I have been marooned in Miami, unable to travel since March 2020, except for a trip to Cuba. Certainly I have taken advantage of this imposed isolation and put my brain to use. While the brain worked, helped many others (counseling and healing), the absence of friends and visits began to take its toll. I estimate that 100 per cent of us have been psychologically affected by this pandemic. I am forever grateful that this isolation was carried out under a secure roof, comfort from my adopted sister and brother in Miami with no insecurity about food and also the fact that Miami, while part of the Banana Republic run by fascist elements of an immigrant population, is still part of the Democracy of the United States.
Imagine you had to spend this year and half in totalitarian states or autocratic states or where there is war and ravages (Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Iraq).. think of Ukraine, Myanmar, Malaysia, Philippines, India/Pakistan/Bangladesh/Nepal/SriLanka...these are extreme cases of autocracy or poverty or neglected health services.
One country stands out and apart, where the suffering which has been constant since 1979 but with exacerbations and lately with sanctions imposed, an economic crisis beyond imagination.
The country is IRAN. a country very close to me, made into a reality by a father who had lived in Iran and had supported a popular leader of an uprising many decades ago. But my memory of Iran, having never visited Iran, is through the friends I have made, books I have read .. especially poetry. Once Internet was available, i was able to learn more about modern Persian poetry as well as the Iranian music both old and traditional as well as popular and new.
My love for Iran grew by leaps and bounds since 2010 when I began being in touch with friends inside Iran on a regular basis.
One of the casualties of this isolation has been the News Media and the fake news they spread, regardless of their nationalities. Apart from New York Times the newspapers of the major cities with possible exceptions in Washington or Los Angeles are not worth reading, more like gossip yellow journalism. But fortunately The Economist, the best news magazine in the world in my opinion is available on line and more importantly, during the long drives, BBC world news service keeps you abreast of what is happening and its reporting is as neutral as you are going to find in any part of the world.
I felt immensely sad. What came through in those voices: frustration, hopelessness, dislike of the government regulations and the religious obligations, fear about the economy, disappointment that dreams may be shattered. All of them want to emigrate. These are educated young women who have dreams like their counterparts living in Belgium or California, but the frustration was so apparent in their voices.
The entire interview, 50 minutes long, is available until 8th July and there will be more on this series this month on BBC.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w172xxxjryk66vr
I feel compelled to bring a little cheer to the lives of my Iranian friends, none of whom can travel at the moment and no one would advise me to travel to Iran, now or in the near future.
We have to see poetry and music in adversity. A friend of mine sent a photo and some words which soothes all Iranian hearts,
I was not sure what to make of this, until the explanation arrived:
It was a daughter's lament:
She said that why you have chosen the earth? Is it warmer than my hugs? So why did you go ?
It is such poetry and emotions that make me love Iran.
Heart full of Saudade (my favourite portuguese word)
Fal e Hafez
Ask Hafez
Hafez's Ghazals are more read than even Quran in Iran, People seek solace in his words.
This time I was not searching for an answer but an explanation of my sentiments. Hafez is figurative and from his answer you can see the strength of my love for Iran.
هزار دشمنـم ار می‌کنند قصد هـلاک
گرم تو دوستی از دشمـنان ندارم باک
مرا امید وصال تو زنده می‌دارد
و گر نه هر دمم از هجر توست بیم هلاک
نفـس نفـس اگر از باد نشنوم بویش
زمان زمان چو گل از غم کنم گریبان چاک
رود به خواب دو چشم از خیال تو هیهات
بود صـبور دل اندر فراق تو حاشاک
اگر تو زخم زنی به کـه دیگری مرهـم
و گر تو زهر دهی به کـه دیگری تریاک
بـضرب سیفـک قتـلی حیاتـنا ابدا
لان روحی قد طاب ان یکون فداک
عنان مپیچ که گر می‌زنی به شمشیرم
سـپر کنم سر و دستت ندارم از فتراک
تو را چنان که تویی هر نـظر کـجا بیند
به قدر دانش خود هر کسی کند ادراک
بـه چشم خلق عزیز جهان شود حافظ
کـه بر در تو نهد روی مسکنت بر خاک
Here the figure of speech (like in many Persian poems, where alcohol might represent a love of the divine,) I sense the passion for what we conceive in my imagination of my creation of a just world of letters and sensations. What I want today is that justice displayed as love and passion in the above ghazal be available as hope, confidence, fulfillment of dreams for all Iranians.
