Editorial – Shahrokh Ahkami – Persian Heritage, #71, Fall 2013
I don’t know if it is because I am getting older, but lately I have been unable to find idle time to stop and smell the roses. My days and nights are filled with my medical practice, publishing the magazine, editing articles, reviewing books, responding to emails and spending glorious moments with my family. In between I am constantly reading, listening and watching the news, keeping up with current events and world politics.
Of course, at the beginning of the summer I was focused, like my other Iranian friends, and the world, on the election in Iran. We were worried that the events of the June 2009 election would be repeated; innocent people would be killed or jailed simply for exercising their right to vote. Relief took over us as the election passed in a peaceful fashion. No one was jailed or killed. Mr. Rohani, has spent much of his life in National Security and Defense Ministry positions. His selection as president, out of all the candidates, was the best of the worse for the Iranian people.
It warmed my heart to see the people in Iran on the streets of Iran, celebrating the outcome and enjoying each other’s friendship. I wondered if the happiness they displayed was truly because of the election results or because they used the opportunity just to share time with friends.
The economic situation and crisis in Iran, according to the Iranian Treasury and Central Bank, is grim, the inflation rate is thirty to forty percent and the bank reserves are empty. Their oil revenue in the last eight years far exceeds the total amount collected since the inception of their oil exploration. Is their financial position a result of the incapable leadership or as a result of their leader’s greed and pilfering of the country’s fortune for their own benefit? Whatever the answer, this is shameful, terribly shameful. I often wonder if the economic pressure placed on the people of Iran, by its government, is not a ploy to keep them occupied about food and shelter, leaving them little time to dwell on what they are missing, for example equal rights, religious, political and personal freedom, we in the west take for granted.
It seems, in Iran, that the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer, is this the way of the world? For Iran, it is a known fact that a big chunk of the country’s fortune goes to foreign aid. Certainly no one would, question helping a neighbor in distress, but to arm those who wished or wish for the division of Iran seems unconscionable. Life, for Iranians in Iran, is spinning out of control and no one knows what to do. This weighs heavily on my mind, more and more with each passing day.
Besides the problems in Iran, I was saddened by the events in Egypt, Iraq and Syria. These sectarian divisions are worsening. Often as the news media suggested, I turned away from the television to avoid seeing the brutality of these divisions. My eyes and heart could not take much more of seeing innocent children and people wrapped in white cloths ready for burial because of chemical warfare. I could not take much more of watching parents reach out to touch or kiss their children one last time before they said goodbye forever. You could tell by their faces that they were stunned by what happened and incapable to comprehend the aftermath of these atrocities. These images brought me back to Iran, when so many Iranians, during the Saddam Hussein regime. He with the help of the west, used chemical weapons on Iranians, leaving many dead or maimed for life.
Is this the destiny of the people in the Middle East? How could this happen to them when they have so much wealth and natural resource? How could this happen when they are educated? Do they deserve the misery that a war over religion has caused? Is it a result of the guilt and problems of the people or a result of the criminal minds of the rulers? I pray that the government and the people of Iran do not reduce themselves to the same end. I pray that despite differences with this new administration that they will remain a gentle and tolerable people.
I thought to myself, “is it not true that the leaders of these countries are born into the same nation and hold the same citizenship? Yet, once in power, however, they become so ruthless. Many people believe that the present leaders in Iran are not Iranians and this is the reason they are so brutal. I argue that this cannot be true! How could over hundreds of thousands of army, sepahi group and other officials not be from the same Iranian families?
I pray the Iranian people do not become like those of the hostile nations that surround them. I pray that Iran’s new leadership will recognize, that the people who elected them, do not expect them to now take advantage of them through their new positions. I pray this new leadership will gracefully leave, if the majority desires, without bloodshed and destruction. I pray that the new leadership in Iran does not become criminal.
And I pray that they will not be willing to kill and torture their fellow citizens simply because they disagree with the political views of the ruling class? We are in the 21st Century!!!
These events plagued me night and day. I finally told my wife that I needed a break from these gruesome events and decided to take a trip to New York. While walking down Fifth Avenue we decided to stop for coffee at this delightful coffee shop in Rockefeller Center. Sitting next to us was another couple very well groomed and dressed. After engaging in smiles and hearing my accent, when I ordered, the gentleman asked me where I was from. As always, loudly and proudly, I stated I am Iranian American and where are you from I asked? He told me they were from Saudi Arabia. I was intrigued because I believe this was the first time, I was actually going to have a conversation with someone from Saudi Arabia.
