today i read a report that indicates that Bahá'í schoolchildren are being subjected to cruel and harsh treatment as part of Iran's government-sponsored campaign against the Bahá'í community.
i find it reprehensible that in 2008 religious persecution is still rampant and it sickens me that innocent children are being attacked because of their beliefs. i was born in Shiraz, Iran. my parents and I left just before the Islamic revolution when i was only a few months old. as a result, my father has not seen his own mother in over twenty eight years. i cannot even begin to imagine how different my life would be if we had stayed.
1979
The city of roses
A summer's day
A picture-perfect setting
Tiny lungs gasping at sweet-scented air
Foreboding fear surrounds
A mother gazing on her child
The soil where life began for me
I shared with you
'It isn't safe to stay' they warned
Whispers of a revolution laced the air
So separated from you
By one decision
A new family of three vacationed
Never to return
'Yes, Golriz, it's half Persian' I explain
'We left when I was just a few months old'
A dislocation from a land
That I hold not one memory of
Just a series of mental flash-cards
Anecdotes of ripe pomegranates
Stories and samovars and CNN
Learning of your plight
I find myself injured on your behalf
Examining my world
The glaring disparities
Liberties often taken for granted
While your convictions hold you captive
A life-sentence to obstacles
I have never had to face
In awe of your love for this Faith
Overpowering your attachment to this life
My heart aches for you
And breaks for you
I'm inspired by your strength
The injustices you bear
For your story
Could have just as easily been
My story
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
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