Nostalgia

Assumptions, assumptions,

Assumptions, assumptions, and more assumptions...

جناب یساری

FR

جناب یساری

FR

Good idea!

ای بی خبر بکوش که صاحب خبر شوی
تا راهرو نباشی کی راهبر شوی
در مکتب حقایق پیش ادیب عشق
هان ای پسر بکوش که روزی پدر شوی
دست از مس وجود چو مردان ره بشوی
تا کیمیای عشق بیابی و زر شوی
خواب و خورت ز مرتبه ی خویش دور کرد
آنگه رسی بخویش که بی خواب و خور شوی
گر نور عشق حق به دل و جانت اوفتد
بالله کز آفتاب فلک خوبتر شوی
یکدم غریق بحر خدا شو گمان مبر
کز آب هفت بحر بیک موی تر شوی
از پای تا سرت همه نور خدا شود
در راه ذوالجلال چو بی پا و سر شوی
وجه خدا اگر شودت منظر نظر
زین پس شکی نماند که صاحب نظر شوی
بنیاد هستی تو زیر و زبر شود
در دل مدار هیچ که زیر و زبر شوی
گر در سرت هوای وصالست حافظا
باید که خاک درگه اهل هنر شوی

Mr Yassari, stick to poetry not politics

We all enjoyed your poetical contributions but let's keep it that way. 

FR

To SFS: Their fight was with the Shah, not for Democracy

"Interestingly, we don't see their rallies against the lack of democracy in Iran, after the revolution. Is it because they believe the IRI has provided democracy for the Iranians? ..."

No dear, they simply don't care!

As far as I know, most of them fled Iran after they helped pave the way for the revolution and establishment of the Islamic theocracy.

They are far from their "confederation" days so to speak as they have completely settled down in their adopted countries, completely forgotten about Iran and their children being mostly born in the U.S. and Europe, hardly speak any Farsi or even know where Iran is.

It is as if they were only fighting the person of the Shah back then (maybe they did not like his nose!) and as if their mission was fully accomplished after they had helped establish the Islamic Republic dictatorship in Iran!!! Strangley enough, a lot of these fiery revolutionaries and the so called cream of the crop of the Iranian society, did not even have the "balls" to stay in Iran and enjoy the "fruits" of all those years of labor!

Amazing Footage !

Wonderful piece of History ! Thanks for Sharing ...

You should add this to your footage: Dinah Shore singing Persian in the 60's

Memories

Bless Mehrdad Etemad for putting these wonderful clips together. They preserve an important chapter of the Iranian-American story.

Beautiful!

I love these. I'm young but wish I was there back then. Our intelligent Iranians attending UC Berkeley and likely all of them excelled. Sounds like some shysters watching these are either jeolous or just blame everything on our Iranians that spent a lot of time in the US long before the revolution. These look like beautiful memories.

I just wish we had more of our Iranians united in the US as portrayed in these clips. We are the most educated and successful minority group in the US, but also the most dispersed and self haters. I wish we could all begin to recognize what we have in common, rather than how we differ. And what we have in common is the most important thing (more important than religion) ... we share a nationality/ethnicity. For this reason alone, we should be more united. I'll keep hoping.

Amazing comments!

How could you tell all that by watching these video clips?!!

From the video title, it's obvious the group in these videos were done with their education in the US between 1968 and 1970, 9 to 11 years before the revolution!  How do you know they all stayed in Berkeley and joined the Confederation of Iranian Students?!!  If they were students in 1962, they would have been pretty retarded to still be students in the late 1970's!  In fact those days very few students stayed in the US and in a university town after receiving their degrees, as a very promising career was waiting for each of them in Iran.  But we don't know any of that from just watching these home movies!

I think it was an interesting and nostalgic clip of a group of bright people, no matter what happened to them and to the rest of us.  That's what "nostalgia" means!

Shame on you

If you helped topple the Shah,and bring on the revolution, fine. But have at least the dignity to stand by your revolution. You have no business being abroad.
Go back and live in the place and system you helped to create.

I was living my life, and it wasn't that bad. I didn't play a role in that stupid revolution, and never wanted any part of it, but I am paying the price for it.

Bastards!

Touching, but

Very nostalgic and touching, but, good point, Farah. I do remember back in the 70's, Berkley was a major hub for Confederation Namak Nashnass ha, some of whom likely included the likes of these dudes.

I agree with Farah Rusta

I was at Berkeley during some of those years. I also visited UCB and other universities in London and Paris, for scientific meetings, before the revolution. Most of those students who were financed by the Pahlavi Foundation, the Iranian National Oil Company, or other government agencies, were active against the Shah and lack of democracy in Iran. They would feed the foreign media, by their actions and demonstrations against the Pahlavi.

After the revolution, majority of them stayed in foreign countries. And of those who went back to Iran, most returned, but a few were jailed or executed by the IRI. Interestingly, we don't see their rallies against the lack of democracy in Iran, after the revolution. Is it because they believe the IRI has provided democracy for the Iranians, or they are safeguarding their short visits to Iran?

FR is right!

Some combination of what she says applies to all of us, regardless of generation. And yet... we didn't deserve what we got.

Thank you Ghormeh Sabzi and Mehrdad Etemad. I really appreciate this.

A bitter harvest

They were mostly Alborz High School graduates and they were mostly funded by the Pahlavi Foundation and they were mostly in the Confederation of Iranian Students and they were mostly in the front line of the revolutionary rallies and they are mostly American citizens now, living in the US and visiting Iran for a brief visit when they get bored with the American way of life.  

FR