Tuesday
August 31, 1999
* Can men cook rice?
I enjoyed reading your article in The Iranian ["Rice,
Iranian style"], even though I was warned (feminist?) not to read
on.
I found a lot of similarities in my own life. Every night straight to
the kitchen after work and most of the time cooking rice. Here in my home
everybody thinks preparing rice with a rice cooker is just fine (under
cover work has been done!). Also my friend calls when it is time to wash
dishes, so I get away from it (organized feminism?!).
The main difference between us is that when I was twenty, surprisingly,
I did not want to change the world. Now, my only concern is your son. When
he grows up you could call him and ask him what he is cooking for dinner.
Is it realistic to expect this from a man?
Yasaman Mottaghipour
Sydney
Go to top
* Cat out of the bag
Just wanted to tell you that I liked the piece you wrote in defense
of the Jews ["I
must be a Jew"]. Its about time the cat come out the bag!
How can we Iranians claim we deserve a democracy back in our motherland
when even overseas we have our prejudices against this group or that group!?
When people like you shed light on anti-Semitism and prejudice, in time,
it helps the whole Iranian community to think about this issue and hopefully,
someday, do away with prejudice all togeter.
So, keep up the good work!
Cyrus
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Monday
August 30, 1999
* Skin color
I'm a 16-year-old Native American, from South Dakota, U.S.A, and I just
wanted to say you have a great site.
I also wanted to tell you that I read the story ["Oil,
mean people, dark skin, terrorism"] on the kids that were asked
to write down, or say out loud, what came to their minds when they thought
of the Middle East. When the kids described the Arabs, Muslims, and Iranians
they described them as "dark skinned" as a Native American.
I can relate to that, so can all Native Americans in the U.S., because
when we are portrayed in films and TV and books too, we are referred to
as the "enemy of the White man" and we are also referred to as
the "Red man" while the White man is always the hero and the
innocent victim of the Native American. Also, our culture is always made
fun of in cartoons and old movies.
Another thing is that I just wanted to say is that the White Americans
may see the people of the Middle East as threatening and your culture "primitive,"
but that is not the case with me or many other Native Americans and maybe
some White Americans.
Marie Yellow boy
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* What we value
Thank you for "Unwanted
battle". It is good to read short history of what we value, with
the hope that the third generation Iranians, away from Iran, may benefit
from what we have enjoyed (and have taken it for granted).
As we grow older, we forget the details of history which we knew so
well.
Mahnaz Keshavarzian
Go to top
Friday,
August 27, 1999
* Too many donuts
[In response to Leyla Momeny's poems, "Ali
& Mark"]
A girl
wanting to say
something profound
but too many donuts
and bubbles from stale
glasses of Coke
left overnight
get in the way.
Who falls
upon the thorns of life?
who bleeds?
Bruce Kermane
Go to top
* An American in Iran
I just wanted to let you know that I absolutely loved your articles
on your personal travels to Iran [Steven Shaffer's "An
American in Iran", "Mostaqeem",
"Shomaal",
"Passing
seasons"].
I was 14-16 years old (but very mature) and lived in Tehran with my
mom and dad back in 1975-1977 (1354-1355 by the Iranian calendar) It was
fascinating. We traveled from Tehran to Rasht, Ramsar, Bandar Abbas, Chalus,
Karaj Dam, Damavand, Ab Ali, Shemshak, Karaj, Ghazvin, Qom, Isfahn and
Shiraz. What a Country.
In two years we only had stones thrown three times at our large American
made Ford, with license plates that in Farsi said "Service".
But everyone for the most part was extremely friendly.
It has been 22 years now, and I am a travel agent, and I'm yearning
for a trip back. Reading your stories make me believe that it may not be
to bad for an American tourist.
Again, great stories and wonderful pictures.
Larry Rutzell
St.Louis, MO.
Go to top
Thursday
August 26, 1999
* Why the cars?
All her paintings are absolutely beautiful ["Persian
dreams"] but why are they photographed in the parking lot next
to cars? I don't see the point?!
Pooneh Lari
Go to top
* Eye opener
I have seen this movie and I was very moved by it ["A
bitter bite"]. I admired the diector in doing such a nice job.
However, I did not understand the Turkish language spoken by the mother.
Your review or critique on this movie was well done and opened my eyes
to see this project from a different view. And for that I thank you.
