Martha Teichner: THEIR STORY BEGINS
MORE THAN TWO MILLENNIA AGO,
IN THE MIDDLE EAST, IN A LAND
THAT WOULD COME TO BE CALLED "PERSIA."
BEGINNING AS A GROUP OF NOMADS,
IN TIME, UNIFIED BY A COMMON LANGUAGE,
THE PEOPLE OF PERSIA, LED BY SUCH GREAT KINGS
AS CYRUS AND DARIUS,
WOULD BUILD AN EMPIRE THAT, AT ITS PEAK,
STRETCHED FROM NORTH AFRICA TO INDIA,
FROM THE CASPIAN TO THE RED SEA.
A PEOPLE OF DIVERSE ETHNICITIES AND FAITHS,
THEY DEVELOPED RICH TRADITIONS
THAT HAVE ENDURED CENTURIES
OF MIGRATIONS AND CONQUESTS.
IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 20th CENTURY,
THEIR NATION, NOW KNOWN AS IRAN,
WAS RACKED BY POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS UPHEAVAL
AND, ULTIMATELY, REVOLUTION.
FROM THIS,
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF IRANIANS
LEFT THEIR HOMELAND FOR THE UNITED STATES,
A COUNTRY THEY WOULD COME TO CALL
HOME.
WAS PROVIDED BY...
DEDICATED TO CELEBRATING AND PROMOTING
IRANIAN ART AND CULTURE
FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE.
A COMPLETE LIST IS AVAILABLE FROM PBS.
EINSTEIN.
YOU KNOW, NAMES, PLACES,
THAT I COULD NEVER IMAGINE
BEING THERE.
[ "AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL" PLAYS ]
Pirnazar-Oberman: OH, MY GOD,
THE PICTURES FROM SEARS ROEBUCK.
IT WAS LIKE GOING TO THE MOON.
ALL THE LADIES WOULD LOOK AT THAT
AND FOLLOW THE FASHIONS FROM THERE.
THAT'S HOW I REMEMBER MY MOM AND MY SISTER.
THEY WOULD LOOK AT THIS, OKAY, THEY'D TELL THE DRESSMAKER,
"LET'S MAKE THIS, LET'S MAKE THAT."
I WAS RAISED IN TEHRAN
WITH ALL KINDS OF NEIGHBORS AROUND US,
FROM ALL NATIONALITIES.
WE HAD SOME RUSSIAN NEIGHBORS RIGHT NEXT TO US
AND LOTS OF ARMENIANS, LOTS OF JEWS.
WE HAD A NEIGHBOR WHO WAS AN AMERICAN EXPAT
LIVING IN IRAN AND, WHEN THEY LEFT,
THEY WANTED TO SELL SOME OF THEIR STUFF
AND MY MOM BOUGHT ME THE FIRST BARBIE
AND THE BARBIE HOUSE.
BARBIE'S DREAM HOUSE.
EVERYBODY WANTED TO COME THERE AND PLAY WITH THIS BARBIE
AND IT WAS JUST, YOU KNOW, I HAD DIED AND GONE TO HEAVEN.
I GREW UP ON TARZAN, WATCHING TARZAN MOVIES.
MY FATHER LOVED TARZAN AND WE WATCHED EVERY
OF HIS MOVIES, OR SOME OTHER MOVIES.
AMERICAN MOVIES WERE VERY FAMOUS.
Interviewer: CAN YOU DO THE TARZAN "YAAH!"?
I CANNOT, BUT --
AAAAH!
Ameri: THE AMERICAN ARMED FORCES
HAD A TV STATION IN IRAN, AT THE TIME.
WE USED TO WATCH ALL THESE GREAT SHOWS, LIKE "LASSIE."
WE WERE ALL ENAMORED BY "LASSIE."
Jobrani: I LOVED COMIC BOOKS,
SO I HAD, LIKE, "SPIDER-MAN" AND "SUPERMAN" AND "BATMAN"
AND MY COUSIN AND I WOULD LOOK AT THESE
AND THEN WE'D RUN AROUND THE HOUSE, ACTING IT OUT.
I'M A BIG FILM FANATIC.
EVERY WEEK, I WANTED TO WATCH FILMS
AND, OF COURSE, THE EPITOME OF FILMS IS
HOLLYWOOD AND AMERICAN FILMS.
Teichner: RELATIONS BETWEEN IRAN AND THE U.S.
HAD BEEN FLOURISHING FOR MUCH OF THE 20th CENTURY,
BEGINNING, IN PART, WHEN REZA PAHLAVI,
A HIGH-RANKING ARMY OFFICER, TOOK CONTROL OF THE COUNTRY,
BECOMING THE SHAH OF IRAN IN 1925.
IN 1941, HIS SON MAMD REZA TOOK OVER AS SHAH.
A WEAKER LEADER THAN HIS FATHER,
HE ALL BUT LOST POWER IN THE 1950s
TO AN ELECTED GOVERNMENT THAT MARGINALIZED HIM.
THE BRITISH AND AMERICANS, HOWEVER,
FEARFUL THEY'D LOSE INFLUENCE
OVER IRAN AND ITS OIL,
OVERTHREW THE DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED PRIME MINISTER,
GIVING MOHAMMAD REZA SHAH
VIRTUALLY UNCHALLENGED AUTHORITY.
WE HAVE NO OTHER NATION ON EARTH
WHO IS CLOSER TO US
AND THERE IS NO LEADER WITH WHOM I HAVE
A DEEPER SENSE OF PERSONAL GRATITUDE
AND PERSONAL FRIENDSHIP.
Teichner: UNDER THE SHAH'S RULE,
IRAN AND THE U.S. GREW INCREASINGLY CLOSE.
DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS STRENGTHENED
AND TRADE GREW EXPONENTIALLY.
MANY AMERICANS ALSO WENT TO LIVE AND WORK IN IRAN.
Rahimieh: THERE WAS A GREAT DEAL
OF RAPID WESTERNIZATION.
THE TRANSFORMATIONS WERE VISIBLE.
YOUNG IRANIANS, TEENAGERS, THEY HAD THIS IMAGE
OF THIS GLAMOROUS COUNTRY THAT YOU WOULD GO TO AND SEE,
IF NOT NECESSARILY IN TERMS OF "THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITY,"
BUT ALL SORTS OF NOVEL, NEW THINGS.
Teichner: WHILE SMALL NUMBERS OF IRANIANS
HAD BEEN MOVING TO THE U.S. FOR DECADES,
BY THE 1970s, THEY WERE COMING IN THE TENS OF THOUSANDS,
SOME FOR WORK, BUT MANY MORE FORDU ETION.
Biglari: GOING TO THE UNITED STATES FOR EDUCATION
WAS SOMETHING I LOOKED FORWARD TO.
SO DID MANY OF MY CONTEMPORARIES.
WHEN I ULTIMATELY CAME TO THE STATES,
JUST BEFORE THE REVOLUTION,
THERE WERE ABOUT 50,000 IRANIAN STUDENTS
IN THIS COUNTRY, OR ABOUT 20%
OF THE TOTAL FOREIGN-STUDENT POPULATION IN THE COUNTRY.
Ameri: IN MY FAMILY, MY DAD,
HE ALWAYS WANTED TO SEND HIS KIDS TO THE STATES
BECAUSE HE THOUGHT, YOU KNOW,
THIS IS WHERE THINGS WERE HAPPENING.
SO BEFORE ME, MY TWO OLDER BROTHERS
HAD COME HERE AND THEN,
BY THE TIME IT WAS MY TURN, THE PATH WAS VERY CLEAR.
Pirnazar-Oberman: I GRADUATED IN IRAN IN 1975.
I GOT MY MASTER'S IN ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE
AND I WAS OFFERED A SCHOLARSHIP
TO COME TO GET MY PhD IN THE UNITED STATES.
THE EXPECTATION THAT WE HAD WHEN WE CAME HERE
WAS THAT WE WOULD GET OUR EDUCATION HERE
AND THEN GO BACK TO IRAN.
THAT'S WHAT MOST PEOPLE
WHO CAME AND STUDIED IN THE UNITED STATES DID.
AS IT TURNED OUT,
THE IRANIAN REVOLUTION INTERFERED WITH THOSE PLANS.
THE POLITICAL CONVULSIONS IN IRAN CONTINUE
AND THE GOVERNMENT APPOINTED BY THE SHAH
APPARENTLY HAS BEEN TOPPLED.
Teichner: 1979 MARKED A CHANGE FOR IRAN.
THE LARGELY SECULAR GOVERNMENT LED BY THE SHAH CAME TO END
AS HE AND HIS FAMILY FLED
AND THE COUNTRY UNDERWENT A REVOLUTION.