We began to converse about the Middle East. He was an engineer who obtained his degree from the University of Oregon. In the 70’s, as a student in the US, he remembered the excellent financial status Iranians experienced in Iran and abroad. In fact he knew a Saudi girl who had an Iranian roommate who drove a Mercedes. Unfortunately, once the Revolution started finances and life for Iranians in the states changed. This young Iranian student’s life changed so drastically she did not think she could continue her studies. The Saudi roommate, however assured her not to worry about anything that she would help. But, the revolution, as I mentioned changed everything for Iranians in and out of Iran. The gentleman told me he also witnessed this change for the students in London and other parts of the west.
We were deep in conversation, when my wife brought up historical facts of the Middle East. She asked if he knew that parts of Iraq and Baghdad were part of the Persian Empire and that the Persian Gulf Emirates were also part of Persian soil. She also explained that the word Baghdad was a Persian word, “Bagh” meaning “God” and “dad” meaning “give.” He then said that this was a problem he found indigenous of the Middle Eastern community. That we have a habit of living and concerning ourselves with the past, rather than living in the present and it is the present where we should live. He continued by stating, “When the Ottoman Empire disappeared it was the English that divided the Middle Eastern countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, Syria Iraq and Khordestan. No one had an interest in Saudi Arabia because it was just a desert, for example we Arabs claim Khuzestan, in the southern part of Iran, is an Arab section.”
I think that we all decided to change the subject to avoid making this delightful conversation turn into an argument. He did tell us that to him Iran is the most beautiful and unique country of the Middle East. He had a friend who visited Tehran during the Shah and told him that it was just like London, Paris and NY. He ventured to say that if it were not for the turmoil in Iran, Iran would be the main tourist attraction in the Middle East. There would be no reason for the people of the Middle East to venture to the west for culture and enjoyment. Tehran had everything.
We all agreed that it is hard to understand what went wrong in the Middle East? For so many years all religions and its people, the Christians, Zoroastrians, Jews, Sunni, Shiite and Bahia’s peacefully lived and practiced their faith together. They even married each other. Now there is zero toleration, brutal killing and destruction without any remorse. I felt myself drifting back to the sadness of the summer events. Since the point of this trip was to try and forget reality I made a decision that it was time for us to continue our walk. We said our goodbyes and continued our journey to Madison Ave. At one of the corners we saw a crowd of young girls. All were on phones calling and texting one another. Suddenly they started running. My wife and I followed and they stopped on 57th street in front of the Saint Laurent store. We asked someone what was going on and we were told that Harry Styles, from the band, One Direction, was in the store and everyone was waiting to get a glimpse of him when he left. Of course I heard of One Direction, I am a grandfather to many youngsters, but I had no idea who Harry Styles was. We were, however, fascinated by the kid’s reaction so decided to wait and see what happened. The door of the store opened and out he walked to a screaming crowd. It took him a few seconds to enter his car which, was surrounded by 6 police cars. As he drove off the crowd ran after the car hoping to get one more glimpse.
There is nothing more uplifting than seeing young people experience the carefree fun of youth. I wondered if they were aware of the devastation that was happening in the rest of the world. How did they feel about it? Did they care? Did they think about what they could do to help? Were they grateful for what they had? Were they, like me, needing a break from horrific reality? I then remembered those young people in their shrouds for burial, who would never get to experience the joy of life. I thought of those still alive, who will continue to fall victim to the hands of criminal rulers simply because they have other ideas that conflict with the ruling class.
Why, I asked, does such a disparity exist? The gap of life experience between the youth in New York and in Syria, Iraq, Iran and Egypt etc., is enormous and it is such a sad state of affairs. I could write hundreds of pages on this subject matter. At the moment the pages I am allowed me for this editorial are filled. I am left again to hope and pray that Iranians and the youth living in states in turmoil will once again be able to enjoy the true joy of life. I pray that this medieval lifestyle they are forced to live under changes.
This must happen soon! We live in a world where, google, Facebook, twitter etcetera allows one to instantaneously know what is happening thousands miles away. I pray that this will assist the entire world to soon live in a peaceful and fair twenty first century.