IRAN, A REFLECTION: The war inside me

Assal_B
by Assal_B
14-Jul-2009
 

In response to the brilliant invitation sent by Nazy Kaviani for the writers of Iranian.com to express their feelings in a show of solidarity with regard to recent events, beginning with "Everyone knows..."

Everyone knows that the Iranian and American versions of me will always be at war.

Everyone knows that nothing in Iran will change, but they dare to hope despite this knowledge.

It's the American in me that feels a strange pitter patter of pride well up within my heart when I see their signs, their protests, their peaceful defiance against unbeatable odds. 

The Iranian in me waves off that feeling, shrugs it off, scoffs and sneers and tells me not to get my hopes up; that good things happen and fairytales come true only for Americans. That Iranians are doomed by fate and circumstance to always remain prisoner to the will of powers outside their control.

The American in me shakes her head at the Iranian view. The American in me looks at how far we've come in America, to chaining men on plantations and counting them as inhuman to electing the first black man as our president. The American in me knows that when people hope and believe in the power to change, they can become the change they seek to see in the world.

Everyone knows the Iranian and American versions of me will always be at war.

All I know is, that however un-Iranian it might sound, I hope the American in me is right.

I hope Iran's future is as bright as the future Americans created for themselves by hoping and believing in the power of the people, not prayer and other imaginary things.

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by Farnoosh on

Thank you.


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Nothing worked. The place was a mess. Everything was running late. Lies were told on a daily basis. 3-hour breaks,use of profanities. Water containers in the bathroom,pot lids wrapped in an old tanktop,... Fighting, pushing, shoving, yelling. Chaos ruled, and things were getting worse by the day....

 

So we didn't have a choice:  Al, the American in me,  fired Ali, the Iranian guy in me.

 

 

 

 

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Nazy Kaviani

Dear Assal:

by Nazy Kaviani on

This is really beautiful. I am so familiar with the struggle you so poignantly described, though I have no cynicism about Iran's present and future in my mind. I am full of hope for Iran and for its future. This may be a longer process than most people have patience for, but it will happen some day. Young Iranians have shown us that they have courage and peace in them and those are important ingredients for a prospering nation. A courageous and peaceful nation has no choice but to overcome obstacles and achieve its desired prize sooner or late. I am convinced.

I am grateful to you for accepting the invitation dear Assal.