After U.S. Immigration Battle, Musician Kayhan Kalhor Returns To Iran

When Kayhan Kalhor first left Iran, at age 17, he walked — more than 2,500 miles, to Italy. He carried only two items with him: a small backpack and his main musical instrument, the kamancheh.

This was during the Iranian Revolution. Kalhor was the only one of his family — who are of Kurdish descent — to leave the country. His parents, fearing the worst for him, decided there was no other choice. They stayed behind, along with Kalhor's beloved brother.

"Imagine being a teenager," Kalhor says. "You have school, you have your friends, you have your nice things to do." He had two pastimes he adored. "I was riding horses and playing music — you know, a very normal life. And then, suddenly, you can't go on the street. You know people will shoot you if you do. It was very, very confusing and not at all normal." (Interviews with him and others for this story took place over more than three years, conducted in person in both the U.S. and the Netherlands, as well as by phone, email and in messages.)