As our flight descended into Baton Rouge, Louisiana, I watched a flurry of bright lights and starbursts below, without realizing that these scattered flashes were fireworks. It was July 5, and my family and I were landing in America, starting life thousands of miles away from Tehran, Iran, where I was born. The significance of the day before—the day we left Iran and the day celebrating America’s independence—was lost on me.
Now that I have children of my own, I cannot imagine the stress and nervous excitement that my parents must have felt at the time. Relations between Iran and the United States were poor. Operation Ajax, a (now declassified) military coup staged in Iran in 1953 by the United States and Britain, overthrew Iran’s democratically elected leader and pushed the Shah back in power. Eventually, tensions galvanized a young Iranian populace, leading to the Iranian Revolution. This occurred shortly before the occupation of the US embassy, known as the Iran hostage crisis, worsened tensions from 1979 to 1981.
In short, there were many reasons why an Iranian in Louisiana would be ostracized, but that was the opposite of how my life played out in Baton Rouge, partly thanks to Southern hospitality. Throughout my childhood, I learned to embrace my differences. I began to realize that, although some people might judge me based on my appearance, my job was to ignore them and focus on bettering myself. I am who I am by being myself. I was proud when my parents spoke to me in Farsi in public. I loved the cultural celebrations, despite how they might have been viewed from the outside. Imagine the only Iranian family in your neighborhood lighting small fires in their driveway, jumping over them, and singing a traditional song (search chaharshanbe suri). I learned that I could make a small impact on someone’s life by helping them realize that not all Iranians are X (insert any derogatory label here).
I love America for what America did for me. I had opportunities that many people in other countries could never dream of. In this issue of GT, we celebrate diversity and the fact that, despite all the turmoil, this country is home to amazing people from a variety of cultures. Of course, when it comes to acknowledging and honoring these differences on a wide scale, we must also accept that there is still progress to be made. It is necessary that we discuss our differences, challenge stereotypes, and embrace the diverse landscape of this country. But let’s not lose sight (pardon the inevitable eye pun) of our good fortune.
