Archive - May 2009 - Article

Farimah's Story

Farimah was late to the wedding. By the time she showed up the Aghd was over and the guests at her friend Sima’s daughter’s wedding were drinking merrily in preparation for the dinner reception. She found Sima with the bride and handed her small package containing her present to the beautiful bride. Sima told her she looked exceptionally lovely tonight. Farimah appreciated the rare compliment from her fashion designer friend! The photographer was busy flashing pictures at the clusters of guests surrounding the bride and the groom. She joined in a pose with Sima and the newlyweds, flashing her smile at the photographer. She felt his gaze on her before her eyes could see him and her brain started a somersault of puzzlement and slow recognition>>>

وصل

مادرم که در همه این سالها ی

کورمالی من اینجا بوده است

نمی داند

قبرها کجایند

دراین بهشت زهرای بزرگ >>>

The interrogation

"I had forgotten,
pumping my iron,
then falling asleep,
unwell and dirty,
the latticework
of reality
zooming  into  focus
from far to the close.
Shall I describe
how I feel? >>>

قضیه صابری

تردید نباید كرد كه گذرنامه آمریكایی كار به دست ركسانا صابری داده و محكومیت هشت ساله اولیه او را رقم زده است. ولی همین گذرنامه هم بالاخره او را نجات داد. و الا چگونه می‌شد انتظار داشت كسی كه به اتهام جاسوسی چنان محكومیت سنگینی را گرفته است به این سرعت از زندان آزاد شود؟ دوره ۳۰ ساله جمهوری اسلامی پر است از افرادی كه به دلیل گذرنامه خارجی خود یا ارتباط با خارج با برچسب‌های جاسوسی و مانند آن گروگان گرفته شده‌اند و بعد از مدتی به صورت نامنتظره آزاد شده‌اند، ولی نه به این سرعت. گروگان‌های آمریكایی كه ۴۴۴ روز در اسارت به سر می‌بردند معروف‌ترین آن‌ها بشمار می‌روند. ولی نمونه‌های دیگر هم كم نیست. در نیمه دهه ۱۳۶۰ راجر كوپر بازرگان انگلیسی به اتهام جاسوسی دستگیر شد و به اعدام به اضافه ده سال زندان محكوم گردید>>>

The Moon-Maker of Khorassan

"The Moon of Nakhshab" was the most famous creation of Hashim ibn Hakkim, the Veiled Prophet of Khorassan, known sometimes as Mah-sazanda (the moon maker). Twelve centuries after he set himself alight in his mountain fortress to evade capture, his name remains a potent symbol of political and religious excess. A deranged charismatic prophet, a seducer of men’s minds (and women’s bodies), the leader of a failed revolt against the Abbasids, an illusionist who bound thousands to his cause through trickery and false promises: few figures in Iranian History have exercised a stronger fascination over the western imagination than the celebrated Veiled Prophet of Khorassan, more commonly known by his epithet “Mokhanna” (the veiled one)>>>

Victimized

Give me any episode of Ironside, Law and Order, or Murder She Wrote and I’ll happily turn into a couch potato. Courtroom scenes have always fascinated me. What does it feel like to be innocent yet be dragged into an incriminating situation with no apparent way out? Well, I recently was in such a position and, let me tell you, none of that TV watching had made me the wiser for it. Last week, on a boring hot afternoon, I was checking my E-mail when I came across this message: “Ladan Khazai wants you to be her friend”, which I thought was not a problem. Ladan is my sister, she is already my friend, so what’s another click worth to me?>>>

Life in Iran and America

Reza Varjavand arrived for the first time in the United States from Iran - a country with a long and rich history of accomplishment - in 1973. He attended the University of Oklahoma and received a Ph.D. in economics. Reza came from humble surroundings in what he describes as the Misery Alley. He had seven siblings and was the youngest of four brothers. Their father was a farmer and mother taught Quran to a few girls in the Reza's neighborhood. Fortunately, because he did not have to work alongside his brothers and father on the farm, Reza was allowed indulge his curiosity and desire for an education>>>

