Aadel Collection
Tell Me, Where is my Father?
Azadeh Pourzaiicl _________ VA R SUNt AY DECEMBER30 _ ‘ An open letter to His Excellency Seped Mohammad Khatami, pr&s-ident of the Is- lamic Republic of Iran. Dear Mr. President: I am a 17-year-old Iranian girl. My in- troduction to politics came IIrough hearing your televised campaign interview when I was 12. On Election Day, I accompanied my parents to vote. Full of hope and great ex- pectations, we drove across town while roy father told us stories about the 1ast and my mother looked at IIe gathering crowds in IIe street wiII her writer's eyes. My sister boasted that she was old enough to vote, and I felt like becoming a political activist but had to struggle with my birthdate. When I was a year old, my father was im- prisoned for the first time. He was not a thief, he was not a smuggler, he had commit- ted no crime. Like so many other law- abiding Iranians, he became a prisoner who had no idea why he was in prison. When 1 was 6 he was hauled off to prison a second time. I remember banging my white child's shoes against the waft and shouting. i)on't tell me my father is traveling. He is in Evin Prison. Don't tell me about his roorrr, he is in a solitary celL” Once again he was freed—a thin, tired, quiet man. Once a vi- brant, gregarious talker, he had turned into a passive and indifferent listener. I was 15 when my mother, Mehrangiz Kar, a lawyer and women's rights activist, was imprisoned. A few months earlier, ray sister, Leily, had hurriedly left IIe couritiy, leaving all her hopes and dreams in Iran. Government agents, or those who pretend- ed to be government agents, had driven sleep from her eyes and peace fflom her heart. So it was that my father and I were left alone to keep each other company, Family and friends spoke of me as a strong young woman. Only the walls in my room shared my fear and frustration as I sobbed tan- comitrollably and banged them with my fists. When my mother was ffinafry released, I still wanted to see your smiling face and heat- your words on government television, Mr. President—_no matter that it was the same government television IIat had so recklessly distorted my mother's statements and slandered and insulted her. Not long after she had secured her release from prison by posting back-breaking bait, my mother was diagnosed with cancer. I was 16 and could hardly wait now that I could vote for your election to a second term. Cast- inga ballot for the first time in my life was a thrift. I carefully wrote “Seyed Mohamrnad Khataini and became an adult. I am now ac- companying my mother, who ha traveled abroad to seek treatment for her illness. A month ago we heard IIe news of my (a- IIer's disappeai-ance. Mr. President, my La- iher, Siamak Pourzand, born Nov. 24, 1931, was taken by unknown agents as he was see- ing oL some guests at his sister's house. He has not been heard from since. OEe last time my mother and I spoke with him, he told us that he was being followed by men on motor- cycles and that he was in danger. We hadn't known what to do to help, and we feel help- less now. My mother sits in a corner quietly and waits for the phone to ring. 1 know waft that a cancer patient has no hope of survival if she is tense and agitated. I don't know what to do for eiIIer of my parents. OEis morning I woke up terrified. I had dreamed that an interrogator had slashed my father's neck, and I was running around hysterically trying to find a way to p him alive. He called me back to him saying, it is no use, stay with me for a few more mo- ments.” OEe road to Evin Prison has a sharp turn called “the repentance curve.” If I ever pass that road, I will repent crimes that I have not ‘ Committed so that I will not be taken ju- nocent and come out guilty. My only t st of you, Mr. President, and fortunately . Ou are still president, is to make an, inquiry about my 7 0-year-old father's phy iIIl and psychological health and let me know how ‘ he is and where he is being held. I impatiei t- ly await a reply from your offce. Tell Me, Where Is My Father? i espectfufty, d :h First-time voter
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