Archive - Apr 5, 2011 - Article

Give violence a chance!

Strangest things can happen in your local Middle Eastern market. I was pushing my shopping cart down the aisle while glancing at fast-moving images of the Libyan uprising on CNN. A few Arab men had huddled around the TV, quietly watching as events unfolded. As I turn my attention back to my shopping list, I noticed a Libyan acquaintance, standing by the pickle section, carefully studying the labels. Hoping for a quick getaway, I looked the other way and moved swiftly past him. “You Persians are bunch of pussies,” the Libyan whispered>>>

A Woman of Thirty in Prison

Like the millions of younger women and men of her generation, Bahareh desires rights, dignity, prosperity, family, and love. Why does she have to celebrate her 30th birthday in the Evin prison? What is the crime that she has committed that warrants her spending her 30s, the best years of her life, in solitary confinement? Why she is denied the basic and simple human rights of celebrating her birthday and wedding anniversary with her beloved husband on April 5th? She is in prison because she dared to exercise her civil rights and demand what belongs to her>>>

A Matter of Mind

A nice anecdote says, “Age is a matter of mind, if you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” The youngest in my family, I don’t mind my age, but it sure does matter. My first “age alarm” came as a huge surprise. At a lecture in Chicago, I ended up in the balcony with a group of youngsters. With the program delayed Iranian style, they became restless and started making paper airplanes. Unskilled, I noticed none of their missiles made it to their pals sitting in the lower level. Finally, I picked up one that had landed at my feet, unraveled it, and showed them how it’s done>>>

آزادی سرود فرشتگان است

عموی من زنجیرباف بود. او همه زمستان برف ها را به هم بافت و سرما را به سرما، گره زد و یخ را به یخ دوخت. و هی درختان را به زنجیر کشید و پرنده ها را به بند و آدم ها را اسیر کرد. جهان را غل و زنجیر و بند و طناب او گرفت. ما گفتیم: ای عموی زنجیرباف! زنجیرهایت را پاره کن که زنجیر، سزاوار دیوان است، نه آدمیان که آزادی، سرود فرشتگان است و رهایی، آرزوی انسان>>>

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