WHILE MANY IRANIANS HAD PROSPERED
UNDER THE SHAH'S RULE, OTHERS WERE ENRAGED
BY THE GROWING DISPARITY BETWEEN CLASSES.
MANY ALSO CONSIDERED HIM CORRUPT;
A MERE TOOL OF THE U.S.; AND OPPRESSIVE,
OFTEN VIOLENTLY, TO HIS OPPOSITION.
Pourjafar: IN IRAN IN 1979,
I WAS ONLY EIGHT, EIGHT AND A HALF YEARS OLD,
SO I WAS MOSTLY IN SCHOOL.
A LOT OF THINGS WERE HAPPENING EVERYWHERE.
WE WERE SCARED BECAUSE THERE WAS
A LOT OF BLOODSHED,
THERE WERE A LOT OF DEMONSTRATIONS,
THERE WAS A LOT OF... ANGER.
Teichner: THE SOLUTION FOR THE REVOLUTIONARIES WAS
TO USHER IN A NEW LEADER.
THEIR CHOICE WAS THE AYATOLLAH KHOMEINI.
EXILED FROM IRAN FOR YEARS, HE PROMISED A NEW IRAN,
A CLASSLESS SOCIETY, ROOTED IN ISLAMIC BELIEF,
WITH NO CORRUPTION AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL,
A NATION THAT WOULD BE BASED ON INDEPENDENCE AND FREEDOM.
THESE WERE HIS PROMISES, BUT, AS THE WORLD SOON LEARNED,
THEY WERE SHORT-LIVED.
Naderi: IT TURNED VERY QUICKLY,
YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF
ALL THE PROMISES THAT KHOMEINI HAD MADE
ABOUT SECULAR DEMOCRACY AND ALL OF THAT.
IT WAS VERY CLEAR, WITHIN THE FIRST FEW MONTHS,
THAT NONE OF THAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN.
Teichner: THE AYATOLLAH FORMED A NEW REPUBLIC OF IRAN,
WHERE ISLAMIC LAW RULED
AND DISSENT WAS NOT TOLERATED.
MANY OF THOSE ASSOCIATED WITH THE SHAH
OR THOSE POLITICALLY OPPOSED TO THE NEW REGIME
FACED IMPRISONMENT OR EXECUTION.
THOSE WHO COULD AFFORD TO LEAVE -- IN LARGE PART,
PEOPLE WHO'D BENEFITED FROM THE SHAH'S POLICIES --
DID SO, FLEEING THE COUNTRY WITH THEIR FAMILIES.
IN MOST CASES, THESE WERE PEOPLE WITH MEANS --
PRIMARILY, SECULAR MUSLIMS
AND RELIGIOUS AND ETHNIC MINORITIES.
Pourjafar: A LOT OF A FAMILIES LEFT.
THEY LEFT, THEY LEFT.
ONE AFTER ANOTHER, THEY LEFT THE COUNTRY.
THEY JUST LEFT THEIR HOUSES, EVERYTHING.
THEY PACKED THEIR CLOTHES, THEY BOUGHT A TICKET, AND THEY LEFT.
I LEFT.
ALL MY BOOKS IN MY OFFICE, MY APARTMENT,
THE CAR PARKED IN THE FRONT --
EVERYTHING THAT WOULD HAVE GIVEN THE PERCEPTION
THAT I'M LEAVING FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS AND COMING BACK.
AND I LEFT AND THAT WAS THE END OF THAT.
Man: THE MOST POPULAR PLACE IN TEHRAN,
AT THE MOMENT, IS THE AIRPORT.
IRANIANS AND FOREIGNERS ARE TRYING TO LEAVE.
Teichner: IN THE YEARS SURROUNDING THE REVOLUTION,
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF IRANIANS
BEGAN ARRIVING IN THE UNITED STATES.
Sarshar: I WAS FIRED.
MY HUSBAND WAS FIRED FROM THE POSITION THAT HE HAD.
WE THOUGHT MAYBE IT'S NOT A BAD IDEA
TO GO OUT OF THE COUNTRY FOR A FEW WEEKS
AND SEE IF EVERYTHING SETTLED DOWN --
WE WERE SMELLING SOMETHING COMING UP --
AND COME BACK, AND THAT WAS IT.
MY FATHER WAS ON BUSINESS IN NEW YORK
AND HE SENT FOR MY MOM TO BRING MY SISTER AND MYSELF
TO NEW YORK TO BE WITH HIM FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS.
AND I ALWAYS SAY WE PACKED FOR 2 WEEKS,
WE STAYED FOR 30 YEARS.
Soomekh: I MOVED HERE WHEN I WAS TWO.
MY PARENTS, WE HAD WHAT I CALL A RUSHED MOVING.
WENT IMMEDIATELY TO THE AMERICAN EMBASSY.
WE WERE ABLE TO SELL SOME OF OUR BELONGINGS,
NOT A LOT OF IT -- MY DAD COULDN SL HIS BUSINESS,
OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT -- AND IMMEDIATELY
JUST BOUGHT A TICKET TO AMERICA.
THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF US STUDYING IN THE U.S.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAD A CHOICE TO MAKE.
I MEAN, EITHER WE WERE GOING TO GO BACK TO IRAN
AND, YOU KNOW, BE FACED WITH THIS UNKNOWN --
AND THE UNKNOWN DIDN'T LOOK VERY APPEALING --
OR WE COULD STAY HERE.
I HAD NO FAMILY HERE AND I WAS ONLY 17
AND I WAS SUDDENLY CUT OFF FINANCIALLY
AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY AND PHYSICALLY
FROM THE COUNTRY AND THE FAMILY
AND I STARTED TO FEEL LIKE I WAS REALLY FALLING APART,
PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY.
Teichner: FOR YEARS, KHOMEINI HAD DENOUNCED THE U.S.
AS AN IMPERIAL OPPRESSOR.
UNDER HIS RULE, RELATIONS BETWEEN THE U.S. AND IRAN,
THAT HAD BEEN SO STRONG UNDER THE SHAH,
BEGAN TO CRUMBLE.
ON NOVEMBER 10, 1979,
TIES BETWEEN THE U.S. AND IRAN
WERE SEVERED COMPLETELY,
AS A GROUP OF SEVERAL HUNDRED IRANIAN STUDENTS
JOINED THE ANTIAMERICAN FERVOR,
STORMED THE AMERICAN EMBASSY IN TEHRAN,
AND TOOK DOZENS OF AMERICANS HOSTAGE.
THE STUDENTS' PRIMARY DEMAND WAS
THAT AMERICA SEND THE SHAH BACK TO IRAN FOR TRIAL.
THE VERY NEXT DAY,
THE AYATOLLAH MADE HIS FAMOUS DECLARATION
THAT AMERICA WAS "THE GREAT SATAN."
IN NOVEMBER 1980,
THE DRAMA IN IRAN INTENSIFIED
WHEN IRAQ, SENSING A WEAKENED IRAN
AND A CHANCE
TO TAKE NEW LANDS RICH WITH OIL,
ATTACKED, BEGINNING A WAR
THAT WOULD LAST EIGHT YEARS.
WITH A COLLAPSING ECONOMY AND A COUNTRY AT WAR,
ANOTHER EXODUS FROM IRAN BEGAN
AND CONTINUED THROUGH THE 1980s,
WITH MORE IRANIANS COMING TO SETTLE IN THE UNITED STATES.
WITH THE HOSTAGE CRISIS IN DAILY HEADLINES,
AMERICAN ANGER TOWARDS IRAN GREW
AND MANY IRANIANS IN THE U.S.
FOUND THEMSELVES IN THE CROSSFIRE.
Rahimieh: AFTER THE HOSTAGE CRISIS,
IRANIANS, PARTICULARLY OUTSIDE IRAN, WANTED
TO DISAVOW THEIR ORIGINS
BECAUSE, IF YOU'RE LIVING IN THE WEST
AND IRAN HAS BECOME A COUNTRY THAT IS SO CLOSELY IDENTIFIED
WITH ANTIWESTERN VIEWS, WITH A KIND OF REPRESENTATION
THAT IS NOT FAVORABLE TO IRANIANS,
THAT, PSYCHOLOGICALLY, IT'S WORKED AGAINST
EMBRACING THE IRANIAN IDENTITY.
Bozorgmehr: PEOPLE ASKED YOU, "WHAT ARE YOU?",
YOU SAID YOU WERE IRANIAN,
YOU WERE UP FOR SOME KIND OF SHOUTING MATCH
OR A FISTFIGHT.
YEAH!
SO PEOPLE STARTED USING A VERY INNOCUOUS TERM,
"PERSIAN," YOU KNOW, WHICH SORT OF SPOKE
OF THE GRANDEUR OF PERSIAN CIVILIZATION
AND PERSIAN RUGS AND PERSIAN PISTACHIOS.
YOU KNOW, WE SMILE WHEN WE SAY IT.
WE'RE LIKE, "NO, NO. I'M NOT IRANIAN. ME?
"WHAT AM I? ME? ME?
I AM PERSIAN, LIKE THE CAT. MEOW!"
Soomekh: WHAT IT REALLY DID FOR THE IRANIAN-JEWISH COMMUNITY IS
MAKE THEM PLAY UP THEIR JEWISH IDENTITY OVER EVERYTHING ELSE,
IN ORDER TO SHOW AMERICAN JEWS
AND JUST PEOPLE IN AMERICA THAT THEY'RE NOT,
IN ANY WAY, ASSOCIATED WITH THE ISLAMIC REGIME
THAT JUST HELD 52 AMERICANS HOSTAGE.
THE FIRST THING I DID IS I WENT AND BOUGHT
AN AMERICAN FLAG AND PUT IT HERE.
SO I WALKED AROUND ALL OVER WITH AN AMERICAN FLAG.
IN FACT, I WAS GOING TO A CEMETERY IN BURBANK
AND I DIDN'T HAVE THAT FLAG, SO I ASKED SOMEBODY,
"HOW DO I GET TO FOREST LAWN?"
HE SAYS, "WHY DON'T YOU GO BACK TO YOUR DAMN COUNTRY?"
JUST LIKE THAT,
DIDN'T WANT TO GIVE ME DIRECTIONS, OR NOTHING.
SO I KNEW, IN THEIR MIND, ANYBODY THAT LOOKED LIKE ME,
MIDDLE EASTERN, WAS LOOKED DOWN
AND WITH PREJUDICE AND WITH ANGER.
WE FELT AN INCREDIBLE SENSE OF INSECURITY,
IN TERMS OF THAT WE HAD NO WAY BACK, BUT ALSO, WHERE WE WERE,
THERE WAS A LOT OF THE ELEMENT OF UNKNOWN.
A LOT OF AMERICAN FRIENDS, THEY USED TO TELL ME,
"DON'T SAY EVERYWHERE YOU'RE PERSIAN.
SAY YOU'RE GREEK, YOU'RE ITALIAN."
I SAY, "WHY? I AM PERSIAN."
[chanting] GO HOME! GO HOME! GO HOME!
Man: IT IS NOT ONLY
IN PUBLIC DEMONSTRATIONS
THAT HOSTILITY TOWARD IRANIANS IS SEEN.
THIS BEVERLY HILLS ESTABLISHMENT
HAD A BRICK THROUGH ITS WINDOW THE OTHER DAY.
AS FOR GOING "HOME," FOR THOUSANDS OF IRANIANS HERE,
THIS IS HOME.
Dumas: MY FATHER NO LONGER HAD A JOB
AND NOBODY WOULD HIRE HIM.
HERE HE WAS, LIKE, THIS MAN IN HIS 50s,
HE TALKED LIKE "THEES" [this].
HIS NAME IS KAZEM JAZAYERI.
I MEAN, HE WAS JUST UNEMPLOYABLE.
AND IT WAS A VERY PAINFUL PERIOD.
I MEAN, HE WAS HOME ALL THE TIME, WATCHING TV,
SWEARING AT KHOMEINI, SWEARING AT THE REVOLUTION.
IT WASN'T SO MUCH THAT I WAS SAD THAT WE WEREN'T GOING BACK,
I WAS JUST SO SAD
THAT MY FATHER WAS SUCH A DIFFERENT PERSON NOW.
Neshat: THERE IS NO WAY THAT ANY IRANIAN
COULD HAVE TRAVELED AND LEFT THEIR COUNTRY
AND NOT HAVE HAD THE EXPERIENCE OF PAIN
AND THE EXPERIENCE OF SEPARATION ANXIETY
AND, YOU KNOW, YOU SUFFER, TO A DIFFERENT DEGREE.
Delshad: HERE I WAS,
I'M BECOMING MORE AND MORE AMERICANIZED,
AND THEN, ALL THE IRANIANS STARTED COMING HERE
AND LIFE STARTED CHANGING AGAIN, FOR ME.
WHEN THEY CAME HERE, I CALLED THEM A "SUITCASE MENTALITY."
THEY WERE ALWAYS HAVING THEIR SUITCASE READY,
PACKED, TO GO BACK.
Teichner: WHILE MANY COULD TRAVEL BACK TO IRAN TO VISIT,
FOR MOST, THEIR OLD LIVES, JOBS,
AND BUSINESSES WERE GONE,
OR THEIR FAMILIES HAD DISPERSED.
FOR OTHERS, THEIR POLITICS OR RELIGION
MADE PERMANENT RETURN
IMPOSSIBLE.
Ameri: THOSE OF US WHO FINISHED COLLEGE HERE
AND, RIGHT AWAY, HAD TO GO INTO THE WORKFORCE
DURING THE TIME THAT THE REVOLUTION WAS HAPPENING,
I THINK, FOR US, IT WAS VERY EVIDENT
THAT THIS WAS OUR HOME.
"WE'RE WORKING HERE.
THIS IS OUR HOME. WE NEED TO MOVE ON."
THE OLDER GENERATION,
WHO HAD TO LEAVE IRAN AFTER THE REVOLUTION,
I THINK IT WAS VERY DIFFERENT FROM THEM.
YOU KNOW, THEY HAD ALREADY STARTED A LIFE IN IRAN
AND THEN THEY HAD TO LEAVE THAT AND COME HERE.
I MISSED EVERYTHING, EVERY LITTLE THING YOU CAN THINK OF.
MOST OF ALL, MY FAMILY.
AT THE BEGINNING,
IT WAS MY MOTHER, MY SISTER, MY BROTHER,
MY NEIGHBOR, THE GARBAGE MAN WHO PICK UP MY GARBAGE.
"I REALLY WANT TO GO BACK TO IRAN.
"I WANT TO BE IN THE CARGO OF THE PLANE.
"JUST PUT ME SOMEPLACE AND TAKE ME BACK
TO MY COUNTRY."
Sarshar: WHEN I LOOK BACK
AND I THINK OF THOSE DAYS,
WHICH, I WENT THROUGH A VERY DEEP DEPRESSION.
WHOEVER WOULD TALK TO ME AND SAY, "HOMA, HOW ARE YOU?",
I STARTED CRYING
BECAUSE I FELT THAT I DIDN'T SAY GOODBYE TO MY COUNTRY.
I DIDN'T LEAVE MY COUNTRY AND MY HOMELAND BY WILL.
I WAS FORCED OUT.
SO MANY IRANIANS ACTUALLY CLUNG TO THE HOPE THAT, SOMEHOW,
THINGS WOULD GO BACK AND THERE WOULD BE
AN IRAN THAT THEY COULD GO BACK TO.
I DON'T THINK THAT
OLDER IRANIANS REALLY EVER THOUGHT
THAT THEY WOULD BE DYING
IN THIS COUNTRY.
Delshad: AND IT TOOK A FEW YEARS,
TELLING THEM THAT THIS IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.
YOUR KIDS ARE NOT GOING TO GBACK.
THEY WANT TO GO BACK.
OPEN YOUR SUITCASES, HANG YOUR CLOTHES,
AND THIS IS GOING TO BE YOUR PLACE.
Houman: PEOPLE STARTED TO COME TO TERMS
WITH THE FACT THAT "I THINK WE'RE HERE TO STAY.
"WE NEED TO START
"CELEBRATING THANKSGIVING.
"EVEN THOUGH
"WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THIS CRANBERRY SAUCE.
"BUT, NOW, I HAVE
A 3-YEAR-OLD GRANDCHILD WHO'S AN AMERICA"N.
Rahimieh: THEY ESTABLISHED BUSINESSES.
SOME OF THEM HAD TO COMPLETELY REMAKE THEMSELVES.
Teichner: WHILE THE LARGEST NUMBER OF IRANIANS
SETTLED IN CALIFORNIA, PARTICULARLY IN LOS ANGELES,
IRANIANS ALSO SETTLED ACROSS THE COUNTRY,
PRIMARILY IN MAJOR CITIES,
FROM CHICAGO TO NEW YORK,
WASHINGTON TO HOUSTON.
THESE COMMUNITIES INCLUDED SECULAR
AND A SMALLER NUMBER OF PRACTICING MUSLIMS;
AS WELL AS RELIGIOUS AND ETHNIC MINORITIES WHO HAD LEFT IRAN:
A LARGE NUMBER OF JEWS,
ARMENIAN CHRISTIANS, ASSYRIANS,
ZOROASTRIANS, AND BAHA'IS.
IN MORE RECENT YEARS, MIGRATION FROM IRAN
HAS CONTINUED, THOUGH IN MUCH SMALLER NUMBERS.
Pourjafar: AND I SAID,
"I REALLY WANT TO GO SOMEWHERE THAT I CAN GET UP AND SAY,
'THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO DO TODAY.'"
I WANT TO BE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT -- IF THEY ASK ME,
SAY I'M A BAHA'I, THIS IS WHAT I BELIEVE IN.
I WANT TO BE ABLE TO BE AMONG PEOPLE
WITH DIFFERENT CULTURES, TO EXPERIENCE A DIFFERENT LIFE.
Soomekh: BEFORE THE REVOLUTION,
YOU HAD 100,000 JEWS IN IRAN.
AFTER THE REVOLUTION, YOU HAD ABOUT 20,000 JEWS.
SO ABOUT 80,000 JEWS LEFT IRAN
AND WENT, MOSTLY, TO LOS ANGELES;
TO GREAT NECK, NEW YORK.
MY FAMILY BECAME A PART
THE CLOTHING INDUSTRY, MAKING BELTS.
AND SO, WHEN THE IRANIAN JEWISH COMMUNITY CAME HERE,
THEY FELT WELCOMED, IN A SENSE, FROM THE JEWISH COMMUNITY,
AND, YET, AT THE SAME TIME, PEOPLE JUST DIDN'T EVEN KNOW
WHAT TO MAKE OF THEM.
PEOPLE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THAT JEWS EXISTED IN IRAN
AND SO THEY IMMEDIATELY SET UP THEIR OWN SYNAGOGUES
AND FELT VERY WELCOMED AND VERY RELIEVED THAT THEY WERE HERE.
Houman: MY GRANDMOTHER HAD BOUGHT A HOUSE.
MY IMMEDIATE FAMILY -- MY PARENTS, ME, AND MY BROTHER;
MY MOM'S OLDER BROTHER, WIFE, AND TWO KIDS;
AND MY GRANDPARENTS AND MY AUNT;
ALL LIVEIND 4-BEDROOM RANCH HOUSE.
SO EACH FAMILY WAS BASICALLY GIVEN A BEDROOM
AND I KIND OF ENDED UP SLEEPING ON THE LIVING ROOM COUCH.
AND AFTER EVERYBODY WENT TO SLEEP, I'D WATCH TV AND,
AT THAT POINT, IT WAS EITHER EARLY LOONEY TUNES
OR LATE-NIGHT SILVER-SCREENS, WHICH WAS REALLY
HOW I LEARNED TO SPEAK ENGLISH.
Khordadian: WE WENT TO L.A. AND WE SEE "OH, THERE IS
A CABARET TEHRAN IN L.A." AND THAT'S WHERE
WE START WORKING, RIGHT AWAY.
BECAUSE, IN IRAN, I WAS A DANCER
AND THIS IS SOMETHING I KNEW I'M GOOD AT IT.
THAT'S WHERE MY SECOND LIFE OF DANCING START.
SLOWLY, THEY HAD IRANIAN TV.
Khordadian: I REMEMBER THEY ONLY HAD
EVERY SUNDAY, ONLY ONE HOUR, AND WE USED TO MAKE SURE,
LIKE, WE DON'T MISS IT.
WE'D ALWAYS GET TOGETHER WITH THE NEIGHBORS OR FRIENDS WE MET
AND HAVE A LUNCH PARTY AND WATCH THE TV.
Farmanara: BOTH OF US,
MY HUSBAND AND I, WE ALWAYS HAD PROBLEMS WITH OUR NAMES.
NOBODY COULD PRONOUNCE IT.
SO I JUST "MY NAME IS HALEH," LIKE I TOLD YOU,
AND, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE JUST WEREN'T GETTING IT, SO, OKAY,
I BECAME "HOLLY" AND MY HUSBAND, FARHAD, BECAME "FRED."
HOLLY AND FRED FARMANARA, THERE YOU GO.
THEY JUST THOUGHT I WAS SPANISH.
Jobrani: AS A KID, COMING TO AMERICA,
I JUST WANTED TO LAY LOW
AND MY DAD WAS THIS VERY GREGARIOUS IRANIAN MAN
AND HE WAS ALWAYS LOUD, WHEREVER HE WENT, SO EVERYWHERE WE WENT,
MY DAD WOULD BE LIKE, "HELLO! HOW ARE YOU?" YOU KNOW.
LIKE, I REMEMBER GOING TO BUY ICE CREAM ONE TIME
AND I WAS, LIKE, 10 YEARS OLD AND THERE WAS, LIKE,
A 14-YEAR-OLD GIRL WORKING BEHIND THE COUERNT
HE'S LIKE, "LL HOW ARE YOU, PRETTY LADY?
YOU WANT TO MARRY MY SON?"
AND I WAS, LIKE, TURNING RED. I'M LIKE "DAD!" YOU KNOW.
HE'S LIKE "HA HA HA," YOU KNOW, YOU MAY AS WELL CUE
THE STEREOTYPICAL MIDDLE EASTERN MUSIC THEY PLAY IN MOVIES, LIKE
â™ª LEE LEE LEE LEE DING DEE DEE DEE DING DING â™ª
Farmanara: WHEN MY DAUGHTER WAS BORN, WE LIVED IN TEXAS,
SO I HAD THIS NEIGHBOR WHO BECAME MY BEST FRIEND.
SO, THAT FIRST CHRISTMAS,
SHE JUST CAME TO VISIT AND SO SHE LOOKED AROUND THE HOUSE
AND THEN SHE SAID, "I'LL BE RIGHT BACK."
SO SHE CAME BACK WITH A CHRISTMAS TREE FOR ME.
I SAID, "WELL, WE DON'T REALLY CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS."
SHE GOES, "EVERYBODY CELEBRATES CHRISTMAS."
WE STARTED HAVING
CHRISTMAS EVERY YEAR,
IN HONOR OF DARLENE, MY FRIEND FROM TEXAS.
YOU KNOW, IT'S FUNNY, BECAUSE, WHEN WE CAME TO AMERICA,
WE NOTICED THAT, WHEN THERE WERE VACATIONS,
PEOPLE WOULD ACTUALLY GO AND VISIT PLACES,
WHEREAS, MY WHOLE LIFE, WE'D JUST GO AND VISIT FAMILY.
IT NEVER OCCURRED TO US, LIKE,
TO GO TO A CITY WE DON'T KNOW, JUST TO SEE THE CITY.
AND I WAS TALKING TO MY BEST FRIEND, CONNIE, ONE DAY,
AND SHE SAID SOMETHING ABOUT SHE HAS A COUSIN SHE'S NEVER MET.
I SAID, "YOU DON'T KNOW YOUR COUSIN?! WHY?!"
AND SHE SAID, "WELL, SHE LIVES IN OREGON."
AND I'M THINKING, "WELL, WE'RE IN CALIFORNIA.
OREGON? YOU KNOW, YOU CAN DRIVE."
I COULDN'T BELIEVE THAT SHE HAD A COUSIN THAT SHE HADN'T MET.
Soomekh: WHAT IS SO AMAZING ABOUT THIS CULTURE IS THAT
FAMILY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING,
AND NOT JUST YOUR NUCLEAR FAMILY, YOUR EXTENDED FAMILY.
YOU HAVE FIRST, SECOND, THIRD COUSINS
WHO ARE LIKE YOUR SIBLINGS.
YOUR AUNTS AND UNCLES ARE LIKE YOUR PARENTS.
YOU HAVE FOUR GENERATIONS THAT ARE UNDER ONE HOME,
ESPECIALLY DURING PARTIES, THINGS LIKE THAT.
YOU HAVE IRANIAN WEDDINGS AND YOU HAVE
500, 600 PEOPLE WHO ARE THERE. IN THAT ASPECT OF IT, YOU'RE
CONSTANTLY BEING NURTURED, YOU CONSTANTLY HAVE THAT LOVE.
Houman: YOU CANNOT BE AN IRANIAN
WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THAT,
IF YOUR THIRD COUSIN TWICE REMOVED IS GETTING MARRIED,
YOU HAVE A FAMILIAL OBLIGATION BTHERE FOR THE WEDDING.
IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW FAR IT IS, YOU BUY A TICKET,
YOU GET ON A PLANE, YOU SHOW UP, AND YOU CELEBRATE
AND YOU DANCE ALL NIGHT,
AS IF YOUR SISTER WERE GETTING MARRIED.
THE GENERATION OF MY PARENTS
AND GRANDPARENTS WERE PETRIFIED
AT THE THOUGHT THAT THEIR CHIRE
WERE GOING TO GROW UP IN A COUNTRY WHERE
EVERY PART OF SOCIETY IS TELLING THEM
TO LEAVE YOUR FAMILY BEHIND
AND BECOME AN AUTONOMOUS SINGLE INDIVIDUAL
WHO'S ONLY GOING TO THINK ABOUT CAREER, SUCCESS,
AND WHAT'S IMPORTANT YOU.
