Right before Easter, I read this article on iranian.com by Hoder nagging about airport security and how Iranians are harassed in airports. I was in a bit of disbelief that an adult had written such a piece. A commentator though pointed out that it was an allegory. I wanted to comment back that only people with narrative skills should write allegories because it really didn't come through. The article suggested through a link that we should be upset at the American government or Western governments. Off course I disagree.
So Easter came and I was to travel by airplane to Belgium. In the following link you can see my travel pictures I took in this trip of Antwerp:
//dariotravelweb5.googlepages.com/travelantwerpindex.html
The day before the trip, I had received in the mail one of those RUMI designed iranian t-shirts I had ordered by mail. Several companies do that sort of design. They are very expensive if you count shipping. But I had to get a couple. They have rumi writings in farsi (arabic) letters written all over them.
So the next day I wore the tshirt, forgetting that it was my travel day. Over the flashy red farsi script Rumi t-shirt, I had a sweater which happened to have a zipper. Then on top of that a jacket. Since it is really cold in Europe, it never occured to me that anyone would get to see the tshirt as I never expected having to take out my sweater in this cold weather.
I get to the security checkpoing in the airport, take out my jacket and start moving towards the security machine, when this lady with a smile tells me: "Esto tambien por favor" (This too, please) pointing at my zippable sweater. o o .. it dawned on me that I'm wearing a flashy red arabic script tshirt underneath. So then I was left with that on and completely nervous and trying to cover as much of it with my arms I passed the security checkpoint and quickly covered up as I got on the other side.
Days later, to get the plain back I had to cross from Belgium to Netherlands by train. So the train crosses Holland’s borders and two cops ask me for my passport, which is not iranian. However I was born iran. One of the cops calls central and for 15 minutes I have to wait nervously until somebody from "central" tells him its ok. In the meantime I hear them say things to each other in dutch where I could figure out the word Iran. I was nervous that through miscommunication something would go wrong. For example, imagine that "central" wouldn't get the ID card numbers right and they would have to retain me and eventualy I could miss my return flight.
In both of these cases I got upset, but my anger was geared towards the islamic republic, its sympathizers and those who dont voice their dissagreement with them. It is not a coincidence that people of Middle Eastern background are given this treatment. Its just a natural response. If hijackers, plane crashers and terrrorists are mainly Middle Eastern, then it is simply a natural reaction to put extra security caution on them. In other words if I lost my return flight it would be the fault of the likes of Ahmadinejad and their sympathizers.
By
irannostalgia.com
Recently by irannostalgia.com | Comments | Date |
---|---|---|
آهنک کورش یغمایی در یک صفحه مهم ۳۳ دور | - | Jan 19, 2010 |
1979 Again : My top 10 favorite songs of 1979 | - | Jan 18, 2010 |
Official websites for dead people | - | Oct 20, 2009 |
Person | About | Day |
---|---|---|
نسرین ستوده: زندانی روز | Dec 04 | |
Saeed Malekpour: Prisoner of the day | Lawyer says death sentence suspended | Dec 03 |
Majid Tavakoli: Prisoner of the day | Iterview with mother | Dec 02 |
احسان نراقی: جامعه شناس و نویسنده ۱۳۰۵-۱۳۹۱ | Dec 02 | |
Nasrin Sotoudeh: Prisoner of the day | 46 days on hunger strike | Dec 01 |
Nasrin Sotoudeh: Graffiti | In Barcelona | Nov 30 |
گوهر عشقی: مادر ستار بهشتی | Nov 30 | |
Abdollah Momeni: Prisoner of the day | Activist denied leave and family visits for 1.5 years | Nov 30 |
محمد کلالی: یکی از حمله کنندگان به سفارت ایران در برلین | Nov 29 | |
Habibollah Golparipour: Prisoner of the day | Kurdish Activist on Death Row | Nov 28 |
Hi!
by Yekta S. (not verified) on Wed Mar 26, 2008 09:44 PM PDTHi, I totally understand your frustration when traveling abroad. Even though I was born in the US, when I travel to Iran (which my Iranian passport) I get questioned for being an "ajnabie amrikaei" and when I return to Miami, I always get held up for a couple of hours for my persian name. Anyway, I was wondering where you get those shirts from?
Thanks!!!
Yekta S.
Blame the Islamist
by Anonymousm (not verified) on Sun Mar 23, 2008 06:47 PM PDTBlame the Islamist totalitarian and militay mafia for robbing the prosperity of future generation of Iranian and crimes against humanity...not for your lousy flight.
You missing your flight would be due to your "koongoshadi"
by almo5000 on Sun Mar 23, 2008 04:56 PM PDTGo to the airport early. Don't blame others. We are all natives of earth. Those who are making Iranians, Indians, Paks, etc. feel inferior, are themselves with traits other than human beings in them. Just sit around and watch. You will see that what goes around comes around!