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September 24, 2004Top * Growing up in three cultures Dear Zohreh, Salam. Thank you for sharing your thoughts about this beautiful book [Without borders]. I am also grateful to you for speaking about the sensitive issue of the Iranians versus Arabs thing that has been dominating most of the recent articles on this great web site. No I am not an Arab, I am an Iranian and I am proud of it. I am actually a Kurd, an Iranian Kurd from the beautiful Kermanshah. I was, however, raised in Kuwait. Growing up in the midst of three cultures (we spoke Kurdish in the house, went to Iranian schools with Iranians who had immigrated to Kuwait from all corners of Iran, and spoke Arabic with the natives) has influenced me tremendously. I can tell you this with no hesitation that our similarities are far more than our differences because we are humans first and foremost and everything else second. Believe it or not that one of my best friends in Kuwait was an Iraqi boy who had lost 13 of his immediate relatives during the Iraq-Iran war. I had only lost four, but this did not stop us from playing football together or visit each other to offer condolences during tragic times. His pain was mine and my pain was his. I first read that Sa'di poem when I was in the second or third grade but never understood it until recently. I hope and pray that the whole world could pause for five minutes and read and digest that great advice. It seems that I shall be praying forever. Once again, thank you. Jalal |
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