THIS IS A COUNTRY WHERE
CHILDREN LEAVE HOME AT 18.
IRANIAN PARENTS THOUGHT THESE PEOPLE WERE CRAZY.
I THINK I WAS THE FOURTH OR FIFTH GIRL IN MY COMMUNITY
THAT WENT AWAY TO COLLEGE, AND I WENT TO BERKELEY.
WHAT WAS THE RESPONSE OF THE COMMUNITY
WHEN I WENT TO BERKELEY?
THEY DIDN'T TURN TO MY MOM AND SAY, "CONGRATULATIONS,
YOUR DAUGHTER GOT INTO ONE OF THE TOP UC SCHOOLS,"
BUT, INSTEAD, THEY TURNED TO MY MOM AND SAID, "WHAT
DID YOU DO TO YOUR DAUGHTERS TO MAKE THEM RUN AWAY FROM YOU?"
Houman: IN IRAN, YOU KNOW,
CHILDREN LIVE AT HOME UNTIL THEY GET MARRIED.
LIKE "WHY DO YOU WANT TO MOVE OUT?
WHO'S GOING TO COOK FOR YOU? WHO'S GOING TO DO YOUR LAUNDRY?"
YOU KNOW, "WHAT'S THE MATTER?
"WHAT, YOU DON'T LIKE THE WAY I COOK?
WHY DO YOU WANT TO LEAVE THE HOUSE?"
Fallah: MY DAUGHTER SHEILA, WHEN SHE WANTS
TO GO AWAY TO THE COLLEGE,
I DIDN'T WANT HER TO GO AWAY BECAUSE I THOUGHT,
"WHERE SHE'S GOING, WHAT SHE'S GOING TO DO,
WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN?"
I DIDN'T LET HER GO. I SAID, YOU KNOW,
"YOU CAN DRIVE. YOU CAN DRIVE TO SCHOOL"
BECAUSE PACE UNIVERSITY, IT WAS JUST TWO BLOCKS FROM MY HOUSE.
Sarshar: I TALKED TO MY FRIEND AND SHE TOLD ME,
"IF THEY'RE 18 YEARS OLD, THEY DONNEED YOUR PERMISSION."
IN MY COUNTRY, YOU NEED YOUR PARENTS' PERMISSION.
"YOU'RE ALIVE AND YOU'RE NOT DEAD,
SO YOU NEED THAT PERMISSION ALL THE TIME."
WHATEVER RULE WE WERE PUTTING
IN THE FAMILY, EITHER ME OR OTHER IRANIAN FILAMS,
CAME FROM FEAR.
WE DIDN'T WANT AMERICAN KIDS.
WE WANTED THE SAME IRANIAN VALUES
TO STAY IN THE FAMILY AND NOT TO LOSE IT, SO,
IN OUR VERY STRANGE NAIVETÃ© THAT WE HAD, I THOUGHT,
A LOT OF US THOUGHT, THAT SPEAKING FARSI
OR SPEAKING PERSIAN WOULD KEEP THEM IRANIAN,
WOULD ALLOW THEM TO BE MORE IRANIAN THAN AMERICAN.
Houman: THE FIRST TIME I UTTERED AN ENGLISH SENTENCE TO MY MOM,
WHICH I WAS SO PROUD TO DO -- I'M LIKE,
I CAN FINALLY FORMULATE A SENTENCE IN ENGLISH --
MY MOM LOOKED STRAIGHT AT ME, SAID, "IF YOU EVER SPEAK TO ME
"IN ENGLISH AGAIN, I WILL NEVER TALK TO YOU.
PERSIAN, AND ONLY PERSIAN."
[ SPEAKING PERSIAN ]
THERE'S A SCHOOL HERE THAT THEY HAVE FARSI.
I WAS TRYING TO TAKE MY SON TO REGISTER
AND THE PERSON WHO IS IN CHARGE, WHO IS ALSO IRANIAN,
HE WAS THE ONE WHO SAID,
"THIS IS GOING TO BE A LITTLE DIFFICULT FOR HIM NOW.
WAIT A LITTLE BIT, UNTIL HE'S SEVEN, MAYBE EIGHT."
AND I SAID, "NO, BUT HE HAS TO LEARN.
"I WANT HIM TO LEARN THE LANGUAGE.
HE HAS TO LEARN HOW TO READ. HE HAS TO LEARN."
HE SAID, "LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING --
"ENGLISH IS GOING TO BE HIS FIRST LANGUAGE.
HE'S BORN HERE. HE'S GOING TO BE AMERICAN."
AND, YOU KNOW, IT WAS A MOMENT THAT I SAID,
"OH, WAIT, I DIDN'T WANT TO HEAR THAT."
I WANT THEM TO GROW UP AND BE ABLE
TO SPEAK FARSI FLUENTLY.
I WANT THEM TO GROW UP AND BE ABLE
TO READ THE POEMS FROM HAFEZ AND RUMI.
IT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR ME.
Adabi: MY FATHER
SPEAKS ENGLISH AT HOME.
WE SPEAK FARSI BACK TO HIM.
AND THEN WE'LL ASK HIM, LIKE
"WHAT DOES THIS WORD MEAN IN FARSI?"
OR "WHAT DOES THAT WORD MEAN?" AND THEN HE'LL TRY TO PUT IT
INTO A SENTENCE AND, IN CONTEXT CLUES, WE'LL FIGURE IT OUT.
SO IT WAS MORE BASED ON US.
THERE IS ALWAYS A SENSE OF JOY WHEN YOU REALIZE
THAT WHAT YOU'RE PASSING ON TO YOUR CHILDREN
AND WHAT THEY WILL BE CARRYING ON TO THEIR CHILDREN, HOPEFULLY,
IS A BOND TO THE PAST,
IS A BOND BACK TO THEIR CULTURE.
SO WHEN THEY SPEAK, OBVIOUSLY, TY N'T SPEAK
WITH A PERFECT ACCENT, BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER.
JUST THE FACT THAT THEY'RE TRYING TO SPEAK IN PERSIAN
HAS VALUE FOR US AND IT'S ALWAYS WONDERFUL TO HEAR IT.
I THINK, FOR ME, SPEAKING FARSI,
IT'S ONE OF THOSE REMAINING PARTS OF MY IDENTITY
[crying] THAT I REALLY TREASURE
BECAUSE I'VE LOST QUITE A LOT, BUT SPEAKING MY LANGUAGE IS,
HOPEFULLY, SOMETHING THAT WILL STAY WITH ME.
WHEN YOU SPEAK FARSI, IT'S SLOWER, IT'S VERY POETIC,
IN A WAY, AND IT'S, YOU KNOW --
[ SPEAKING PERSIAN ]
[ SCAT SINGING ]
SO IT'S VERY SLOW, SO WHEN WE WE DO SPEAK ENGLISH,
WE SPEAK VERY SLOWLY, WE TALK LIKE THIS.
WE TALK LIKE "THEES,"
WE TALK VERY ESLOW, LIKE, YOU KNOW, FALLING ASLEEP.
HOW ARE YOU? HOW ARE YOU?
I AM IRANIAN. HOW ARE YOU?
IT'S IRANIAN.
[ SPEAKING PERSIAN ] IT'S IRANIAN.
[ SPEAKING PERSIAN ] DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT.
IT'S A RHYTHMIC THING AND YOU FEEL IT, YOU KNOW,
LIKE WHEN WE RECITE OUR POETRY, YOU KNOW, LIKE --
SO THAT'S THE POEM.
FIRST OF ALL, IF ANY IRANIANS ARE WATCHING THIS,
THERE'S GOING TO BE SOME IRANIAN WHO WILL BE LIKE,
"YOU SAID THAT PART WRONG" AND THEY'RE GOING TO EMAIL YOU
AND BE LIKE "IT'S THIS INSTEAD OF THAT,"
SO I PROBABLY MESSED UP A VERSE OR TWO, SO I'M SORRY.
IRANIANS CANNOT TALK WITHOUT POETRY.
WE'RE RAISED WITH POETRY.
I MEAN, IT'S IN OUR BLOOD.
WE HAVE EPIC POETRY, WE HAVE LYRIC POETRY,
DIDACTIC.
I LOVE RUMI.
WE HAVE FERDOWSI, WHO IS OUR EPIC MASTER.
THEN, OF COURSE, WE HAVE SAADI, WHO WAS VERY ELOQUENT.
THERE'S A WHOLE GARDEN FULL OF FLOWERS THERE.
Houman: EARLY ON, WHEN D ULVE FAMILY DINNERS
AND FRIENDS WOULD COME BY AND KNOCK ON THE DOOR
AND SEE THAT THEY'VE ARRIVED IN THE MIDDLE OF A DINNER PARTY,
AMERICANS WOULD BE MORTIFIED --
"OH, MY GOD! WE'VE INTERRUPTED," YOU KNOW.
