Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' magazine to its list of 30 influential leaders under the age of 30. In recognition of his activism to reduce prejudice and
xenophobia
Xenophobia (from (), 'strange, foreign, or alien', and (), 'fear') is the fear or dislike of anything that is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression that is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-gr ...
, the
government of Sweden
The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden () is the Cabinet (government), national cabinet of Sweden, and the country's Executive (government), executive authority.
The Government consists of the Prime Minister of Sweden, Prime Minister and their ...
presented him in 2013 with the
Raoul Wallenberg
Raoul Gustaf Wallenberg (4 August 1912 – disappeared 17 January 1945)He is presumed to have died in 1947, although the circumstances of his death are not clear and this date has been disputed. Some reports claim he was alive years later. In ...
Award, an honor named after the Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Jews from Nazi death camps during WWII. The selection committee said Derakhti set a "positive example" in his hometown of Malmö and throughout Sweden. "He is a role model for others," the Wallenberg Award committee wrote, "showing through his actions and determination that one person can make a difference." On Nov. 8, 2012, the Swedish Committee Against Antisemitism gave Derakhti its first Elsa Award, established by Committee member Henrik Frenkel in memory of his parents to encourage young people to incorporate social media into the battle against Swedish antisemitism.
Early life and education
Derakhti was born in Sweden to
Iranian Azerbaijani
Iranian Azerbaijanis (; ) are the largest ethnic minority of Iran. They are primarily found in and are native to the Iranian Azerbaijan region including provinces of (East Azerbaijan, Ardabil, Zanjan, West Azerbaijan)its war with Iraq, in search of an easier, safer life in Scandinavia. Although his father was a microbiologist and his mother a graduate in business and economics, as refugees they were initially unable to find work. He said, "My parents fled from dictatorship so their children could grow up in a peaceful place and experience democracy." When he was 7 years old, his two best friends were a
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
student and a
Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
People, characters, figures, names
* Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas.
* Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun
* Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...
student, and he learned to protect them from bullying and discrimination. His father remembers being subject to discrimination in Iran for being part of the Azerbaijani minority. As part of his effort to teach his son about the evils of discrimination and persecution, Derakhti's father first took him to
Bergen-Belsen
Bergen-Belsen (), or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in Northern Germany, northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen, Lower Saxony, Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, ...
when he was 13 and to
Auschwitz
Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...
when he was 15.
Activism against bigotry and xenophobia
Derakhti's activism against xenophobia began as a school project when he attended
Malmö
Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...
’s Latinskola High School and organised a class trip to a concentration camp. He went to the education department himself to secure funding. He was ultimately successful in bringing 27 students to Auschwitz, where many of his classmates openly wept. "I wanted to build bridges between Jews and
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
s in Malmö because antisemitism is a problem in the city. After that I realised how great the need was to talk about this. Now I work to combat all kinds of xenophobia." in 2010, when he was 19, Derakhti founded the organisation 'Young Muslims against Antisemitism', which is now known as 'Young People against Antisemitism and Xenophobia'. Sia, as he is known, travels throughout Sweden and gives presentations at schools, businesses and public organizations on the "equal dignity of all human beings." His team has also started a program for youth ambassadors, organized visits to concentration camps and sponsored training for young people involving exercises on cooperation and values. In addition to combating
anti-Semitism
Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
, the organization intends to fight
Islamophobia
Islamophobia is the irrational fear of, hostility towards, or hatred against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general. Islamophobia is primarily a form of religious or cultural bigotry; and people who harbour such sentiments often stereot ...
,
Antiziganism
Anti-Romani sentiment (also called antigypsyism, anti-Romanyism, antiziganism, ziganophobia, or Romaphobia) is an ideology which consists of hostility, prejudice, discrimination, racism, and xenophobia which is specifically directed at Romani ...
sentiment and
homophobia
Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...
, though Derakhti prefers to remain focused and face one issue at a time.
When the first Raoul Wallenberg Prize was awarded in 2013, to “a person who is working to increase knowledge among children and youths on xenophobia, intolerance and the equal dignity of all human beings”, Siavosh Derakhti received both the honor and the prize money of 100,000 SEK for his work with Young People against Anti-Semitism and Xenophobia. As a result of the prize, he had the opportunity to meet U.S. President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
, who met and congratulated Derakhti for his work during the president’s 2013 visit to the Great Synagogue of
Stockholm
Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
.
The Washington Post noted that Sweden is home to a growing population of Muslim immigrants, some of whom are openly hostile to Sweden's Jewish community. But Islamic studies expert Eli Gondor observes that many of the immigrants from the
Arab
Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world.
Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
world have experienced years of anti-Israel as well as anti-Semitic propaganda in their home countries. Derakhti notes however, that “these are not Swedish values. And if they want to live in Sweden, they have to adapt." He believes that it is important to set limits and encourage immigrants to embrace the values of their new homeland.
In 2015 Derakhti was invited to
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, to meet with the Obama administration, senior officials from the
National Security Council
A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...
and the
State Department
The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...
. During the same visit he was one of three activists against anti-semitism to accept the
Human Rights First
Human Rights First (formerly known as the Lawyers Committee for International Human Rights) is a nonpartisan, 501(c)(3), international human rights organization based in New York City, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
Its work centers on four m ...
Award, bestowed by the group of the same name.
In 2017, he started to report the many
death threat
A death threat is a threat, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behaviour, in which case a d ...
s against him he received, from Swedish
Palestinians
Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine.
*: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenou ...