The Raffi Armenian School in Ahvaz, 1970

The photograph shows the Raffi Armenian School in the city of Ahvaz, Iran, in 1970. The school was one of the important educational and cultural centres of the Armenian community of Iran, where the Armenian language, national identity and historical memory were preserved.

A young woman in a long skirt, a blouse and a patterned waistcoat stands by the school’s brick wall, in front of a glazed door. Above the door is a sign reading “1st grade” in Armenian, with a Persian inscription of the same meaning.