TRYING TO GET THEM TO COME IN, IT'S LIKE
"NO, COME IN, HAVE FOOD, HAVE, YOU KNOW, EAT!"
IT WAS JUST SUCH A CONFUSING THING FOR THEM THAT,
"FIRST OF ALL, WHY IS THERE SO MUCH FOOD ON THE TABLE?
HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE YOU GUYS PLANNING TO FEED?"
Dumas: WE HAVE THIS NEED TO FEED PEOPLE ALL THE TIME.
I CAN'T EXPLAIN IT.
I THINK IT'S LIKE A MUTANT GENE, OR SOMETHING.
AND I'M STILL THIS WAY, EVEN THOUGH I LIVE IN AMERICA.
THE MINUTE SOMEONE COMES IN MY HOUSE, I REALLY,
FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART, WOULD LIKE TO FEED THEM.
AND THE MORE THEY EAT, THE MORE I LIKE THEM.
AND IF YOU GO INTO THE HOME OF AN IRANIAN,
YOUR PERSIAN HOST WOULD SAY,
"OH, NO NO, PLEASE, JUST A LITTLE BIT, PLEASE COME."
AND THEN YOU SAY, "NO, REALLY, I JUST ATE A WILDEBEEST"
AND THEY SAY, "NO NO NO, PLEASE, PLEASE, JUST A BITE.
"I JUST MADE SOMETHING ESPECIALLY FOR YOU, ANDREW.
PLEASE, PLEASE COME."
AND SO, YOU KNOW, YOU LEAVE AND, YOU KNOW,
YOUR PANTS ARE BURSTING AND YOU CAN'T SIT DOWN ANYMORE
AND THEN WE'RE HAPPY.
Pirnazar-Oberman: THIS IS RICE WITH SAFFRON AROUND IT.
ALL PERSIAN GIRLS,
WHEN THEY GET MARRIED, THEY DON'T KNOW ANYTHING,
HOW TO COOK, BUT, AFTER A COUPLE YEARS,
YOU'D BE SURPRISED, YOU KNOW?
SO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS THAT
WE NEED TO GET MARRIED, IN ORDER TO COOK.
NO NO, I JUST HOPE THAT YOU DO.
Lilia: THIS ONE TIME, MY FRIEND WAS EATING
AND MY MOM MADE FAJITAS.
IT WAS SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE EAT.
BUT SHE ALSO MADE RICE
AND IT WAS IRANIAN RICE
AND MY FRIEND TOLD HER SHE DIDN'T WANT ANY RICE,
BUT MY MOM WENT AND PUT TWO SPOONS OF RICE
ON HER PLATE AND I WAS LIKE,
"MOM, SHE TOLD YOU SHE DIDN'T WANT RICE"
AND SHE WAS LIKE "SHE JUST DIDN'T WANT TO ASK FOR IT."
YEAH, I MEAN, WHEN I COOK AND THEN SHE HAS FRIENDS OVER,
I ALWAYS ASK THEM TO EAT
AND IF THEY SAY NO,
I SAY, "NO NO NO NO, YOU SHOULD, YOU SHOULD!"
BECAUSE I THINK MAYBE THEY'RE SHY
AND THAT'S WHY THEY DON'T WANT TO EAT,
SO, YEAH, I DO DO THAT.
Pourjafar: PEOPLE COME TO MY HOUSE
AND I PUT ALL THIS FOOD AND I SAY,
"NO, YOU EAT. DO YOU WANT ME TO BRING YOU ANOTHER DRINK?
CAN I GIVE YOU ANOTHER?"
AND THEY SAY, "NO, I'M FINE.
I DON'T WANT ANOTHER ONE."
THERE'S AN INTERESTING EXPRESSION FOR IT.
THEY SAY TAROF, YOU'RE "TAROFING,"
AND MY SON NOW KNOWS THAT.
SOMETIMES, "MOMMY, WHY ARE YOU TAROFING SO MUCH?
DON'T. IT'S OKAY. JUST --"
ONE TIME, I COME HOME AND IT SMELLS AMAZING AT HOME
AND I'M LIKE, "DAD, SO WHAT ARE YOU COOKING?"
AND HE'S LIKE, "COME HERE, I WANT TO SHOW YOU SOMETHING."
AND SO HE OPENS UP THE POT AND THERE'S
A HEAD, LIKE, IN THE POT.
AND THE EYES ARE THERE AND IT'S JUST --
OH, MY GOD, I START SCREAMING.
AND HE FORCED ME TO EAT IT, BUT IT TASTED GOOD.
AGAIN, IT DEPENDS ON HOW YOU COOK IT,
BUT, YEAH, IT WAS GOOD.
BUT IT WAS SCARY.
MY SINGLE FAVORITE FOOD IS GHORMEH SABZI,
WHICH IS RICE BASE
WITH THE GHORMEH SABZI BROTH,
WHICH IS, LIKE, VEGETABLES AND SOME BEANS
AND IT'S A LITTLE SOUR -- IT'S DELICIOUS.
THE RICE HAS GOT A CRUST ON THE BOTTOM,
WHICH IS CALLED TADIK,
WHICH, LITERALLY TRANSLATED, MEANS
"BOTTOM OF THE POT."
WHEN WE GO TO POUR ON OUR DISH,
THE FIRST THING THAT GOES IS THE TADIK
AND WE TRY TO TELL OUR AMERICAN FRIENDS,
"YOU REALLY DON'T WANT TO TRY THAT.
YOU WANT TO TRY THE REST OF THE RICE,"
SO THAT WE GET THE CRUST.
THERE ARE A LOT OF GRANDMOTHERS OUT THERE
WHO WOULD LAUGH AT THE CONCEPT OF, YOU KNOW,
ME MAKING A BETTER FESENJUN THAN THEY DO,
BUT I'LL TELL YOU WHAT THE TRICK IS, THAT MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW.
THE BEST FESENJUN YOU CAN MAKE IS AFTER THANKSGIVING, BECAUSE,
WHEN YOU MAKE A TRADITIONAL THANKSGIVING TURKEY
WITH FRUIT STUFFING, THE JUICE THAT'S LEFT
AT THE BOTTOM OF THAT PAN IS THE BEST SAUCE
YOU CAN USE FOR YOUR FESENJUN.
YOU USE THAT, INSTEAD OF WATER,
MAKES THE BEST FESENJUN, EVER.
IF I WANT TO EAT PERSIAN FOOD,
I EAT IN HIS HOUSE.
HE MAKES THE BEST KEBABS.
AND HE LOVES MY STEAKS, TOO,
SO WE KIND OF TRADE.
HE WAS WORKING AS A CHEF WHEN HE STARTED HERE,
BEFORE OPENING THE ICE CREAM STORE.
Mashti: IT USED TO BE "MUGSY MALONE,"
WHEN I GOT THE PLACE.
I DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO CHANGE THE WHOLE SIGN
BECAUSE I PAID MONEY TO LAND OR FOR EQUIPMENT.
SO I CHANGED A COUPLE LETTERS,
FROM "MUGSY" TO "MASHTI,"
MADE IT "MASHTI MALONE."
Man: THERE ARE SO MANY FLAVORS TO PICK FROM,
I DON'T KNOW WHICH ONE.
Teichner: NOWRUZ, THE PERSIAN NEW YEAR,
IS THE COMMUNITY'S MOST POPULAR HOLIDAY.
Jobrani: I PERSONALLY THINK IT MAKES A LITTLE MORE SENSE.
THE WESTERN NEW YEAR'S FALLS DECEMBER 31st.
NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE, DECEMBER 31st, WE'RE DONE.
THE PERSIAN NEW YEAR, TO ME, ACTUALLY, LOGICALLY,
MAKES SENSE -- IT'S THE FIRST MOMENT OF SPRING.
Pourjafar: NOWRUZ, AS WELL AS BEING AN IRANIAN HOLIDAY,
IS ALSO A BAHA'I HOLIDAY, THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR.
Biglari: PEOPLE SPEND A LOT OF TIME
MAKING SURE THAT EVERYTHING IS PERFECT,
THAT THE FISH IS THERE AND THE GOLD COIN
AND VARIOUS OTHER ORNAMENTS ARE THERE.
Jamshid: THE NOWRUZ CELEBRATION,
THE IRANIAN NEW YEAR'S CELEBRATION, WELL, OBVIOUSLY,
IN IRAN, IT'S A BIG DEAL, OKAY?
SO YOU SEE EVERYBODY IS PARTICIPATING
AND THE PREPARATION FOR NOWRUZ STARTS
FROM, LIKE, A MONTH BEFORE THE NEW YEAR.
