Meet the Journalists: Newsha Tavakolian and Thomas Erdbrink

Country:

Iran

Authors:

Newsha Tavakolian
Grantee

Thomas Erdbrink
Grantee

Drought in Sikvand village in Khuzestan Province has forced shepherds to move their flocks in search of grassland. Many nomadic families are seeking a way of life that will allow their children to go to school. Image by Newsha Tavakolian. Iran, 2018.

English

This project focuses on the nomadic communities of southern Iran whose pastoral lifestyle—and access...

Newsha Tavakolian
Grantee

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Masoumeh Ahmadi, 14 years old, wants to be called by the name Golbahar since Masoumeh is an old-fashioned name, not popular among the young generation. She stands in Chamsoor lands in Khuzestan Province holding a gun. It is common among Bakhtiaris for each person to own a gun. Each family might have three or 4fourguns that are mostly for men. Women—with the approval of their husband and father—can have their own guns after they marry . Many of them receive their gun as a gift from their husbands after they… — Masoumeh Ahmadi, 14 years old, wants to be called by the name Golbahar since Masoumeh is an old-fashioned name, not popular among the young generation. She stands in Chamsoor lands in Khuzestan Province holding a gun. It is common among Bakhtiaris for each person to own a gun. Each family might have three or 4fourguns that are mostly for men. Women—with the approval of their husband and father—can have their own guns after they marry . Many of them receive their gun as a gift from their husbands after they give birth to their first son. Masoumeh borrowed her mother’s gun occasionally. Image by Newsha Tavakolian. Iran, 2018.

The black tents dot the slopes of the Zagros mountain range in central Iran—it could be a scene from ancient times. Iran's one million nomads are slowly fading away, erased by modernity. Photographer Newsha Tavakolian and writer Thomas Erdbrink followed members of one of the last nomadic communities in the world, as they migrated to their summer pastures, some too old to even walk.

For thousands of years the nomads brought their flock to the cool and green pastures on the Iranian plateau, but the tradition is dying out as they are moving to houses. Bibi Naz Ghanbari, 73, as she was boiling tea over a fire as rain came pouring down, complained that she too would like to live in a real house. Her husband told her the old ways need to be respected when she complained of the cold.

Iran's government is encouraging the nomads to settle down, and climate change and urbanization have destroyed ancient migration routes. The annual treks are now made using rented trucks. Tourists increasingly view the nomads as an odd attraction rather than a way of life. Most nomads agree: They will soon be in the annals of history.