Mohsen Abdi
Go to top
Wednesday
August 25, 1999
* Marvelous, enchanting
I am delighted that The Iranian has featured Ms. Nahai's marvelous
new book, Moonlight
on the Avenue of Faith ["The
night before"]. After reading her first book, Cry
of the Peacock, many times, I was eager to read a second by the
author.
I think Moonlight
on the Avenue of Faith is enchanting. I wanted to read it slowly,
because I was so enthralled in the lives of the characters that I didn't
want the book to end. I loved the ending. Daily I would give my partner
the update on the characters.
I read passages that made us both marvel at Ms. Nahai's talent and insight,
not only into the psyche of the characters, but also the English language.
When it came to the last pages, I refused to share anymore. My rephrasing
the passages would have been an injustice to her work. I felt everyone
should experience almond tears for themselves.
I found the topic of destiny to be fascinating in the book. Destiny
is meticulously woven through every thread of thought in Iran. I heard
so many people refer to it, as a way of justifying their acceptance of
their "place" in life. I even believed in it for a long time.
My friends thought it was their destiny to have jobs that they abhorred.
Some would even say things that implied that they were being punished for
something that they didn't even know they had done. I found this unsettling
and yet, I thought it was my destiny to be a displaced person, and to never
quite fit into any one well defined nationality of people. I accepted my
life as it came and always felt destiny was controlling it, not me. "Zendigee
de geh". ("That's life!", my friends wrote to me over the
years).
I have changed, as many people do, but if anyone has ever felt that
destiny was playing any role in their lives, they will be able to relate
to Roxanna and her story. Ms. Nahai has successfully intertwined the language/attitudes
of the west, the magic of Iranian tradition, and the poetic influences
of Farsi, into a powerful story that the reader will not forget in years
to come. I look forward to more stories by this talented novelist.
Carolyn Dabirsiaghi
Go to top
* I went through the same
The story was realy touching ["The
night before"]. Every memory I have had since I came to the U.S.
in 1976 came back to me. I went through the same things and had the same
feelings as the writer.
I still feel the same way every time I go to visit my family in Iran.
Sometimes I think I should not go to visit my family because I get so emotional
that I regret my visit.
Sometimes I feel like going back to Tehran and not come back again,
because I do not know how much more I can take these emotional roller coasters.
But I can not go back. I have two sons here.
Hamid Beykzadeh
Go to top
Tuesday
August 24, 1999
* Ankara in 1985
I enjoyed reading your 'documentary' about your trip to Turkey as well
as the nice photos ["Mission
accomplished"]. I could connect with most of the pictures and
your descriptions of life in Turkey, as I got my student visa in Ankara
back in 1985, and for that, I had to spend about two months in Turkey.
One month to wait for my turn to have an interview, and three weeks for
my student visa to be approved.
Back then there were a lot more Iranians at the U.S. embassy each day,
maybe several hundred. And a U.S. Visa, for some people, was like the key
to the Heaven, or an exit from Hell! I could see people crying coming out
of the embassy, either from the joy of getting the visa, or the sadness
of their application being denied ... FULL
TEXT
Vahid N.
Go to top
* Just as racist
I beg to differ ["Mission
accomplished"]! I have met Turkish people, I have lived with Turkish
people and I know Turkish people. They are just as bit racist as Iranians.
Sorry to break the bad news to you.
They are very much like Iranians, good on the surface but cunning underneath.
That is why Westerners always have a very difficult time predicting Middle-Easterners.
Mike Khatibi
Go to top
Monday
August 9, 1999
* No harm in defending minorities
Mr. Ali Akbar Mahdi's piece ["Harmful
favoritism"] on the response of Western governments and media
to the arrest of 13 Iranian Jews was well researched, yet a bit naïve
in its arguments. Mr. Mahdi complains and asks: "Why do the Western
media and Jewish groups fail to mention the others among this group [of
arrested Iranians]?" What he fails to realize is that the only reason
anyone is talking about the arrest of Jews in Iran--or any other country
in the world for that matter--is the well organized lobby of the Jewish
people. Due to the centuries-long anti-Semitism and genocide experienced
by the Jews, they have developed a highly united front in defending their
people worldwide.
