Not really…

When in 1997 I finally left Iran, I was, almost literally, a mere pack of bones. The years that led to my departure were marked by my gradual descent into depression and an attempt at gaining back control over my life by refusing to eat: the one aspect of life in which I felt had agency. Life without my dream of music had lost its meaning and value.