Abbas Ghadimi is a member of the Baha'i faith from Iran. Baha'is believe in equality for women, and because of this life became dangerous for him after the Iranian revolution of 1979 and the imposition of strict Islamic laws.
In 1984 Ghadimi escaped Iran by walking for a week through the desert to Pakistan. Classified by the UN as a refugee because of religious persecution, he decided to come to Ireland because he did not have to have a relation here in order to do so.
Today he runs a successful health food shop (employing three people part-time) and homeopathic medicine practice in Kilkenny. He is also an expert on organic foods.
"From the beginning I felt the loving and open arms of the Irish community. That is the main reason why so many people come to Ireland, because of its good reputation throughout the world, as personified by Mary Robinson's great support for refugees.
"I never felt excluded here. For example, when I was doing my homeopathy course, the people on it were, if anything, over-helpful and over-concerned that I should understand and fit into Irish culture.
"Now that I have an Irish passport I can travel anywhere. If I was to choose today to live in any country in the world - even a sunny country, even Iran - I would choose Ireland."
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