The Jews and Israel have gone through amazing lengths to free their
cohorts in the past. Who could forget the deal Israel made with the Marxist
government of Ethiopia in the 1980s, when they literally traded weapons
for Jews? Cargo planes would fly weapons from Tel Aviv to Addis Ababa,
and the same planes would in turn transport thousands of Ethiopian Jews
to Israel. If the followers of any other religion or ethnicity in Iran
(or any other country) had one-tenth of the concern, unity and organization
that the Jews have in favor of their people, you can be sure that we would
hear about the rest of the folks persecuted and in jail in Iran more often.
New York City is full of Jews. The majority is educated, and if some
even don't believe in God, they never the less care about their fellow
Jews in trouble in any part of the world--whether it be Ethiopia, Russia
or Iran. Can we say the same thing about the Iranian community? Much of
the Iranian diaspora is either totally apathetic to events in Iran or hates
this group or that group of Iranians (as can be discerned from occasional
hate letters to the The Iranian) and would not come to the defense of an
individual or group who may not share their peculiar political or religious
affiliation. In the majority of cases, however, Jews will help each other
no matter what their extent of political differences. (Its interesting
to note that Jews have been helping others as well. During the Civil Rights
era in the 1960s in the United States, a very large proportion of the white
Americans marching alongside Martin Luther King's followers were Jews.
And during the Kosovo crisis of 1999, Israel accepted some Muslim Kosovar
families as refugees and currently at least one American Jewish organization
has set up medical clinics for Muslims and Christians in the Balkans.)
A more important mistaken stance held by Mr. Mahdi is his complaint
about the Western governments and media in what he writes as their "overblown
reaction to a case that is not yet determined (as if all these 13 Jews
[currently jailed in Iran] are already convicted and about to be put to
execution) " If I may say so, that is such a lame criticism! What
does Mr. Mahdi expect the Jewish diaspora and their friends to do? Wait
until the dead bodies of their Iranian colleagues are delivered to their
relatives (as has been done many-a-time by the Iranian regime with other
"counter-revolutionaries"), and then publicize and complain about
their arrests AND executions?! As most human rights organizations would
concur, the more publicity is shed on cases of presumed prisoners of conscience,
the more likely is for the regime holding such prisoners to treat them
better and at the minimum not execute them. However, it goes without saying
that the appeals to the governments have to be polite and void of name-calling.
Mr. Mahdi should not get me wrong. I too wish that the Western press
and governments would publicize the cases of all people arrested on unsubstantiated
charges in Iran whether they be Jewish, Muslim, Bahai, Christian, Zoroastrian,
Kurd, communist, agnostic or atheist. But let's not forget that the media
and governments react to their constituents. In the real politik world,
it is safe to posit that the amount of concern shown by the western media
and governments to such injustices worldwide is directly proportional to
the existence of active grass root efforts urging them to do so. Having
learnt from history, the Jews have such organized lobby and grass-roots
advocacy groups, united in favor of their people. Our reaction should not
be to criticize the effort of the Jews or the media and governments they
influence. We should rather commend them, befriend them, and emulate the
unity and organization they hold, and try to implement our new-found knowledge
in defending the Iranian community as a whole.
Jamsheed
Go to top
* Passionate feelings
The article by Reza Razavi ["Who
are we kidding?"] was actually an article I could read and understand
very clearly. He is an excellent writer. I'm a journalist myself, and I
always look for stories that can have the passionate feelings in the writings
and can directly hit me through my mind and heart, simultaneosly. Rezavi
did just that! Hope to read more of his articles soon.
Asally Adib
Go to top
Thursday
August 12, 1999
* Good approach
I myself have not so suffered ["Airline
abuse"], but I encourage you in this approach as I am sure many
who could not speak good enough English to defend themselves, have.
Shahram Chubin
Go to top
* No visa needed IF...
Iranians don't need a transit visa if they have a Green Card or an American
passport ["Airline
abuse"]. Otherwise they need a transit visa.
Reza Jamshidi
flytoiran.com
Go to top
* Magical realism
I have received several very kind letters from your readers about my
short story "The
Boy Who Invaded my Life," some requiring an answer. However, another
crash of my computer has wiped out the letters, but I remember enough of
the texts to give general answers to their questions.
My story is a "story," made up of the fragments of truth about
life, so no one should seek "historical" truth from that. Fiction
is a work of art that reflects life as it could be, whereas history reflects
it as it was (or, is). So, a writer can do a great deal to manipulate human
life, the life blood of fiction, and speculate about what would happen,
given a set of circumstances, and often it can be an indicator of the future,
a sort of a blue print. Then, no one should assume that this story is the
story of my life. But, if it has stimulated the deeper feelings of your
readers (at least, seven of them!), then there must be some inherent truth
behind the story, and that is the way it should be. I am well pleased!
One of your readers is correct: this fiction echoes Garcia Marquez and
his "magical realism."
Therefore, since the story is told as a matter of fact, the reader must
supple the meaning for the closing of the passageway in the story and the
mysterious boy, whose name, by the way, means, "kind and warm-hearted."
Another reader correctly indicates that the story has been filtered twice
from the points of views of two narrators. But, it is also filtered from
the point of view of the translator, so that, if there was a "real"
limited base to the story, it is expanded into a universal truth through
the added points of views. I didn't want to lecture on this, but here it
is.
Four people have asked about my background--shouldn't my background
stand far away from the story? The artist and his art are two separate
entities. Never mind that--I was born in Tabriz and my early education
took place in Tehran. I came to the United States as a Fulbright fellow
and finished my Ph.D. and Post-doctoral work and taught for 30 years, first
here, then as a Visiting Professor in Sweden. I have created a modest amount
of work, but the story published in The Iranian is my first attempt
to incorporated my background in my art.
One person has asked for a hard copy of the story. I will include this
story in my collection of short stories that I am preparing for regular
publication. Most of these stories have a "Persian" connection.
I am sure it will be reviewed in The Iranian when the book is published.
Thank you for your efforts and time to write me about your feelings. I
am sorry that I am unable to write directly and thank you personally; please
take this as a personal expression of my gratitude .
Reza Ordoubadian
Professor of English
Go to top
Wednesday
August 11, 1999
* Beravim aadam beshavim!
Amin-e aziz, bahaat do kalaam harf-e
hesaab daaram:
man ham mesl-e to dar saal-haaye bist-e zendegi-am hastam. az doraan-e
gozasht-e ham tajrobeh-ye ziaadi nadaaram, gheyr az aan chizi keh dar ketaab-haaye
taarikh khaandeh-am, aan ham saansur nashodeh, beh zabaani gheir az faarsi!
avval-e ham-e inke, gofti khaak bar sar-e maa keh enghelaab kardim".
azizjaan khodat raa ghaati nakon! in to va maa naboodim keh enghelaab kardim.
in pedaraan va madaraan-e maa boodand keh chenin faribi khordand va az
yek mamleket-e baa aabero, baa heysiat va pishro yek chenin kharaabeh-ee
saakhtand va haalaa ham daarand beh esm-e sarzamin-e maadari beh nasl-e
baad tahvil midahand.
ghalat-kardam-haaye yek seri siaasatmadr-haa, haalaa keh beh hoosh aamadeh-and,
digar baraay-e man va to mamlekat nemishavad -- aab-ee bud keh rikht va
digar nemishavad jamesh kard.
amaa yek chiz raa bedaan! Iran maal-e maast! tasavvor nakon keh bist
saal-e digeh jomhuri-ye eslaami-ee vojood khaahad daasht! maa ers-e pedari
ro pas khaahim gereft. amaa na baa yek enghelaab-e shureshi balkeh baa
yek enghelaab-e darooni. yani ink-e maa baayad beravim kaari raa bekonim
keh naasl-e pedaraan-e maa nakard: beravim aadam beshavim!
zood-baavar nabaashim, morusi ham din va yaa hich tarz-e tafakkori raa
ham bedon-e motaale-eye taarikh-e aan napazirim. kholaaseh inke:
1- farzandaan-e zahhaak beh khodiy-e khod beh zobaaledaani-ye taarikh
khaahand peyvast -- dir yaa zood daareh amaa sukht-o-suz nadaareh.
2- nasle jadid beh pedar va maadaresh negaah mikoneh va sa'y khaahad
kard keh aan chizi keh aan-haa budand nabaash-e.
3- maa Iran ro khaahim saakht, baa inkeh chiz-e ziaadi az on baaqi namaandeh,
vali khob behar jahat in mamlekat ers-e ajdaadi-ye maast nah maal-e a'raab.
4- Iran naabood nashodani ast!
Siavash
Go to top
* Very, very, very, very
These clippings were very, very, very, very interesting ["Oh, the life
of a rock star"]. There are few things I enjoy more than reading
first-person accounts of foreigners' (especially Americans') experiences
in Iran. It's like the Lonely Planet series on the Discovery Channel.
Nariman Neyshapouri
Go to top
Tuesday
August 10, 1999
* Allah knows best
After reading the article "Who
are we kidding?" I realized the lack of understanding towards
Islam that was expressed. The Islamic system, in its ideal form, was the
form of government that ruled from Spain to China for hundreds of years.
Spain's Islamic government lasted a good 700 years before the Christian
invasion. During this period, Spain entered its golden age. Europeans and
Jews flocked to take advantage of the freedoms, tolerance, and education
available no where else in Europe.Islamic Spain is also the seed where
the Renassaince blossomed from. When students went home to the dark Europian
societies after graduating from the advanced Islamic universities, they
wore the long Islamic garb. That is how the west recieved the idea for
the gown and tassled cap tradition for our graduation ceremonies.
Islam is a religion of tolerence, learning, freedom and above all, the
religion ordained by Allah. Iran, in its attempt at a modern theocracy,
should be given a chance to grow into fruition. Political upheaval is healthy
for the country, not the other way around. Islamic government has already
outlasted any other system of government with human doctrains and laws.
We look at democracy as the ideal system, yet understand it still as a
human concept, not a divine one. And Allah knows best.
Democracy and "freedom" in the West are borderline anarchy.
We see the complete moral collapse of human beings, and as Muslims, are
we supposed to see that as the "best way"? How is holding hands
with one's "girlfriend" on a street in Tehran freedom? Is getting
her pregnant a freedom too? How about the freedom of expression? Is badmouthing
an Imam or slandering Islam a freedom? No, no and no. These are paths to
moral decay, the same kind we see in the West. In these cases, freedom
is slavery.
In working with the Islamic government in Iran, one has to be able to
speak the language of the mollas. Rioting in student demonstrations is
not an effective way.
For women to play sports in public is going to be hard when you have
protect your dignity (keeping the hijab on). But Rafsanjani's daughter
realized the importance of womens health. She approached the mollas with
the idea of the first Islamic Games for Women in Iran. She cited the hadith
that all "Muslims should have strong bodies", male and female.
In the end she found a true freedom that is in accordinance with the law
of Allah. And Allah knows best.
How many of these students actually picked up a book on Islamic Law
and seriously tried to compare it to democracy? Look at Islamic Spain and
compare it to the moral collapse of the U.S. After living in the U.S. for
so long, one can only see the backwardness of that country compared to
the dignity Allah wants us to have in his Islamic Law.
Kazem Mansouri
Go to top
* Yeah right
To answer the letter "Women
in Islam", Farina you are a retarded girl if in the 20th century
you think about the hijab. How could you say Islam gives rights to women?
I can say those rights were good enough for their time -- 1400 years ago
-- but not now.
In Islam does one woman equal one man? In my country a mother doesn't
have the right to bring up her own child after divorce. (Yeah right! Heaven
is beneath her feet!). Women don't have the right to divorce but men can
divorce any time they want and so on. Is that equality? Good for your religion!
By the way if you really like Islamic countries why don't you go back
to your country and enjoy your freedom there? please read some books and
try to think instead of repeating stuff that your grandparents told you.
Shery
Go to top
Monday
August 9, 1999
* No harm in defending minorities
Mr. Ali Akbar Mahdi's piece ["Harmful
favoritism"] on the response of Western governments and media
to the arrest of 13 Iranian Jews was well researched, yet a bit naïve
in its arguments. Mr. Mahdi complains and asks: "Why do the Western
media and Jewish groups fail to mention the others among this group [of
arrested Iranians]?" What he fails to realize is that the only reason
anyone is talking about the arrest of Jews in Iran--or any other country
in the world for that matter--is the well organized lobby of the Jewish
people. Due to the centuries-long anti-Semitism and genocide experienced
by the Jews, they have developed a highly united front in defending their
people worldwide.
The Jews and Israel have gone through amazing lengths to free their
cohorts in the past. Who could forget the deal Israel made with the Marxist
government of Ethiopia in the 1980s, when they literally traded weapons
for Jews? Cargo planes would fly weapons from Tel Aviv to Addis Ababa,
and the same planes would in turn transport thousands of Ethiopian Jews
to Israel. If the followers of any other religion or ethnicity in Iran
(or any other country) had one-tenth of the concern, unity and organization
that the Jews have in favor of their people, you can be sure that we would
hear about the rest of the folks persecuted and in jail in Iran more often.
