Who is Ehsan TariNia?

He might best be described as no one—or perhaps as someone in pursuit of words and a deeper understanding of himself, a seeker wandering through the shadows and lights of existence, searching for the meaning of his own being. Ehsan's story began on a cold winter's day in a small town on this vast earth. On that day, his parents, without consulting him, gave him the name "Ehsan" and the family name "Tarinia." He was brought into the world without choice, words in Arabic were whispered into his ear, marking him as a Muslim, and an identity was imposed on him through a birth certificate.

Throughout his life, he encountered the restraints and prejudices that seemed like invisible chains around him. He was expected to take pride in an identity imposed upon him—a mixture of Kurdish heritage, Iranian nationality, Muslim faith, and adherence to traditional customs and beliefs. As he grew older, questions increasingly occupied his mind. Were these truly his identity? Were the labels and traits assigned to him genuinely representative of who he was?

Over time, Ehsan came to believe that his identity was shaped not by inheritances and imposed beliefs but by his own achievements, convictions, and personal experiences. He holds that family, birthplace, religion, language, and culture are only elements contributing to his identity, not its core. In his quest for truth and freedom in a foreign land, he found peace and fulfillment he had never known in his homeland.

Ehsan finds his identity in his writing—moments when he channels his anger and joy into words on paper or sketches on blank pages, without formal knowledge of artistic styles. He searches for himself among the books in his library, amidst the chapters on philosophy, world history, and political ideologies. His most serene moments are spent drifting to sleep beside his library, wearied by the lines in a book.

He experiences the joy of life in mountain hikes, cycling through forests, and fishing by the river. He believes his identity is shaped by his passions and connections, in those pure and authentic moments where he fully finds himself.

As a humanist and atheist, Ehsan believes in the inherent worth and agency of individuals, both collectively and individually. He favors critical thinking and evidence over dogma and superstition. His political beliefs are rooted in the separation of religion and state, democracy, and individual freedom. He upholds secularism, democracy, and liberalism and actively promotes these values whenever possible.

Ehsan’s red lines are distinctly drawn: clerics, the Islamic Republic, racists, religious and ethnic fanatics, groups and organizations with terrorist affiliations, reformists, supporters of the fascist regime of the mullahs, and finally, the mercenaries disguised as fake asylum seekers.

But his search is never-ending. Ehsan is always on the lookout for new answers, wandering and adrift. In everything and everyone, he seeks words that resonate with his own identity. The more he searches, the more he realizes the vastness of his own ignorance, yet this does not deter him. Perhaps his identity lies not in answers but in the very act of searching and questioning—a boundless journey into the depths of existence and self-discovery, where, even as he drifts to sleep from the exhaustion of his search, he dreams of finding himself, wandering through the complex paths of identity and meaning.

Amid the maze of thought and news, where reality and truth converse like two old friends, he stands as the managing director and editor-in-chief of the multilingual news platform Simourq News, www.simourqnews.com . Like a restless seeker, he traces the footprints of truth through every news piece, article, and report.