Letters April 2005
Your nostalgia serves no oneIn response to Alidad Vassigh's "Your nostalgia serves no one": Thank you for taking the time to look at my article. “The words let the dead bury their dead” are not as you suggested from the Holy Koran, but from the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 8 verses 21 and 22. The word "dead" here is a reference to all those who did not respond to the call of Jesus. You make another untenable comment that "no death is tragic. It is inevitable". What you say defies the dictionary's definition of tragedy: "A very sad event, that shocks people because it involves death". You say, "Potentially Leila Pahlavi has had her fair share of grief". How can you, whose opinion of her amounts to "a spoiled child with plenty of money in the bank and houses in California and Paris” etc. be trusted as a fair judge of what is due to her in terms of grief and lamentation? How does this crass, heartless and materialistic assessment tally with the "love" and "morality" you speak of later in your e-mail? You rightly ask the question: what about those who faced death, poverty and war in Iran and wished they were in exile? Take a look at other articles I have written like ‘Children of a Lesser God’, where I have written on those tragedies you remark on. I have talked about poverty, homeless children and human rights violation of all Iranians. Leila Pahlavi too was an Iranian, and God forbid if I should be bullied into silence about her and other beloved children of Iran for fear of ranting critics and the clamor of hostile voices. We have remained deaf and dumb for too long on what matters to us in our country, and we have paid a dear price. We cannot afford to be silent any longer on the truth of what has befallen our dear homeland. You say I have no right to think the way I do about the Pahlavis unless I am a relative or a close confidant of the Pahlavis. I can assure you that I am neither a close, nor a distant confidant. Furthermore I am not closer to the Pahlavis than any other Iranian. I consider myself a family member however. I have always been. I have always been a member of the family because the Pahlavis, contrary to what you say, never were a clan. Reza Shah the Great came and demolished the clan system in Iran. He united the whole country under law and order. He turned the entire nation into an extended family. This, as you say ‘Pahlavi clan’ reformed the agricultural system and divided the farmland amongst the until then exploited farmers. This so-called "clan" was responsible for education for all, healthcare for all and the development of the entire country from a medieval nation into a modern civilization. That is why I have always felt like a cherished member of the family. Due to the “blessings” of the Islamic Revolution my parents had to undergo great financial sacrifices to finance my education. My parents and my older relatives however all benefited from generous governmental assistance overseen by this “Pahlavi clan” you speak of. They, like any other Iranian citizens were provided with the opportunity to achieve the best they were able to achieve. Yes, my grief has no bounds and my heartache has no relief when I see that after 26 years of relentless torment in the grips of the worst possible nightmare, there are still Iranians who have not cottoned on to what you in your e-mail refer to as “the love of reason” I ask you according to what law of reason and what system of logic you can compare the Iran of today with the Iran of 26 years ago, and then reach the conclusions that you have come up with? I am not feeling nostalgic and I am not drumming up support for the monarchy. I have never received a single penny from anyone to promote any cause and never will. And let me put your mind at rest about seeing myself and a few others who think like me as a threat. As far as I am able to see, there is no coherent, viable Iranian monarchist movement operating anywhere. Only a few hearts here and a few hearts there, still beating anxiously with the love of our homeland and a few battered voices dedicated to the cause of truth and justice. As long as these dwindling voices have a chance to express themselves, you shall hear from them everyday commemorating the memories of those who died with the love and passion of their beloved Iran in their hearts. The lovely Princess Leila shall forever remain a shining name on that list.
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