A Transmedia Conversation About the Muslim Travel Ban
FROM THE MEDIA
Zandian is a doctoral student in biochemistry at Ohio State University. His wife Parisa was detained
 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
“[My wife] was not feeling very well at the beginning [of being detained], but we will get through this. I came here thinking that here I will have a life like a dream, but it didn’t sort out very well. I didn’t think this would happen but now that it’s happened, I’m just thinking about somewhere else. If I’m going to be an imprisoned person, I’d rather be imprisoned back home.”
A student at Boston University, Bidshahri has lived in the United States for three years and considers Boston her home. She fears she will have to leave the country when she graduates in May and her student visa expires.
Bidshahri is studying neuroscience and says the university has warned her not to leave the country because she might not be able to re-enter. Her family was planning to attend her graduation, but because they are Iranian they’re now covered by the ban.
“Above all, it’s heartbreaking. My family and I have always dreamed of coming to the United States and accomplishing our dreams here. My family put in all of their investments and financial resources to allow me to come here and make things happen. We are treated like we’re terrorists, as if we want to cause trouble when above all we just want to make the United States a better place -- contributing whether it’s through research, studying, or entrepreneurship.”
Seradjeh is an associate professor of physics at Indiana University. He was born in Tehran, spent eight years in Canada and currently lives in Bloomington, Indiana. He has dual citizenship -- Iran and Canada. Seradjeh was planning to fly to Tel Aviv on Saturday to meet with his research partner, Eytan Grosfeld, a professor at Ben-Gurion University.
“I flew to Newark for my connection, but with all the news of people -- including green card holders and dual nationals -- being turned away, I decided not to take the rest of my trip. I've been rerouted to go back to Indy… This effectively suspends my research trip until further notice. This research is funded partly through the National Science Foundation. It is unclear to me how or when I can take this trip or what other effects the executive order will have on my work.”
Zainab Abdo 21, Syria
Abdo came to the U.S. seven months ago and is living in Lowell, Massachusetts. She’s learning English and eventually wants to study nursing. Abdo is working the overnight shift at Walmart to help make ends meet, but doesn’t have a green card yet. Speaking through an interpreter, she said she’s scared about what that means for her future.
“I have family back home in Syria and in Turkey. A lot of people have lost hope.”