JUL 31 ‘ 3
Iranian refugee hopes outcry
will result from
NACOGOOCHES, Texas
(AP)—Itwas5a.IT1.Ofla
Saturday morning.when the
young Nacogdoches man
• was shocked out of his sleep
by a telephone call from his
brother in Australia.
The message was brief:
• “Dad has become a mar-
tyr.' Their father had been
executed by the fanatical
Islamic government of the
Ayatollah Ruholla Kho-
meini.
At 5a.m. the next morning
the phone rang again. This
time the news was even
worse. Saeid Eshraghhi
learned that his mother and
sister had been executed,
• too, for their refusal to re-
cant their belief in the
Baha'i faith.
Nearly a week after learn-
ing of his loss, the 34-year-
old native of Iran reflected
on life in his former country
and on the death of his
parents and sister.
THE EXECUTIONS were
carried out despite the
pleadings of governments
and organizations
throughout the world. Kho-
meini allegedly pointed to
the personal plea of' Ronald
Reagan as an indication of
the Baha'is guilt.
Eshraghi hopes his story
will help ignite a global out-
cry loud enough to stop the
executions and religious
persecution of some 300,000
Bahais in a country boiling
with Islamic fervor.
Eshraghi is now co'owner
of an Italian restaurant in
Nacogdoches. When he left
Iran for Boston, in 1978 he
VERNON, TX.
RECORD
D. 6,200 —5. 6,500
executions'
22 people were condemned
to death unless they agreed
to renounce their faith.
H 1 SISTER' who remain-
ed free was allowedto visit
her father, mother and sibl-
ing for three minutes once a
weeL In June she asked her
father for permission to'
marry her boyfriend.
Her father consented and
she was engaged on the
afternoon of June16.
Earlier that same day, her
father and five other Baha'Is
were executed by hanging.
The next week her mother
annd sister were dead.
“It's such a waste for
society,” Eshraghl said.
Pointing to a name on the
list of those executed with
his father, Eshraghi added,
“This man, Dr. Amnan, was
48 years old. He went to
school for almost 30years to
become a doctor and just cx-
écuting someone like him is
such a waste.”
THE BAHA'I ‘ faith
originated in Iran.
Followers believe In the
oneness of mankind,
elimination of prejudice,
equality of men and women
and the, application of
spiritual solutions to
economic problems.
Eshraghi retains a strong
belief in the faith his family
died for. But he is also
grateful for his life in
Nacogdoches.
“I'm living in a society
where people are human be-
ings. Where they fight for
humanity. And where they
are sincere.”
/).
revolutionary activity.
Eshraghi explained that
almost all members of the
Baha'i faith in Iran are of.
the middle or upper-middle
class. His father, for exam-
ple, had been an executive
for Iran's national oil com-
pany before the revolution.
“My family had lived in
Shiraz for along time and
my dad was a very nice
man. He never had an
enemy in his life. He loved
people and they had a lot of
people come to the house,”
Eshraghi said.
In a letter to his son,
Eshragi's father said he had
been arrested because of the
number of people seen com-
ing and going from the faint-
lyhome.
MmDUO EASTERN ex-
perts say it Was the middle
class that was most respon-
sible for ousting the ahah
Eshraghi said.
So when Khomeini took
power, he began undermin-
ing the economic clout and
civil liberties of those who
had brought down the shah,
Eshraghi said.
The Baha'is took the brunt
of the persecution, Eshraghi
said. They were fired from
their jobs, and benefits for
those who had retired, like
his father, were terminated.
Baha'i members were ex-
ecuted' or imprisoned on
charges ranging from spy-
ing to being devils.
When Eshraghi's family
was arrested for the second
time in Shiraz nine months
ago, they weren't released.
Secret trials were held and
IRAN PERSECUTION—Saeld Eahraghl, of Nacogdocbes,
tells of the persecution of the Baha'l faith In his native
counfry.of Iran. Esbraghl'a father, mother and sister were
executed by the Islamic government of the Ayatollah
Ruholla Khomeini for their refusal to recant their belief In
the Baba'.I faith. (APPboto)
had, no inkling, of the events
that would soon rock his
homeland. He planned to
train as an architect and go
home.
In a subdued voice,
Eshraghi recalled arriving
in Boston for language
studies five years ago, about
a year before Shah Moham-
mad Reza Pahlavi was forc-
ed to flee Iran and Khomeini
set up his Islamic Republic.
AFTER STUDYING'
language, Eshraghl went to
Kilgore Junior College to
begin architectural studies.
But after the revolution,
when he could not longer get
money out of his homeland,
he took a job in a local
restaurant to support
himself and his wife. Two
months later he was
manager.
He then took a job as
manager in the restaurant
that he now partly owns.
Eshraghi still has a sister
in Iran, another sister in
Nigeria and a brother in
Australia.
Although he didn't expect
the revoluton, when It did oc-
cur, Eshraghi knew the
Baha'is would suffer. In-
deed, Baha'is were the
target of persecution from
the beginning. Members of
the faith had their homes
burned and religious gather-
ing places destroyed.
THE PERSECUTION
didn't touch Eahraghi per-
sonally until 1980, when his
family in Shiraz was ar-
rested and held for three day
on suspicion of counter-
•
BP000252
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