Making use of its hillside perch above the geographic hub of Afghan refugees in America, Cal State East Bay this week is hosting its first scholarly conference on the Afghan and Iranian diaspora.
"We are very excited about it, because it's a good way to introduce these cultures and make sure in the Bay Area people understand that these people do exist," said conference organizer Farid Younos. "They not only exist, they are making enormous contributions in business, politics and cultural affairs."
The three-day event highlights those contributions, but it also explores tough questions about society and culture, said Younos, an Afghan-American who teaches courses on human development studies at the Hayward campus.
One of those questions involves the growing rate of divorce among Afghan-American couples that Younos has documented in recent years. The divorces are often tied to disagreements concerning shared responsibilities and to the culture shock that can follow migration, he said.
"For the last 30 years, divorce has risen in the Afghan community," Younos said. "There's an impact of democratic values on families, of a liberal way of life on people coming from an Islamic or tribal society.
The conference features art and music and examines topics such as the impact of 9/11 on the lives of Afghan-American women and social activism among Iranian refugees. Speakers include Fatemeh Keshavarz, an Iranian-American scholar who wrote a book rebutting how Iran is depicted in Azar Nafisi's popular memoir, "Reading Lolita in Tehran."
Organizers said the idea of holding a conference came from Mohammad Qayoumi, the university's president and the first person born in Afghanistan to head a major university in the United States.
Having the event at the school is appropriate, organizers say. Cal State East Bay has higher-than-average numbers of Afghan and Iranian faculty and students, a reflection of the large number of immigrant families living in the East Bay.
The event, which begins tonight and continues through Saturday, is timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Islamic revolution in Iran. The two events spurred the influx of thousands of Iranian and Afghan immigrants to the United States and other countries. The migration continues because of ongoing conflicts.
About 12,000 Afghanis sought asylum outside their country during the first half of this year, the second-largest group after Iraqis, according to a report released Wednesday by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Most of those Afghans were seeking asylum in the United Kingdom or in Norway, according to the report.
What the conference will avoid, said Younos, are the political conflicts engulfing both countries, including the war and election crisis in Afghanistan.
"Our focus is on the diaspora," Younos said. "There are people in this country who support the Iranian revolution. There are people who do not. There are people who support the (American) invasion of Afghanistan. There are people who do not. We are staying away from politics."