Shab has called on Western society to “do a better job” helping refugees with social integration.
The ‘Indestructible’ singer – who was born in Iran but fled to Germany when she was eight, before settling in the US six years later – recalled how she “worked hard” to fit in when she relocated to Baltimore as a teenager, but thinks the nations taking in refugees can do more to help with the process.
She told BANG Showbiz: “When I arrived in the United States, I was determined to integrate myself into American society and worked hard to learn the language, the social customs and lifestyle.
“But our Western societies need to do a better job towards giving to refugees of all stripes the tools needed to accommodate such social integration.”
Shab admitted refugees can face “crushing problems” when they are caught between their native culture and the norms and expectations of their home countries.
She said: “Being a refugee myself, I understand the sometimes crushing problems that devolve from being caught between cultures and nations. We all need a place to call home – and the very nature of being a refugee is lacking a place to call home, tied to an uncertain future.
“There are many different causes for people to flee their homelands. Some are seeking greater opportunity while others leave their homelands due to war, oppression , persecution or life necessity. We need to welcome these struggling souls and seek to accommodate their integration into our social fabric.”
The ‘Spell On Me’ singer admitted her own early experiences were a “very difficult” time, and she wishes people were more understanding of the “bravery” needed to leave a former life behind.
Speaking to mark Refugee Week 2023, she said: “I know from my experience that most people can never appreciate the bravery associated with leaving the only homeland that one has ever known and to land in a strange landscape, with strange language, customs and lifestyle.
“It was a difficult period of my life.”
Shab’s single ‘Indestructible’ is out now.