اشتباه در اشتباه

هر کسی در در این دنیا عیبی دارد و عیب من هم عشق به تاتر هست و ترجیح میدهم در تاتر و اگر نشد در تله تاتر های تلویزیونی و فیلم های سینمایی بازی کنم. شاید تصور کنید که اشتیاق من برای هنر بازیگری نه تنها ایرادی نیست بلکه حتماً حسن است ولی با توضیحاتی که خدمتتان عرض خواهم کرد کاملاً متوجه خواهید شد که چرا این علاقه من به هنر نمایش باعث درد سرم شده است. در مدرسه که بودیم همیشه جزو گروه تاتر و نمایش فعالیت میکردم. حافظه و صدای خوبی داشته و در تقریبا در همه ژانرهای نمایشی استعداد داشتم. از همان نوجوانی از دیدن تاتر های چخوف نویسنده روسی از خود بیخود میشدم. نمیدانم چرا من اینقدر نوشته های چخوف را درک میکردم. شاید دلیل عمده آن همسایگی دو کشور و داشتن شرایط تقریباً یکسان سیاسی و فرهنگی میتواند باشد. >>>

Hollow Soul

There's darkness in your candle
And the inviting words you express,
Conceals the coward in you.

The senseless hollow notes you sing
In your song of whatever journey
Feeds the ego who is in charge
The Fear of death of the only "I" you know
Only a warrior can resolve >>>

You and the Bear

Sitting in a room, feeling cavalier
There came to life an ornament
From the ceiling like a chandelier
A bear, reaching for me from the rear

Struggling to escape the brown bear
Calmly I begged him with eyes in despair
To spare me his strength and unintentional harm
He reached for me with all his might and charm
Spectators were terrified, screaming
The bear’s lower body stuck in the ceiling >>>

A complete family

Lila Soraya Salari arrived a day later than her due date, the 28th of April. And now shares a birthday with my sister, twin cousins in Raleigh, NC, and an uncle in Mashad. Interestingly, she share the day with the twins who were also born on the 29th. The day before, at 4am in the morning, I was woken with, "Are you awake?"
"Yes..."
"Why?"
"Because you just flippin' woke me up, that's why!" I replied sitting up in bed.
She calmly told me that she thought her contractions had started. Dull, aching pain starting in her back. Not too strong. But regular >>>

To vote or not to vote?

As a citizen in a democracy everyone is supposed to have the same opportunity and same rights. The level of truth in that statement depends on how well the democracy is run. One function for the democracy to be run well is how educated its people are. With education I do not mean that people have to hold a bachelor or masters degree in university. I mean that people should be active in learning about their environment and the world around it, that they read newspaper and follow the news. Another way to be educated is to be a member in an association. The association does not need to be political parties, it could be a membership in sports club. This teaches people democracy in practice, to argue for their ideas and listen to other peoples ideas and vote for the best one>>>

Ideology versus Realities

There is no shortage of bad news when it comes to the U. S. economy. Just when you thought economic turmoil was tamed, the government discloses another piece of discouraging economic news. The latest unemployment rate, for instance, which was released yesterday, shows that the U. S. economy has been shedding more jobs than ever before, almost 600,000 jobs per month. The current unemployment rate stands at 8.9%, translated roughly to 13.8 million people officially unemployed. Add to this number those jobless people who are not officially counted as unemployed, then the extent of joblessness will be even far greater than what official data shows. Given the fact that unemployment rate is a lagging economic indicator; there is no improvement in the employment situation in sight>>>

مسئولیت شهروندی

مسجد جمکران که در روستايی به همين نام در نزديکی شهر قم قرار دارد بر پايه خواب يکی از اهالی اين روستا ساخته شده است. در این مسجد چاهی وجود دارد که برخی مردم با طّی مراحلی، عريضه خود را به امام زمان به درون چاه می فرستند، به اين اميد که وی آنها را بخواند و حاجت آنانرا برآورده کند." آنچه پیرامون این مسجد و چاه می گذرد خبر از بروز و گسترش فاجعه ای دردناک در جامعه ما دارد. در قرن بیست و یکم، قرن کامپیوتر و اینترنِت، قرن آگاهی، انتخاب و مسئولیت، تعداد قابل ملاحظه ای از هموطنان ما هنوز غرق خُرافات، منتظر معجزه و دست غیب هستند. آیا لیاقت مردم میهن ما غلطیدن در چنین ورطه ای است؟ و چه کسانی مسئول بروز این فاجعه هستند؟ >>>

To the Children of Prison and Exile

After the silence of firing squads
Still it burns in our hearts
And we carry their corpses
On our broken backs.
I want to turn this death into life.
How many companions,
Who in these years of defeat and execution
Created life from an embryo? >>>