New York City is full of Jews. The majority is educated, and if some
even don't believe in God, they never the less care about their fellow
Jews in trouble in any part of the world--whether it be Ethiopia, Russia
or Iran. Can we say the same thing about the Iranian community? Much of
the Iranian diaspora is either totally apathetic to events in Iran or hates
this group or that group of Iranians (as can be discerned from occasional
hate letters to the The Iranian) and would not come to the defense of an
individual or group who may not share their peculiar political or religious
affiliation. In the majority of cases, however, Jews will help each other
no matter what their extent of political differences. (Its interesting
to note that Jews have been helping others as well. During the Civil Rights
era in the 1960s in the United States, a very large proportion of the white
Americans marching alongside Martin Luther King's followers were Jews.
And during the Kosovo crisis of 1999, Israel accepted some Muslim Kosovar
families as refugees and currently at least one American Jewish organization
has set up medical clinics for Muslims and Christians in the Balkans.)
A more important mistaken stance held by Mr. Mahdi is his complaint
about the Western governments and media in what he writes as their "overblown
reaction to a case that is not yet determined (as if all these 13 Jews
[currently jailed in Iran] are already convicted and about to be put to
execution) " If I may say so, that is such a lame criticism! What
does Mr. Mahdi expect the Jewish diaspora and their friends to do? Wait
until the dead bodies of their Iranian colleagues are delivered to their
relatives (as has been done many-a-time by the Iranian regime with other
"counter-revolutionaries"), and then publicize and complain about
their arrests AND executions?! As most human rights organizations would
concur, the more publicity is shed on cases of presumed prisoners of conscience,
the more likely is for the regime holding such prisoners to treat them
better and at the minimum not execute them. However, it goes without saying
that the appeals to the governments have to be polite and void of name-calling.
Mr. Mahdi should not get me wrong. I too wish that the Western press
and governments would publicize the cases of all people arrested on unsubstantiated
charges in Iran whether they be Jewish, Muslim, Bahai, Christian, Zoroastrian,
Kurd, communist, agnostic or atheist. But let's not forget that the media
and governments react to their constituents. In the real politik world,
it is safe to posit that the amount of concern shown by the western media
and governments to such injustices worldwide is directly proportional to
the existence of active grass root efforts urging them to do so. Having
learnt from history, the Jews have such organized lobby and grass-roots
advocacy groups, united in favor of their people. Our reaction should not
be to criticize the effort of the Jews or the media and governments they
influence. We should rather commend them, befriend them, and emulate the
unity and organization they hold, and try to implement our new-found knowledge
in defending the Iranian community as a whole.
Jamsheed
Go to top
* Passionate feelings
The article by Reza Razavi ["Who
are we kidding?"] was actually an article I could read and understand
very clearly. He is an excellent writer. I'm a journalist myself, and I
always look for stories that can have the passionate feelings in the writings
and can directly hit me through my mind and heart, simultaneosly. Rezavi
did just that! Hope to read more of his articles soon.
Asally Adib
Go to top
Friday,
August 6, 1999
* Cheshemun kur
goftegoo-ye shomaa raa dar The Iranian khoundam ["It's
the civil society, stupid"]. khodam raa dar har do nafar shenaakham.
man chand ruz pish az tehraan aamadam va jelo-ye khaabgaah-e daaneshgaah
budam ["The
spark"], do ruz ba'd az hamleh-ye ansaar-e hezb-e sheytaan --
beh qol-e khod-e daaneshju-haa.
man do taa nazar daaram:
1 - mardom digeh hoseley-e enghelaab nadaarand vali agar ozaay-e eqtesaadi
avaz nashavad shuresh-haaee anjaam khaahad gereft. goftam shuresh nah enghelaab.
2- khaak bar sar-e maa keh enghelaab kardim cheshemun kur , chubesh
ra baayad bokhorim taa dasteh va kunemunam besuzeh keh digeh az in ghalataa
nakonim. albateh man 22 saalameh va 10 saaleh keh faraanseh hastam va faqat
een aakhund-haa raa didam.
hezbolaahi-haa va basiji-haa hanuz chehreyeh vaghe-eeye khodeshun ra
neshun nadaadan. khaahim did keh inhaa cheqadr heyvaan hastan. dar ayande
shuresh khaye andjam khanad ghereft va een heyvaan-haa baa komak-e rohaniyun-e
qom shuresh-haa raa betor-e vahshiyaaneh sarkub khaahand kard. pas khatami
raast amal mikoneh cheraa keh midun-e inhaa cheqadr vahshi hastand.
