A table spread with hunger: Iranian hospitality and Afghan refugees in the city of Shiraz

Abstract

Imagine, for a moment, that your neighbour’s house burns down. What would you do for them? Offer them your spare room, a place to sleep for a night or two? And when would the welcome wear thin? After a week? A month? A year? How about thirty-four years? Thirty-four years ago, 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, precipitating one of the largest and most protracted refugee crises the world has ever seen.