Bahman Razani

ESL 100

October 9, 2021

Finding Hope in a Tragedy 

    Iran  was the best and the most advanced country in the Middle East until a big tragedy happened. In 1978, there was an Islamic revolution that took control of the Iranian people. At that time, most of the Iranian celebrities and rich people left the country because they felt something was wrong, and they were absolutely right. The first thing the new regime did was kill whoever worked for the king of Iran, without any official trials. In fact, they are still killing the people to this day. The new regime brought some new rules for the whole country. They changed everything, even people’s lives and social behaviors. That was a major reason for the Iranians to leave the country.

    One of the biggest changes was forcing women to cover up and to wear a hijab. The government also required men to have short haircuts because to them long hair was a part of the Western culture. In addition, men had to dress simple. Three colors became popular, black, gray and brown with white shirt, without a tie or a bow tie. When I look at our family’s old photo albums from forty-five years ago, when the king was in power, I can’t believe my parents are the same people in the photos. Their life had extremely changed after the revolution. In the photos, they looked happy and free. However, after the revolution, my parents looked different, but not in a good way. They looked sad and more serious. After the revolution, people had to be the person who the government  wanted or they had to leave the country. However, many people like my family didn’t have the ability to leave the country. In fact, some people tried to stand up for these problems, but they were killed or went to jail just for asking and speaking up.

    The new regime was in power for only two years when the war with neighboring country, Iraq, started. Already the Iranians were under pressure due to all the political changes, and the war made it worse. Most of the people lost their homes and jobs, and many families were killed by the bombing. At that time, I remember anyone who had money was leaving the country and immigrating to other countries. However, some families like mine couldn't leave the country. because they didn’t have money or someone to help them immigrate from Iran, left their city to other cities to find some safe place. Our city was close to Iraq, and it was very dangerous because there was a lot of bombings, so we immigrated to Doroud, a city farther from the border.

    Furthermore, Iran became sanctioned by many western countries after the revolution because the Iranian government was a dictatorship. The new government stopped their communications with the countries around the world, except some few countries like China, Lebanon, Palestinian, and Russia. Those were the only countries that accepted the Islamic Republic of Iran. These problems made Iranians' lives harder, and made them more poor. However, instead of the people, the government and those who worked for them became richer than before. When I was in Iran, my mom always told my brother and me that It is too late for me because of my age, but you are young, and you have to leave this country to have a better life and be safe. However, I didn’t have money or any opportunity to leave the country. The only way I thought I could be successful was to study and try to be perfect in my profession. That is why I started to study fine art in the art academic university in Tehran. One day, at an art gallery one of my classmates introduced me to her sister  who lived in the United States. After a year we got married and after almost four years, I left my motherland for the United States.

A tragedy can change someone’s life forever. This change can be positive or negative. The revolution in Iran made Iranians people’s life worse. Those who had the ability or chance to leave the country to live in freedom, left. However, the majority of Iranians have to stay and try to survive in this situation. The only hope that I have is one day I can help my family to come to the United States and have a better life and freedom for the rest of their lives. This is the hope I found in the tragedy of what happened to my motherland after the Islamic revelation.

Bahman Razani

ESL 100

September 21, 2021

My Lost Tradition 

    In Iran, the new year is the most important celebration. This celebration is called Norooz, and it means new day. The Iranian people believe the earth breathes again on the first day of the Spring. The origin of this celebration is around three thousand B.C. Iranians from all backgrounds and religious beliefs celebrate Norooz, because Norooz is not about a specific religion or city it belongs to all Iranians. During Norooz, the whole country is closed for two weeks, except banks and some companies have to be reopened after five days. Of course since I moved to the United States I haven’t been able to have a real Norooz in my new life.

 

    The atmosphere of Norooz is so unique and amazing. A month before Norooz, people do two things: they clean the entire house and buy new things like clothes and new decorations for the new year. I can do these parts in the United States too, but something is missing. In Iran a week before Norooz, cities and streets are so busy. There are tons of fruit, goldfish, special sweets and flowers ready to sell, and people walk around to buy them. When I was in Iran, I walked in the streets and the smell of the fruits, flowers and fresh sweets reminded me that Norooz was approaching. In addition, before Norooz, there is a big party on the last Tuesday night of the year. People play music, dance and jump on top of the fire to let the sicknesses go out and goodnesses come inside their body. This tradition is called Chahar Shanbeh Soori. Since I came to the U.S, I haven’t been able to have this celebration because in the United States making fire in the street isn’t allowed.

    In Iran, visiting family on this holiday is so important. For the Persian new year, the whole family comes together to pray and wish good luck. For the first lunch in the new year, most Iranians people cook rice with herbs and fried fish, and eat together. This food is called Sabzi Polo Mahi. Another important custom is that the youngest family member has to visit the oldest family as a sign of respect and say happy Norooz and wish luck to them to have an amazing year. My wife and I don't have any family in the United States. We are living in Chicago alone, and we haven’t visited our family in Iran for five years. In the Persian new year I would love to be in Iran and especially be with my family to meet them and hug them for a long time.

    In addition, in Iran most of the people have plans for their thirteen off days on this holiday. Some people visit their family and spend thirteen days off together, and some people have plans to tour other cities in the country as a tourist. They travel to these cities, so they can learn about their culture and taste their traditional foods. In the United States, my wife and I don’t have a day off for the Persian new year, so I can’t make plans like visiting our family or traveling to other cities like back home. I have to stay home, and also most of the time I have to work on the actual holiday, because most of the time I can’t afford to take a day off.

 

    Regardless of how my wife and I have tried to celebrate Norooz, it just hasn’t felt the same. Norooz is the time of the year that everyone waits for it to arrive. Norooz is not just cooking special food or cleaning up the entire house. Norooz is about being together, seeing the excitement of people in the bazaar and preparing for the best time of the year. I can facetime with my family to say happy Norooz to them, but that is not like being there in Iran with them. Therefore, since I immigrated to the United States, I feel like I have lost a big part of my culture.