Amin
Go to top
* Distasteful
I find your welcome
page very distasteful. Also a moving eyeball is not a very pleasing
and tasteful sight to behold.
Ali Abrishami
Go to top
Friday,
August 6, 1999
* Cheshemun kur
goftegoo-ye shomaa raa dar The Iranian khoundam ["It's the civil
society, stupid"]. khodam raa dar har do nafar shenaakhtam. man
chand ruz pish az tehraan aamadam va jelo-ye khaabgaah-e daaneshgaah budam
["The
spark"], do ruz ba'd az hamleh-ye ansaar-e hezb-e sheytaan --
beh qol-e khod-e daaneshju-haa.
man do taa nazar daaram:
1 - mardom digeh hoseley-e enghelaab nadaarand vali agar ozaay-e eqtesaadi
avaz nashavad shuresh-haaee anjaam khaahad gereft. goftam shuresh nah enghelaab.
2- khaak bar sar-e maa keh enghelaab kardim cheshemun kur , chubesh
ra baayad bokhorim taa dasteh va kunemunam besuzeh keh digeh az in ghalataa
nakonim. albateh man 22 saalameh va 10 saaleh keh faraanseh hastam va faqat
een aakhund-haa raa didam.
hezbolaahi-haa va basiji-haa hanuz chehreyeh vaghe-eeye khodeshun ra
neshun nadaadan. khaahim did keh inhaa cheqadr heyvaan hastan. dar ayande
shuresh khaye andjam khanad ghereft va een heyvaan-haa baa komak-e rohaniyun-e
qom shuresh-haa raa betor-e vahshiyaaneh sarkub khaahand kard. pas khatami
raast amal mikoneh cheraa keh midun-e inhaa cheqadr vahshi hastand.
Amin
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* Distasteful
I find your welcome
page very distasteful. Also a moving eyeball is not a very pleasing
and tasteful sight to behold.
Ali Abrishami
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Thursday
August 5, 1999
* Creepy feeling
Your current picture
on the cover unknowingly has de-humanized a family portrait by erasing
their eyes, it gives the on-looker a creepy feeling. I thought maybe you
wanted to know, that's all.
Mehdi
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* Under his nose, but unaware
To answer Salamr's questions:1) I
left Iran 2.5 years ago, and 2) I was 62.5 years old. I agree that our
people marched the streets and wanted a change of the regime without realization
of what they might get is going to be worse than what they had.
I am old enough to remember that when Mohammad Reza first became king,
he drove through the streets of Tehran and saw the people and a lot of
times stopped and talked to them.
In fact for a few years I used to live on Kakh Street and watched him
drive from his office during the summer and going to Saadabad Palace around
noon with only a couple of cars escorting him. People had direct access
to him and he could see the city and be in-touch while traveling to his
destination.
Little by little he was distanced from the people and his source of
information and contacts became those who were close and fed him what he
liked to hear or whatever it was to their personal benefits which mostly
were far from the truth.
I blame the Shah because with all the sources of information that he
had available to him (i.e. SAVAK, military intelligence, counter-intelligence,
etc.), he was supposed to be well-informed and educated. But he was unaware
of what was going on under his nose, until it was too late. Or they briefed
him and he did not pay any attention.
What I wonder about is whether Mrs. Pahlavi ever offere any advise to
Mr.Pahlavi the same as she is offering Mr. Khatami? or was she also unaware
of what was going on or, was she aware and didn't take it serious because
they thought they were untouchable?
By the way, since the Shah knew that he has a terminal desease, wasn't
it better for him to remain in the country and die there as a hero? Even
if he was killed, he would have always been remembered as a martyr.
F. Rafat
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Wednesday
August 4, 1999
* Acceptance
I was so moved when I read the piece by Shima Jalalipour ["After
all, I am Iranian"]. I admire her closeness to her culture and
I congratulate her parents for raising such a fine Iranian. However, it
saddens me that I cannot say the same about myself.
I am half Iranian half Arab, a mixture some people say is doomed from
the start, culturaly speaking. I have only lived in Iran for the first
two years of my life. After the revolution I moved with my mother, my Arab
side, to live in the Arab world, while my father, the Iranian, moved to
the United States.
I was raised as an Arab my whole life, speaking Arabic and abiding Arabic
customes. That did not spare me discrimination, however. I was always an
Iranian, an outsider, among Arabs. Later, after my Iranian-cultural awakening,
I learned that Iranians considered me an Arab.
It was not until I turned 16 and came to the United States to study
that I felt the need to be in touch with my Iranian side. Being away from
home, whereever that is, I knew I had a long way until I can figure out
who I am and where I belong. I guess the thing is that I love both sides
of me.
I read The Iranian Times everyday, just as I read "Al-Sharq
Al-Awsat", the Arabic newspaper. Iranianness has always been within
me. However, putting feelings into words and actions needs a little more
than having an Iranian parent and loving Iran.
It is still a new world to me, and trying to conquer it is not as easy
as it seems. I have been reading as much as I can about Iran. I have been
taking Persian (language) classes. I have been trying to make Iranian friends,
as difficult as that is, with my broken Persian and Arabic name.
At the same time, I am proud of where I am now, considering that I started
from scratch. I am 21 years old now and a junior in college. My short-term
goal is to be fluent in Persian by the time I graduate. My long term goal?
Acceptance...
Niloufar
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* It was us
I am writing in response to the letter "Shah
and Farah are to blame". Mr. Rafat, I have a couple of questions
for you. 1. When did you leave Iran? 2. How old were you?
It is extremely unfortunate that you, like so many others, find it very
easy to blame OUR king and queen for Iran's current pathetic social, economical,
and political climate. We brought the revolution unto ourselves.
It is very easy to blame the United States but ultimately it was Iranians
marching in the streets looting the palace like a bunch of nadeed padeeds;
it wasn't the Americans. It was Iranians who believed a gross man, who
didn't even speak the Persian language properly, was going to save them.
How wrong those people were.
Salmar
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Tuesday
August 3, 1999
* Shah & Farah are to blame
It is very interresting to see Farah
Pahlavi's comments about mistakes made by her late husband, the Shah
of Iran, mistakes that eventually ended his dynasty and caused milions
of Iranians to lose their lives or become refugees in other countries and
face insults. Last but not least, our wonderful country has ended up in
a bankrupt and ruined state with no immediate hope for a better the future.
She admitted that if her husband had realized the need for freedom,
we wouldn't be where we are today. During the Shah's rule, she was very
much involved in many of the decisions or if she was not involved, she
definitely was aware of what was going on. Can she really claim that she
knew all this and didn't do anything about it? If so, she betrayed everybody
and she is a traitor.
It is very easy to make these comments after twenty years, now that
her poor husband is dead and unable to defend himself against allegations
about the way the country was run. But when he was alive, did anyone dare
make any constructive comments or tell him that what he is doing is wrong?
Did Farah ever listen to anyone about things which were insulting to religious
people, such as nude dancing at the Shiraz art festival?
The fact is that Farah and her husband were surounded by a bunch of
selfish people as well as relatives who were involved in their own interests.
But I think most Iranians blame Mrs. Pahlavi's husband for what has been
brought upon them. At least I do.
F. Rafat
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* Something really wrong
I would not discuss the different parts in the article regarding the
13 Jews arrested in Iran ["Harmful
favoritism"], but I would like to say that it is the most stupid
thing for a judiciary system to make decisions based on what other governments
say about the people brought to its judgment. It only shows there is something
really wrong with the law in the country.
Maybe Khatami and everyone else, who have been discussed favorably in
the foreign media, should also be judeged as spies, or against the Islamic
governmtnt.
Farnaz D.
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Monday
August 2, 1999
* Remember who you are
I feel the same exact way as you do ["After
all, I am Iranian"]. Everything you have said has happened to
me as well, but I still have another three years of high school. I also
attended private schools all my life and tried to fit in with everyone
else even though I was the only iranian girl.
I have long strived to keep my culture alive and thanks to my parents,
I know my culture and traditions. I am a professional swimmer and water
polo player and just like you, I would get out of practice early to go
to chaarshanbeh-souri or sizdah-bedar.
I want to send the same message you did, that we should remember who
we are. I am glad to know that there are other Iranian teenagers in the
U.S. who want to keep their culture alive just like me. I am right there
with you!
Sheva
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* Excellent job
Somm, you did an excellent job with the article, "How
lucky I am". I now want to see the movie, "Children of Heaven".
I felt like I saw the movie. I agree with your review and your feelings.
Sister 265
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