The smiles and joy seen in pictures of seven members of the Iranian women’s football team who originally sought asylum in Australia only tell part of the story.
The complexity of the situation was further highlighted when one of the seven changed her mind today and decided to return to Iran.
There is no black-and-white picture here. And as details continue to emerge, what seems clear is that many of those who chose to remain or leave did so with mixed emotions.
Mom was willing to suffer or die just so her daughter could live in relative freedom.
The worst part of it all is that even though she changed her mind in order to protect her mother and family, its meaningless. The Islamist regime will still hurt or possibly kill them simply for the fact that she dared defy them in one instance, they will not allow them to go unpunished.
And even if they show mercy, there’s still Israel and the US waiting. I still understand how she struggles, that can’t be easy.