WHILE HERE, LIKE, IN OUR FAMILY,
WE TRY TO DO THAT, WE TRY TO START
THE PREPARATION, WHICH INCLUDES CLEANING
OF THE HOUSE AND ALL OF THAT, BUT, THEN,
WHEN YOU GO TO THE STREET,
YOU DON'T SEE THAT,
YOU DON'T GET THAT FEELING.
IN FARSI, THERE'S AN EXPRESSION.
WE SAY "IT SMELLS LIKE NOWRUZ."
IT DOESN'T QUITE SMELL LIKE NOWRUZ HERE.
Khordadian: I WAS VERY HOMESICK
FOR PERSIAN NEW YEAR,
WHICH IS AROUND MARCH 20th, THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING.
I ALWAYS USED TO CRY.
WE HAVE A LOT OF CANYONS IN L.A.
THEY LOOK SIMILAR OF NORTH PART OF IRAN.
I REMEMBER I USED TO DRIVE, FOR NO REASON,
IN THESE CANYONS, GO UP AND DOWN
AND CRY.
I'M FEELING I'M IN A FREE, BEAUTIFUL LAND,
BUT, WITH EVERY LITTLE BONE IN MY BODY,
EVERY...
PIECE OF MY HEART, I MISS IT THERE.
Shahrzad: DO I MISS LIFE,
AS IT WAS IN IRAN WHEN I WAS GROWING UP THERE?
VERY MUCH SO.
THE GET-TOGETHERS AT MY GRANDPARENTS',
ON THURSDAY NIGHTS AND IDFRS,
[crying] IT'S A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE
THAT'S NEVER GOING TO RETURN FOR ME.
AND IT'S GOING TO BE NONEXISTENT
FOR MY CHILDREN, UNFORTUNATELY, TOO, SO.
Pirnazar-Oberman: I DON'T THINK THE CASPIAN SEA HAS CHANGED,
PERSEPOLIS HAS CHANGED, THE WEATHER HAS CHANGED,
THE BEAUTIFUL AROMA OF THOSE TREES BY THE CASPIAN SEA.
I STILL HEAR THE CHIRPING OF THE BIRDS.
THOSE THINGS WON'T CHANGE.
Farmanara: AS I GET OLDER,
I MISS MY HOMELAND MORE AND MORE.
WHEN I WAS YOUNGER, I REALLY DIDN'T THINK ABOUT IT
BECAUSE YOU'RE BUSY WITH KIDS, SCHOOL, WORK,
D EVERYTHING.
YOU KNOW, I HAVEN'T EVEN VISITED MY MOM'S GRAVE YET.
MY MOM PASSED AWAY 21 YEARS AGO
AND I STILL HAVEN'T VISITED HER GRAVESITE.
AND, TO ME, I NEED TO GO BACK AND JUST CLOSE A LOT OF
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS THAT I HAVE,
SO I DO MISS MY HOMELAND AND I DO WANT TO GO BACK.
MY FATHER IS STILL THERE. HE'S 94 YEARS OLD.
HE CAME HERE EVERY YEAR TO SEE US AND, NOW, HE CAN'T.
Khordadian: I WAS FORCED TO BECOME AMERICAN.
NOW, I'M PERSIAN AMERICAN.
WHY I HAVE TO BE FORCED
TO PICK UP ANOTHER COUNTRY MY COUNTRY?
BUT, IN A WAY, I WAS HAPPY, BECAUSE, WHEN YOU GET
AN AMERICAN PASSPORT, YOU HAVE THE KEY TO THE WHOLE WORLD.
IT FELT GOOD, YOU KNOW, IT FELT LIKE HOME.
EVEN THOUGH IT'S NOT IRAN, BUT IT'S MY HOME NOW.
IT'S WHERE I'M FREE TO TALK,
WHERE I'M HAPPY TO LIVE, YOU KNOW,
THE WAY I WANT IT.
I REMEMBER THAT DAY, WHEN I STOOD UP AND SWEARING
TO GET MY CITIZENSHIP, IT WAS UNBELIEVABLE FEELING.
AND THAT WAS THE DAY THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY ASKED ME
WHAT NAME I WANTED AND MY NAME WAS JAMSHID
AND "JIM," TOO, BUT I SAID IT WAS ALWAYS JAMSHID JIM.
I CHANGED IT AROUND, I MADE IT JIM JAMSHID DELSHAD.
SO I CHANGED THE FIRST NAME TO MIDDLE NAME
AND THAT WAS JUST TO SIGNIFY THAT I AM AN AMERICAN NOW.
THE CEREMONY OF BECOMING
AN AMERICAN CITIZEN, IT WAS VERY --
VERY BEAUTIFUL BECAUSE WE WERE IN --
WHERE WE WERE? WE WERE IN --
JUST OFF STATEN ISLAND,
ON THE BATTERY PARK.
IT WAS OPEN-AIR.
THERE WAS 10,000 PEOPLE.
IT'S INTERESTING, THE NEW YORK TIMES
HAD A PICTURE THAT BIG.
ED WAS STANDING THERE BECAUSE HE WAS TALLER.
EVERYBODY HAD PUT HIS HAND UP THERE.
IT WAS VERY TOUCHING.
IT WAS EXTREMELY EMOTIONAL.
YEAH.
I FELT I'M FREE AND I FELT I'M BLESSED.
I FEEL HOME
AND I LOVE TO FEEL HOME.
Naderi: THERE IS NOT A SIDE OF ME WHICH IS IRANIAN
AND A SIDE OF ME WHICH IS AMERICAN.
IT'S SORT OF LIKE SCRAMBLED EGGS.
WHEN YOU SCRAMBLE IT, THE WHITE AND THE YOLK,
YOU CAN'T SEPARATE IT ANYMORE.
I DON'T KNOW, I MEAN, THIS IS WHO I AM NOW.
YOU KNOW, MY IRANIAN IDENTITY AND AMERICAN IDENTITY
ARE WOVEN TOGETHER INTO A FABRIC WHICH IS ME RIGHT NOW.
WE SOMETIMES THINK IN FARSI.
WE SOMETIMES THINK IN ENGLISH.
WE SOMETIMES COUNT IN FARSI. WE SOMETIMES COUNT IN ENGLISH.
WE'RE TRULY DUALCULTURED, IN THAT SENSE.
I'M AMERICAN, IN THE SENSE THAT I'M AN OPTIMIST
AND I THINK THAT EVERYBODY HAS A VOICE THAT THEY SHOULD USE.
SO THAT IS COMPLETELY AMERICAN.
I'M IRANIAN, IN THAT I LIKE TO FEED PEOPLE
AND I'M VERY LOYAL.
BEING OF IRANIAN HERITAGE, CLEARLY,
IS SOMETHING THAT I'M PROUD OF.
I'M PROUD OF THE FACT THAT, YOU KNOW, THE FAMILY IS
SUCH AN IMPORTANT UNIT WHERE I GREW UP.
THAT, TO ME, IS WHAT'S MADE ME.
IT'S WHAT MADE MY KIDS, IT'S WHAT'S MADE MY HUSBAND'S FAMILY.
IT'S JUST ALL OF US BEING TOGETHER LIKE THAT.
CLEARLY, THERE'S A HISTORY ASSOCIATED WITH IT,
THERE'S ALL THESE CULTURAL FACTORS.
THERE'S THE POETRY. THERE'S THE MUSIC.
I MEAN, THESE ARE THINGS THAT WE'VE ALL GROWN UP WITH
AND I DON'T KNOW WHY ONE WOULD WANT
TO LET GO OF THAT, BECAUSE IT ENRICHES OUR LIVES.
IT'S ENRICHED MY LIFE. I THINK -- I HOPE --
IT'S ENRICHED MY KIDS' LIVES, AND I HOPE THEY
WILL PASS IT ON, GENERATION TO GENERATION.
AND I CERTAINLY HOPE IT'S ENRICHED THE LIVES
OF OTHER, NONIRANIAN, AMERICANS AROUND ME.
I'VE TRIED TO KEEP THESE TWO IDENTITIES,
MY JEWISH IDENTITY, MY IRANIAN IDENTITY --
NOW MY AMERICAN IDENTITY -- TOGETHER
AND NOT LET ONE BE DIMINISHED BY THE OTHER ONE.
I REMEMBER MY DAUGHTER,
AT HER BAT MITZVAH, SAYS,
"WHO ELSE CAN HAVE SO MANY NEW YEARS?
"I HAVE ROSH HASHANAH, HE AMERICANESRN NEW YEAR,
AND I HAVE PERSIAN NEW YEAR."
Shahrzad: WHEN PEOPLE ASK YOU,
"YOU'RE IRANIAN?", THEY IMMEDIATELY THINK
THAT YOU'RE MUSLIM AND, WHEN THE CONVERSATION
ALLOWS YOU TO TELL THEM THAT YOU'RE NOT MUSLIM
AND YOU'RE ZOROASTRIAN,
THE FIRST RESPONSE IS "ZORO-WHAT?"
