Letters
June 14-June 18, 1999 / Khordad 24-28, 1378
Today
* Replies:
- Sa'di & the Intenet
- I come from...
Previous
* Bahais:
- Moved
* Art:
- Thank you
* Economy:
- Cogent solutions
- Insightful
* Community:
- Proud Iranian-American
* xAle:
- Childhood memories
* L.A. wedding:
- Chill out!
- California's Gol Aqa
* Agassi:
- Not one of us
* Women:
- No man can understand
* The Iranian:
- Best of all things
* Jews:
- Minds do change
email us
Friday,
June 4, 1999
* Sa'di & the Internet
Hi Don,
I read your
letter to The Iranian. You wondered what we would react to an
email from so far away. I think you have missed the point. What you are
wondering is the whole beauty of the Internet.
The World Wide Web has turned the world into a village. It has eroded
distances, and as one of our famous poets (Sa'di) said almost a thousand
years ago, reshaped the human race into a single body.
Mahvash shahegh
Maryland, U.S.A
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* I come from ...
Dear Don,
My name is Ali but friends call me Farhad and I come from the land of
Allah, that is ayatollahs or (Iran). It's very nice
to hear from someone in Whangarie (New Zealand), that ever wonderful
place with nice people, climate and beaches and the magical scenery....
Compared to the Majestic Whangarie, Iran's northern Caspian region is
a favorite of mine. It's like a combination of your Tikipunga and Whangarei.
To the south of Iran there is also the Persian Gulf, full of warships of
all kind. It is hot and dry. During rush hour this particular waterway
reminds me of the streets of Manhattan (very crazy). For example, you can
be flying in the sky on board a passenger plane one minute and be blasted
to the smithereens the next! ... FULL
TEXT
Ali Pourshariati
New York City
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Thursday
June 17, 1999
* Chill out!
I'd like to once again remind my fellow compatriots to chill out and
stop taking themselves so darned seriously.
Farhad's uptight
letter regarding the brilliantly funny and poignant article "L.A.
wedding" is truly proof of our on-going and exhausting humorlessness
vis a vis ourselves.
CHILL OUT! No one's trying to put you down!
Banafsheh Zand
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* Moved
Bita Binazeer' "I'm
no infidel" moved me. I know exactly what she went through. Although
, I'm not a Bahai, I'm also a member of an Iranian minority group which
suffers from discrimination.
My father had several good friends who were Bahais. There is still a
Bahai family near my home in northern Iran and I visit them whenever I
go to Iran. Bahais are most honest and gentle, and they mind their onw
business.
Fereidoon Delfanian
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Wednesday
June 16, 1999
* Cogent solutions
Thank you for an incisive analysis of Iran's economic ills ["Sleep-walking
economy"]. I hope someone would translate this article and publish
it on this website to enlighten more Iranians who are not fluent in English.
The solutions you have presented in the form of 13 questions are equally
cogent. It gladdens my heart to read such eloquent articles by Iranian
experts who make most Western experts look like a bunch of impostor wimps.
A very young Iranian once commented that the current so-called Middle
East experts, who often appear on TV programs, are the old Russian experts
recycled after the break-up of the Soviet Union.
The Iranian Times has made it possible for Iranians to offer
their talents, their knowledge, their wisdom, and their nostalgia. The
personal stories I have read rekindle in me the heart-warming memories
of my years in Iran.
Thank you for everything iranian.com. I hope Iranians of talent will
continue to feed this fire and warm our heart and spirit.
Morteza Anvari
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* Not one of us
I have been an occasional visitor to your site, and have been very impressed
by the quality and contents of the articles. It is always great to see
a place that can be a hub for Iranian culture and unity.
I was a little surprised to see a
picture of Andre Agassi on the cover of an Iranian magazine ["Andre the
great"]. It is true that his father is of Iranian origin, but
this guy has openly put Iran down on a few occasions. He was once asked
about how he feels about the fact that his father is from Iran, and his
reply was that "it is his problem."
We have many things that we can be proud of, and Andre Agassi is not
one of them. As far as I am concerned, it is a privilege to be an Iranian,
and if someone is not happy about their own heritage, that is their choice.
If Andre does not like the fact that his father was born in Iran, that
is fine and certainly within his rights.
I also believe that we should not go out of our way to include him in
our extended family. There are many other sports heroes who are Iranian
and proud of their heritage, and I think that they would be more suited
to be on the cover.
Kambiz Roshan
Potomac, Maryland
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* Thank you
Thank you for publishing Yasmine Rafii's thoughts and pictures ["Talking
pictures"].
Bruce Takata
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Tuesday
June 15, 1999
* Minds do change
In response to Nariman
Neyshapouri's recent comments on Mansoureh Haqshenas and Kourosh Bayat's
"I
must be a Jew," and in light of recent arrests of Jews in Iran
on espionage charges, I'd like to offer an Ashkenazi (non-Iranian) Jew's
view on relations among our peoples.
Neyshapouri rightly notes that no ethnic group can monopolize bigotry
-- namely, many American Jews harbor distrust, prejudice and even hatred
toward Iranians (among others). These attitudes are, of course, born largely
of ignorance -- and, as such, they can often be changed.
Last summer I spent 3 weeks in Iran on a scientific expedition.... During
my stay, I ... heard occasional anti-Arab and anti-Jewish comments -- one
guy blatantly told me he liked all foreigners "except Jews of course,"
not realizing that the guy whose tea glass he'd refilled for half an hour
was a Jew. He was flustered to learn it, and could give me no reason for
his feelings save political concerns about Israel ... FULL
TEXT
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* Insightful
I appreciated your insightful and very well-articulated piece on the
Iranian economy ["Sleep-walking
economy"].
Farshad Zarrabian
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* Proud Iranian-American
If you are looking for a successful Iranian who is also proud of his
Iranian heritage, don't need to go too far -- he is right around the corner:
Shar Pourdanesh , the only Iranian player in the Washington Redskins football
team.
Shar is 28-years old and has been playing professionally with the Redskins
for four years. He is very popular in the American community . There was
an article about him on the first page of the Washington Times on Saturday
June 12. According to this article: "Pourdanesh is perhaps the most
honest and emotional Redskins player."
Shar is a very humble and down-to-earth person. He speaks Farsi and
is married to an American girl. They have two sons and are expecting another
child. He is very funny and once a month he comes on a local radio talk
show called "Sports Junkies".
His father told me that Shar does not need to promote himself among
Iranians, but in order to stay Iranian he needs more support from the Iranian
community, especially the media and wished that the Iranian community would
recognize his success and appreciate him as the American do.
Simin Habibian
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Monday
June 14, 1999
* Childhood memories
What a delectable account of memorable childhood experiences ["Those summer
days"]! No wonder I have never heard an Iranian say he/she would
never go back to visit.
We all have stories to live with and to reminisce. Only a few of us
are eloquent enough to put it in words.
Thanks to xAle for sharing her love story with us. And thank you Iranian.com
for providing the medium.
Morteza Anvari
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* California's Gol Aqa
Hamid Taghavi's article "L.A.
wedding" was humorous and to the point! I think his style is similar
to Gol Aqa writers or Ebrahim Nabavi in Iran -- of course with the
Californian flavor. Interesting enough, it gets the same reaction from
the hard-liners in that part of the world! Thank you for writing.
Yasaman Mottaghipour
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