I'M ARMENIAN, AMERICAN, IRANIAN, YOU KNOW?
WE CELEBRATE ARMENIAN CHRISTMAS,
ARMENIAN, YOU KNOW,
ALL THE HOLIDAYS, BUT ALSO,
WE CELEBRATE AMERICAN CHRISTMAS,
THANKSGIVING, YOU KNOW,
IRANIAN NEW YEAR, WHICH IS A SPRING DAY.
MY FRIENDS, THEY CALL ME UP,
WHAT WE ARE EATING OR WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO.
SOMEHOW, IT BECAME KIND OF --
KIND OF DIFFICULT TO DEAL ALL
WITH THIS IDENTITY CRISIS.
Edward: NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE,
HOW MANY PASSPORTS YOU HAVE IN YOUR POCKET --
AND I HAVE THREE OF THEM: IRANIAN,
ARMENIAN,
AND AMERICAN --
STILL, I'M A FOREIGNER.
MAYBE LEAST IN AMERICA BECAUSE AMERICA IS
A COUNTY OF IMMIGRANTS, ANYHOW.
Farmanara: I HAD MY CHILDREN HERE.
I GAVE BIRTH TO BOTH OF MY KIDS IN TEXAS.
I WENT TO SCHOOL HERE.
I GRADUATED FROM THE UNIVERSITY HERE.
I HAD MY FIRST JOB HERE.
SO THIS IS MY HOME.
AFTER LIVING HERE FOR 13 YEARS,
IT'S DEFINITELY HOME.
AND I LOVE IT.
IT'S THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITY.
YOU MAKE OF IT WHAT YOU --
OR YOU GET OUT OF IT WHAT YOU PUT INTO IT.
IT'S A GREAT COUNTRY, I THINK,
FOR MY CHILDREN TO GROW UP IN
AND LEARN THAT THEY CAN BUILD A WONDERFUL LIFE,
IF THEY PUT WHAT THEY NEED TO INTO IT.
I LOOK AROUND ME AND, IN A COUNTRY
OF ALMOST 300 MILLION INDIVIDUALS,
A COMMUNITY WHO ARRIVED WITH BROKEN ENGLISH,
WITH BROKEN HEARTS,
A LOST COUNTRY,
LOST IN THIS HUGE LAND --
THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHICH WAY WAS UP --
YOU KNOW, KIND OF, WITHIN 10, 15 YEARS,
ALMOST EVERYBODY LANDED ON THEIR FEET.
MIDDLE EASTERN PARENTS, PERSIAN PARENTS,
IT'S LAWYER, DOCTOR, ENGINEER, YOU GOT THREE OPTIONS.
AND, NOWADAYS, IT'S JUST LAWYER, DOCTOR, YOU KNOW.
ENGINEER? NOT MAKING ENOUGH MONEY, YOU KNOW.
MAYBE, LIKE, IF YOU OWN A COMPUTER COMPANY,
OR SOMETHING, YOU KNOW.
BUT I ALWAYS SAY THAT THAT'S SO IMPORTANT THAT,
EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT ONE OF THOSE THREE,
WE STILL WILL CALL YOU ONE OF THOSE THREE.
LIKE, THE WORD FOR ENGINEER MOHANDES.
SO, GROWING UP, THERE WAS PEOPLE COMING OVER TO MY HOUSE,
MY DAD WOULD BE LIKE, "AND THAT'S MR. MOHANDES."
AND I WAS LIKE, "WOW, WHAT'S HE AN ENGINEER OF?"
"UH, UH...
GAS PUMPING. HE PUMPS VERY GOOD GAS."
THE IRANIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY
HAS HAD PHASES OF GROWTH AND CHANGE
AND IT'S IN VERY RECENT HISTORY THAT WE CAN ALSO SEE
A FORMATION OF COMMUNITIES WITHIN THIS BROAD COMMUNITY,
SO THAT, NOT ONLY PEOPLE HAD TO ESTABLISH THEMSELVES
AND BECOME SUCCESSFUL AND INTEGRATE THEMSELVES
IN AMERICAN SOCIETY, BUT THAT, NOW,
THERE IS REFLECTION, ON THE PART OF IRANIANS,
WHAT IS IT LIKE, HOW CAN WE REPRESENT OURSELVES,
HOW WE CAN BECOME ACTIVE, AS IRANIAN AMERICANS.
I WAS NOT AS MUCH IN TOUCH
WITH MY IRANIAN SELF UNTIL 2000.
AND WHAT HAPPENED IN 2000 IS
THAT NASA SOUGHT ME OUT AND THEY SAID,
"WE WANT YOU TO BE
"THE MARS PROGRAM MANAGER
AND HELP RESHAPE AND RESTORE THE PROGRAM."
AND THEY DID A PRESS RELEASE.
AND ASSOCIATED PRESS PICKED IT UP AND EVERYBODY ELSE
PICKED IT UP AND, THE NEXT DAY, I GO TO WORK
AND I OPEN UP MY COMPUTER AND, LIKE USUAL, YOU KNOW,
CHECK THE DOZEN OR TWO EMAILS THAT HAD COME OVERNIGHT.
AND THEN I DO THIS THING
AND THERE IS JUST THOUSANDS OF EMAILS.
AND IT IS LITERALLY
FROM EVERY CORNER OF THE WORLD, IRANIANS HAD WRITTEN ME.
AND THEY FELT LIKE
I BELONGED TO THEM.
AND SO, YOU KNOW,
LIKE YOUR UNCLE MIGHT TELL YOU, "I'M PROUD OF YOU,"
OR YOUR DAD MIGHT SAY, YOU KNOW, "I'M PROUD OF YOU,"
THEN, ALL OF A SUDDEN, I WAS BEING SHOWERED
WITH THIS LOVE AND AFFECTION
FROM PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD.
[tearfully] AND, FOR SOMEONE WHO DIDN'T HAVE
A STRONG FAMILY, YOU KNOW, CONNECTION,
THIS WAS A NEW FEELING, SO.
BEVERLY HILLS HAS SWORN IN ITS FIRST IRANIAN-BORN MAYOR.
JIMMY DELSHAD IS NOW THE HIGHEST-RANKING
IRANIAN-BORN POLITICIAN
IN THE U.S.
Delshad: ONE OF THE MAJOR REASONS
I RAN FOR CITY COUNCIL
AND FOR MAYOR WAS
TO SHOW THE OTHER PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT GETTING INVOLVED
THAT AMERICA'S POWER CAN BE USED IN A VERY POSITIVE WAY,
IF YOU BECOME INVOLVED IN ITS POLITICS,
THAT RUNNING A BUSINESS AND BEING THE BEST EDUCATED
AND THE BEST PARENT IS NOT ENOUGH.
I REALLY THINK ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THINGS
I HEARD, WHICH WAS VERY MOVING TO ME, IS
SECRETARY RICE SPOKE AT MY SWEARING-IN CEREMONY
WHEN I BECAME THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY.
Rice: GOLI IS BEING SWORN IN TODAY WITH HER HAND
ON THE U.S. CONSTITUTION, WHICH I THINK IS COMPLETELY FITTING.
Ameri: AND THE CEREMONY WAS HAPPENING
IN THE BENJAMIN FRANKLIN ROOM AT THE STATE DEPARTMENT
AND SHE SAID, "IF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
"WAS HERE TODAY, HE WOULD HAVE BEEN SO HAPPY
"TO SEE A BLACK SECRETARY OF STATE
"SWEAR IN A WOMAN OF IRANIAN HERITAGE
"TO BE AN ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE
OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA."
Pirnazar-Oberman: I LIKE THAT UNITY OF IRANIANS,
ALL OF THIS HERE IN DIASPORA,
AND EVERYBODY LOVES TO PRESERVE
THEIR IRANIAN IDENTITY HERE, TAKE THE EFFORT
TO INTRODUCE IRANIAN TRADITIONS TO THE WORLD.
THAT GIVES ME A LOT OF JOY AND PRIDE.
THERE WAS A TIME WE WOULD BE PLEASED TO HEAR OUR NAME,
BUT WHEN I SEE THEY ARE REALLY GETTING TO OUR CULTURE,
IT MAKES US VERY PROUD
THAT WE ARE REALLY DOING SOMETHING HERE,
INTRODUCING OUR HERITAGE TO THE REST OF THE WORLD.
TO ORDER A DVD COPY OF "THE IRANIAN AMERICANS,"
WITH 15 MINUTES OF BONUS INTERVIEWS AND FOOTAGE,
CALL 1-800-715-8668.
THAT'S 1-800-715-8668.
SINGININ PERANSI
WAS PROVIDED BY...
DEDICATED TO CELEBRATING AND PROMOTING
IRANIAN ART AND CULTURE
FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE.