September KhabarNameh

Transcription

Newsletter of
Peace Corps Iran Association
Volume 5 - Number 1 - September 2016
Copyright © 2016 by Peace Corps Iran Association
Mark Your Calendar: September 21-26 - Washington, D.C.
PCIA Members Presenting on Iran at NPCA Gathering
Many readers are aware that the upcoming National Peace Corps Association Conference
with a theme of Peace Corps Beyond is scheduled for September 21-25 in Washington D.C.
The featured speaker is the Nobel Laureate Prize winner, Liberian President Ellen Johnson
Sirleaf. Five members of the PCIA board plan to be in attendance. More program and registration information is at http://tinyurl.com/z56zhpz.
John Krauskopf (Ahwaz, 1965-67, 1969) will report on his May 2016
trip
to Iran as part of the Friday luncheon which will focus on NPCA’s
John Krauskopf
Next Steps Travel program. (See page 4 for his initial observations.)
That afternoon, Kendall Dudley (Sanandaj, Kurdistan, Tehran, 1967-69) is chairing a
session entitled Beyond the Stigma of Iran: How Finding Patterns in Culture Helps Replace
Anger with Curiosity and Empathy.
As the abstract states: “Iran carries a wicked stigma, a made for TV history, and a reputaKendall Dudley
tion a cold warrior could love! What the outsider sees is very different from
the insider’s view. Four presentations will draw on multiple sources of Peace Corps experience
to portray some of the complex patterns in Iranian life. These patterns stem from the interplay
of the land, its history, varied beliefs, sense of time, and the value of family, women, and ritual.”
Using perspectives that cut across western academic traditions, Alex Patico (Firuzkuh, 1969)
will discuss the psychological—and related— dimensions of veiling and walls;
Jennifer Seaver (Rasht, 1966-68) will present personal stories related to food,
Jennifer Seaver tea, and time; Kendall will analyze the paradoxical New Year holiday, Now
Ruz. A presenter for the fourth topic, folk beliefs and the color blue, has not yet been announced.
Again, citing the abstract: “Together these four thematic areas resonate with one another to
give impressions of Iran that soften standard views and promote an interest in knowing more.
Alex Patico
By approaching the story of Iran through these themes, the panel will offer alternative ways to
consider the lived experience of Iranians. Behind each presenter’s talk lies the input of many
Iran RPCVs who volunteered their thoughts on these four topics. These interviews and writings were collected
by each panelist and woven into their ten-minute presentations. In this way, they are sharing the experiences
of many as spoken through these volunteers. The hope is to model a process that other RPCVs can use in their
presentations to groups.”
There will be a Question and Answer period following the presentations. The hope is to encourage RPCVs
from other countries to integrate topic areas such as these in order to give a picture of each culture and the experience of living there.
KhabarNameh - The Peace Corps Iran Association Newsletter - September 2016 - Page 2
NPCA Follow-Up: PCIA Members Presenting at Atlantic Council in D.C.
September 26th Symposium on Iran at the Atlantic Council
Tom Huf
Iran will be the focus of a symposium at the Atlantic Council, located at 1030
15th St. N.W., in Washington, from 2:00 to 3:30, Monday afternoon, September
26. Organized by Barbara Slavin, the Acting Director of the Atlantic Council Future of Iran Initiative, and Tom Huf (Babolsar, Mashhad, Tehran, 1967-71), of the
PCIA Advocacy Committee, the symposium’s theme is: Iranians and A mericans:
Ties That Bind—Dialogue and Engagement.
Barbara Slavin
John Limbert (Sanandaj, 1964-66) will address “Iran Seen and Unseen” focusing on the
Iran that was known to westerners, including Peace Corps volunteers, and the lesser known undercurrents of revolution that continue today in the political sphere of this complex
culture.
Farzaneh
Milani
Farzaneh Milani, Pr ofessor and Chair of the Depar tment of Middle Easter n John Limbert
and South Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Virginia, is the author of W ords,
not Swords: Iranian Women Writers and the Freedom of Movement. She will focus on that theme
with her address, “Iranian Women Writers as a Moderating and Modernizing Force,” discussing
the engagement with political and social issues as seen in the literature of Iranian women.
In “Recovering Lost Ties: Iranian and American Student and Teacher Exchanges in a New
Era of Geopolitics,” Tom Ricks (Mashhad, Mahabad, 1964-66) will enumerate ways in
which Americans can initiate ties with Iranians through study abroad ventures, academic and
internship exchanges, and visits to each other’s historic sites.
Tom Ricks
Finally, Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council
(NIAC), is a proponent of dialogue between Iran and America and has authored several books
on Iran and the geopolitics of the Middle East. He will offer a particularly relevant look at “U.S.
-Iran Relations Post-Obama.” In the absence of greater knowledge about Iran, he wonders if we
are likely to slip back into enmity.
The event is free and open to all. Registration is not required but RSVPs are encouraged in
order to connect people interested in the topic being presented. The Council does have an Iran
mailing list. Send your RSVP to Ben Polsky at: bpolsky@atlanticcouncil.org. Include your
Trita Parsi
email and/or phone number if you wish to be on the Council’s mailing list. Huf points out that
events like this are a great way to bring people from many different organizations together.
MORE IN THIS ISSUE:
From the Editor ········································ 3
“Rollicking” Adventure Had Life-Long Impact ·· 3
Observations on a Trip Back to Iran after
Forty-five Years ···································· 4
The Peace Corps Leaves Iran, 1976 ················ 5
Historical Reflections: Peace Corps
Iran Musicians ······································· 7
Shaehr [Poetry] ········································ 8
From the Ashpaz-Khaneh [Cooking]··············· 9
Nema-ye Nazdik (Close Up) [Cinema] ·········· 10
Where Are They Now? ····························· 11
Books, Books ········································ 12
From the President: Advocacy ···················· 13
Recollections ········································· 16
On the World Wide Web: Political Platforms ·· 17
PCIA Members Present Papers at
International Conference in Vienna ············ 18
A Dark Day in Peace Corps Iran History:
Fifty Years Later ·································· 19
In Memoriam ········································· 19
Membership Form ··································· 22
From the Editor
By Joan Gaughan (Rasht, Lahijan, 1964-66)
Beginning a new career in one’s twenties or thirties is challenging. Following in the remarkable path of Mary Marks when one is a septuagenarian is more than a little daunting.
Happily, Mary remains as KhabarNameh’s book review editor.
In this issue are three new columns. From the Ashpaz-Khaneh, edited by Maryam
Shafiee, is, as the name suggests, dedicated to food. Analyses of Per sian poetr y ar e
undertaken by Mostafa Rahbar in Shaehr. Nema-ye Nazdik (Close-up), in the capable
hands of Cameron Cross, showcases Iranian film. Our new columnists are introduced in a
box with each of their articles. Look for Trivia Corner items in yellow boxes.
This issue also commemorates two anniversaries: one, somber, the other, poignant. Fifty years ago, trainees for Iran were caught in the crossfire of a mass shooting at the University of Texas Austin. A Peace Corps trainee, Thomas Ashton, was killed. Forty years ago, in 1976, the
Peace Corps said goodbye to Iran. Sheldon Fleming, the son of the last director in Iran, Quentin Fleming, uses
his father’s notes and his own memories to offer his perspective on the closure. In addition, John Krauskopf
shares observations from his trip to Iran last May.
Be sure to check out ongoing columns On The World Wide Web; Books, Books; Recollections; Historical
Reflections; Recollections; Where Are They Now?, and In Memoriam.
So, gentle reader, befarma’id!!
“Rollicking” Adventure Had Life-Long Impact
By Joan Gaughan
In the summer of 1963, Pat Walsh (Ahwaz, 1962-64), Tom Thompson (Sari, 1962-64),
and Dick Eaton (Tabriz, 1962-64) from Iran 1 embarked on a “wild, rollicking” monthlong overland trip from Tehran to Calcutta, mainly on third class trains. Eaton then hitchhiked back to Iran through Afghanistan.
Young and perhaps a bit naïve, they had marveled that the monuments of Mughul India
looked like what they had seen in Isfahan, Yazd, or Shiraz, unaware that Iran had left its
imprint not only on architectural styles, but that even the Persian they were speaking had
for centuries been India’s official language.
That encounter with India was not Eaton’s first. At
Editor’s Note:
the age of three, he had climbed aboard an eleDick Eaton at the
This past January, a book Eaton co- phant, an animal often associated with India, at the
Caspian Sea.
authored with Phillip B. Wagoner,
St. Louis Zoo. Although he suspects that at some
Power, Memory, Architecture: Con- deep, subconscious level, that experience might explain his subsequent
tested Sites on India’s Deccan Plat- obsession with India, the 1963 trip did nothing to quench the obsession.
eau, 1300-1600, received the prestig- India, particularly in its interactions with his Peace Corps “home,”
ious John F. Richards Prize, awarded would become the object of Eaton’s life-long study. He teaches courses
by the American Historical Associa- in medieval and modern India at the University of Arizona and has
tion for best book published in 2014 written eight books on various aspects of Indian history, including the
on South Asian history. In April, the social roles of Sufis in the sultanate of Bijapur (1300-1700), the growth
book won the Association of Asian
of Islam in Bengal (1204-1760), and the social history of the Deccan
Studies’ Ananda K. Coomaraswamy (1300-1761). Sleuthing through record rooms, archives, and libraries all
Prize for the best book published in over Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, he feels that he has barely
2014 in South Asian Studies in any scratched the surface of the trove of Persian materials lying about South
discipline.
Asia whose numbers “far exceed those that ever existed in Iran itself.”
Dick Eaton is continuing to explore the Iran-India connection with his
contribution to a three-volume History of India for Penguin Books. The second volume covers the period 1000
-1800 A.D. and is tentatively titled The Lion and the Lotus, symbols respectively of Iran and India. He hopes
that this work will substitute a “millennium-long dialogue between Persian and Sanskrit civilizations for the
conventional (and disastrously incorrect) trope of unending Muslim-Hindu conflict.”
With characteristic modesty, he writes that he has “a firm policy of accepting any book prize from anybody.”
Observations on a Trip Back to Iran after Forty-five Years
By John Krauskopf (Ahwaz, 1965-67, 1969)
In May/June 2016, I joined the first NPCA/PCIA Iran tour. Having served as a
volunteer with the Peace Corps, I was often asked what had changed in forty-five
years. A more detailed report will appear on PCIA’s website soon, but here are
some observations, ranging from the whimsical to the more insightful. [Note:
John will speak about his trip at the NPCA gathering described on page 1.]
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Industrialization and infrastructure investment have reached a level unimaginable in 1969. Traffic is more intense and is now jammed up on multi-lane
highways which did not exist forty-five years ago. More than 80% of private
autos (and even the tour bus) are painted white! There is a proliferation of
three-star hotels and high-quality restaurants.
Iran’s population has exploded from forty to eighty million and many villagers have moved to cities. Tehran’s population has gone from three million to
around fourteen million. This increased population has created a water crisis.
The Zayandeh-e Rud in Isfahan, for example, is only allowed to flow freely
during the winter wet season.
The one-million rial bill in my wallet (about $30) was illustrative of 40% per
year inflation. I couldn’t get any coins for my collection because coins are
now so low-value they have practically disappeared.
Compared with Peace Corps days, there are few beggars, but many individuals walk among cars stalled at traffic lights, selling things to drivers and passengers. Examples include flowers, fortunes, blessings, and services like using a censer to bless a car by surrounding it with incense. Begging seems to
be controlled but commerce is permitted. The margin between the two is
sometimes fuzzy.
Businessmen are sharply dressed in stylish, tailored western suits, crisp collared shirts, but no necktie, as the tie is a symbol of western decadence and
evil American influence.
Now every city has many multi-story buildings and all of our hotels had elevators. During my time in Iran, I never saw an elevator. There were a few tall
buildings with elevators in Tehran, but I never went near them.
Some cultural customs have not yet adapted to modern technology. Three of
us in the hotel elevator moved to the back so two well-dressed businessmen
approaching the door could enter. They began the appropriate ta’roaf:
“Shoma befarmaid.” “Agha, shoma befarma’id.” “ No, I am your sacrifice.”
“Go ahead, already.” While this was going on, the elevator doors closed, and
we proceeded up to the sixth floor. I half expected to see these men still
ta’roafing when we came down to dinner half an hour later.
Most Americans must go to Iran in a tour group approved by the Iranian government. I had been reluctant
to join the typical culture and history tour (Tehran-Isfahan-Shiraz-Persepolis) because I wanted to be independent and visit friends. However, the days were so filled with visits to cultural treasures I hadn’t known
about that I didn’t feel restricted at all. The tour company made sure we followed the rules, including not
visiting Iranians in their homes. Still, I could spend three enjoyable evenings with my erstwhile hostfamily sister and her son at our hotel.
The NPCA/PCIA tour was meaningful for me despite its limitations. I’m sure that joining the next PCIA organized tour will be rewarding for any RPCV who wants to renew involvement with this fascinating culture.
One member of this group, Bill Mittendorf, has posted a set of beautiful pictures from this tour on the web at
http://tinyurl.com/j2zzn6l.
More information about travel to Iran is on the PCIA website at http://www.peacecorpsiran.org/iran-travel/.
The Peace Corps Leaves Iran, 1976
By Sheldon Fleming
There has been a lot of speculation as to why the
Peace Corps Iran program shut down. With the
events of 1978/79, nobody can deny that the program had to leave; the only question is, did the program leave a year too soon?
At the reunion that I was fortunate enough to
attend in Austin, I was asked by many people why
we left. Being the son of the last country director,
Quentin Fleming, I remember the events very well.
Besides my own recollection and those of my father and identical twin brother, I also have the benefit of being in possession of my father’s handwritten journals. My father had the habit of keeping a detailed daily journal which, of course, also
contains accounts of the events regarding the decision to leave Iran.
Quentin Fleming, the last Peace Corps Director in Iran, in his office
To understand how the decision to leave was
in Tehran.
arrived at and to put it in proper context, it’s critical to note that Iran completely changed after the Organization of Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC), of which
Iran was a member, declared significant cuts in oil production and placed an embargo on oil exports to countries, including the United States, who had supported Israel in the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Volunteers who
were in Iran prior to OPEC would not recognize post-OPEC Iran. Having visited with countless volunteers in
Austin last year, it was very apparent that the pre-OPEC volunteers
Editor’s Note:
experienced a completely different Iran.
It was 40 years ago that Peace Corps
My family arrived on March 5, 1974, just after the OPEC embarleft Iran. In this article Sheldon Flemgo
and just before the massive flood of new-found oil wealth really
ing, son of Quentin Fleming the last
hit
the country. For the first three or four months, it was the
Peace Corps Director in Iran, recalls his
“traditional”
(or should I say “magical”) Iran. But with the money
memories surrounding that decision.
pouring
in
came
a change in attitude and a massive influx of forFor more information about the final
eigners
chasing
the
money. And this was not the traditional, old
years of Peace Corps in Iran, including
a video recording of the session on this school ex-patriate group. This was a lot of unsophisticated lower
economic workers coming to Iran chasing a fast dollar. Picture the
topic at the Austin 2015 conference,
ugly American on steroids. And for most of the people it was the
please go to
first time that they had been outside the United States. In the sumhttp://tinyurl.com/jywtac4.
mer of 1975, the Shah instituted a series of economic reforms trying to curtail the runaway inflation and new-found money, and you could really feel the tension starting to
grow.
I graduated from the Tehran American High School in the summer of 1975 at the American Embassy
Compound, and stayed on a year with the family before we all returned to America. During that year, I traveled extensively with the volunteers and was basically adopted as a little brother by many of them. They were
very kind and generous to me, and also spoke openly in front of me.
One night in 1975, when my family was sitting around the dinner table, a discussion took place regarding
the volunteers’ numerous complaints about what they were facing. Being a teenager, I made an offhand comment that, “Well, if the volunteers are so unhappy, why don’t we just leave?” My dad sat back in his chair,
paused for a minute and then commented that maybe we should.
The next day he went into the office and spoke with Ed Thomas, then current director. It was Ed’s last
week in-country before my father replaced him. My father discussed it with Ed who agreed that, based upon
the change in circumstances in the country, it was time that the program withdraw. However, Ed strongly believed that the ultimate decision really should be made by the volunteers themselves. So my father ended up
putting it to a vote of the volunteers.
(Fleming, continued on page 6)
(Fleming, continued from page 5)
Near the end of 1975, the respective programs—TEFL (Teaching of English as a Foreign Language), Vocational Education, Agriculture and MPW (Municipal Public Works)—had their yearly
conferences. At each of those conferences, the question was put to the volunteers, and
based upon their overwhelming vote, the decision was made to leave.
In January 1976, the NANEAP Sub-Region (North Africa, Near East, Asia and Pacific) had a conference at the Tara Gaon Hotel in Kathmandu, Nepal, where my father
discussed shutting the program down with Peace Corps staff from Washington, D.C.
This was new territory for the Peace Corps as it had not walked out of a country before.
Yes, it had been thrown out of countries before (Colombia twice and we were at that
time back for a third time), but actually leaving on its own was different.
Contained in my father’s journal are his notes from this meeting and the reasons presented to Peace Corps Director John Dellenback for leaving. Among the reasons were:
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Volunteers’ vocal complaints that we should not be in Iran.
Rise in Iran’s per capita income and the new disparity of salaries between PCVs
Peace Corps Office about
and hosts.
1967. Jim Fox is seen
PCVs getting local job offers at high salaries enticing them to leave the program.
checking out a transit.
Life styles of the expatriates. (Again, this was the “Ugly American” in the tens of
thousands flooding into Iran from about 12,000 in 1974 to over 35,000 in early 1976
and increasing.)
The host government wanted only highly skilled volunteers, the right to first review prospective PCV biographies and the ability to reject volunteers.
High attrition of volunteers.
Feeling by many volunteers that their “work benefits the government or the rich, and has no impact or an
adverse impact on the poor.”
That last factor is perhaps the most telling.
On January 13, 1976, my father was notified by John Dellenback that the
formal decision to leave had been made. Everyone was to be out of country by
June 30th. As my father was simultaneously also the director for the Bahrain
program (he would fly down there once a month for a week to monitor the
program), he was free to transfer volunteers and staff from Iran to Bahrain.
Ambassador Richard Helms was to send a formal letter to the Government of
Iran notifying them of the decision to leave. Any suggestion that Helms
forced the closure of the program is absolute nonsense. Indeed, when the idea
In 2014 the former Peace Corps ofwas put to my father, he just shook his head and laughed.
fice was a private residence.
I have heard speculation that the reason we left was that either people felt
Iran (after OPEC) was too wealthy and should not be getting such a “gift”
from the American people or that Iran was not making its host country contributions. The reality is that my
father raised the host country’s contributions in response to the OPEC increase in the price of oil, and the Iran
and Bahrain country contributions were by far the two highest paying country contributions of any Peace
Corps programs anywhere. The programs were almost paying for themselves. My father recalls a funny incident which happened in the summer of 1977, a year after the program was closed. He received a frantic call
from the American Embassy in Tehran regarding hundreds of thousands of dollars that had just been sent over
to the Embassy and they were trying to figure out what it was for. It was the final host country contribution
for Peace Corps Iran. While the government was paying it a little late, they did pay every single penny they
pledged to pay to the program.
In short, we left Iran because times changed from when we first arrived in Iran, and we wanted to leave on
our own terms and gracefully so that we would be welcomed back in the future. Times have changed since
then and hopefully the program will return back in the not too distant future.
Sheldon can be reached at sheldonfleming@earthlink.net.
Historical Reflections
Peace Corps Iran Musicians
By Genna Stead Wangsness (Shiraz, Tehran, 1965-71)
On October 26, 1967, the evening of their coronation as emperor and empress, the
Shah and Shahbanou inaugurated Tehran’s Talar-e Roudaki. Roudaki Hall became
Iran’s national stage for music, opera, and ballet; home to the Tehran Symphonic Orchestra, Tehran Opera Company, and the Iranian National Ballet Company.
From 1968-72, seven Peace Corps volunteers were members of the Tehran symphonic and opera orchestras. This unique and highly specialized Peace Corps program
provided young, accomplished American musicians a rare opportunity to contribute to a
growing interest in the performing arts in a country far from home. Almost fifty years
later, they recall the highs and lows of their experiences as they contributed in numerous
ways to the world of music in the waning years of the Pahlavi era.
In the summer of 1968, following language and cultural training with Iran 20 in Brattleboro, Vermont,
four musicians arrived in Tehran. Their assignments to Tehran’s symphonic and opera orchestras came about
through the efforts of field representative Jay R. Crook, who had negotiated with Iranian officials about volunteer placements into this experimental program. Jay had an interest in serious music, classical and opera in
particular; Peace Corps encouraged him to meet with the symphony’s director, Heshmat Sanjari, to make the
arrangements.
Upon their arrival, the volunteers found that the symphony orchestra was departing for the ShirazPersepolis Festival of Arts1, an event inaugurated as part of the imperial couple’s coronation, to highlight
Iran’s developing cultural status. With little time to adjust, they flew with the orchestra to Fars Province. Rehearsing amongst the ruins of Tahkt-e-Jamshid, they were initiated into the realm of Iranian music and culture. However, the festival was cut short by the 7.4 earthquake near Mashhad on August 31, 1968; they endured a quick-turnaround, 24-hour bus trip back to Tehran.
Settling in, the volunteers began performing with both orchestras, which consisted of the same ensemble
but with different conductors. Composed of Iranian musicians, as well as musicians from Armenia, Bulgaria,
East Germany, and other countries, the volunteers were the first Americans to play with the orchestras, filling
gaps in their strengths. The volunteers were busy six days a week for two ten-month seasons. The symphony
orchestra rehearsed in the mornings for three hours and had about six concerts a year. The opera orchestra did
the same in the afternoons under the very efficient German conductor, Heinz Sosnitza, giving many more performances than the symphony and at a higher quality level.
Jeremy Kempton (Tehr an, 1968-70), with a B.M. in Music Education from the
Eastman School of Music and a Master’s degree from the University of Illinois, held
the solo trombone position with the opera company and bass trombone position in the
symphony. Although the volunteers performed mostly western music, the opera company did a series of performances of an opera written by an Iranian composer, based on
an Iranian legend. The music was conservative twentieth century western with some
Iranian flavor. The sets and costumes, however, were very Iranian with sculptured effects from the walls of Tahkt-e-Jamshid. “In general I have never seen more beautiful
or elaborate sets in any other opera house. That combined with the really gorgeous
state of the art opera house was a very impressive tableau to present to visiting dignitaries.” Jeremy also was involved with the Iran-America Society, where he
was music director for several musicals as well as the opera A mahl and the Night V isiJeremy
tors. He formed a chamber chorus and conducted a performance of Messiah by the
combined choirs of the Christian churches of Tehran which included many American
personnel.
Judith Klein (Tehr an, 1968-69), a graduate of Boston University’s School of Fine and Applied Arts,
had played French horn with a number of orchestras and with Harvard’s opera productions. She played French
horn with the orchestra and taught members of the military and police bands at the Military College, Iran’s
version of West Point. Judy completed one year of service.
(Musicians, continued on page 14)
Shaehr
By Mostafa Rahbar, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Poetry plays a significant part in the process of communication in Iran. Denying an
Iranian, or probably any Persian speaker, the right to use poetry in his/her communication would be the same as crippling an Italian by tying his/her hands during a conversation. No matter what their level of education, people have a poem, a verse, a
stanza, or a fragment of a poem ready to suit the topic of the conversation. It is second nature for even totally illiterate people such as my mother who, when she wanted
to put the fear of God into the hearts of her unruly children, used poetry filled with
gruesome imagery to warn them of God’s frightening wrath and punishment awaiting
disobedient children on the Day of Judgment (ghiyamat). Some people use poetry
when they greet each other by saying, for example, “Salaami cho booye khoshe aashnaaee (“Greetings: fragrant as friendship”) a stanza from a beit (verse) by Hafez.
When I was a student, in addition to inflicting corporal punishment on bad students,
Editor’s Note:
teachers often mocked them by bombarding them with insulting poems.
It is perhaps possible to imagine
In a telephone conversation a few days ago, a friend blamed the people
Iran without oil and maybe even
without sangak, but Iran without po- who tolerate oppression and corruption and who do not revolt or protest
etry is unthinkable. Mostafa Rahbar, against the government by saying, “khalaayegh har che
laayegh” (“People deserve what they get/It serves them right”). In anhimself a poet, will supervise the
new poetry column, Shaehr. He was other conversation, a friend complained that people have changed and
born in Semnan, Iran, in 1948. After have no regard for honesty and ethics anymore. He blamed poverty as
the cause, saying, “eflaas enaan as kafe taghvaa berahaand” (“Poverty
completing his high school education, he moved to Tehran, where he robs one of virtue”), a stanza by Sa’adi. All of these are recited in the
classical style of Persian poetry.
taught English at the Iran-America
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Persian poetry went
Society, a U.S. State Department
through a revolutionary transformation. Nima Yushij (1896-1960), the
binational center.
father of modern Persian poetry, introduced his first poem, “The PhoeIn 1971, he left for the United
States, where he studied broadcast- nix,” in 1937, using a new technique in which metric structure and style
ing at the University of Tennessee in of versification as well as content were totally different from those of
the classical style of poetry. Unlike classical poetry with highly stylized
Knoxville. He returned to Iran in
1975 and started working for the Na- rhyme and rhythm, his style of expression lacked rhyme but had intertional Iranian Radio and Television nal rhythm. In addition to the style of expression, the content of his poas a producer/director of documen- etry focused mostly on a contemporary understanding of human social
issues. Although the younger generations of Persian speakers have weltary films. He also worked for the
Center for the Intellectual Develop- comed the newer style of poetry, it has not been accepted by most poets
ment of Children and Young Adults and literary figures.
and UNESCO as a translator of chil- In the next issue, I will compare and contrast classical versus modern
poetry in more detail.
dren’s literature.
Comments or suggestions for poetry you would like discussed can be
After the Iranian Revolution, he
addressed to Mostafa at mrahbar@utk.edu.
moved back to his hometown and
taught English at the Semnan TeachIranian kamancheh player, Kayhan Kalhor, is featured in a documentary entiers Training College for two years.
tled The Music of Strangers: Y o-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble. VolunIn the meantime, he received his
teers who have seen it have given it high praise. TheaMaster’s degree in Curriculum and
ter performances are over but the film trailer can be
Instruction from the University of
accessed http://tinyurl.com/zjfzcpx.
Tennessee in Knoxville.
Right: Charlie Mitchell (Mahallat, 1974-75), a volunIn 1980, Mostafa and his wife
teer at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix,
moved back to the United States and stands beside the Iran exhibit that features a
he taught English as a Second Lankamancheh donated by Kayhan Kalhor. Listen to
guage (ESL) at the University of
Kalhor at http://tinyurl.com/hx37yql.
Tennessee, Knoxville. He retired in
.
2010.
From the Ashpaz-Khaneh
By Maryam Shafiee, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Baghala-Ghatogh
Here is how to make baghala-ghatogh, which translates literally as bean stew. This recipe originated in one of the northern provinces of Iran—Gilan or Mazandaran—depending
on whom you are talking to. This one, though, I learned from my grandmother who was
from Rasht.
Except for the bean preparation part, this is one of the fastest and easiest semi-vegetarian
dishes ever. It is not fully vegetarian because of the eggs which are mandatory. The original recipe calls for a specific type of beans called Rashti beans or pach baghala which, unfortunately, are very hard to find. Fava beans and/or lima beans are very good substitutes.
However, when I was living in Boston, I came across red shell beans in a local Italian store. Their appearance,
taste, and texture are so close to pach baghala that I cannot believe they are not the same! Of course, (and I do
this), it is a great idea to prepare the beans whenever they are available and freeze them for future use.
If you happen to have dried beans, just soak them overnight. They will be as good as fresh! Once you have
gotten your hand on the beans, the hardest part is to shell, skin, and split them into halves. Beans consist of
two symmetrical parts in their skin. After removing their last skin, simply slide the bean between your fingers
and it will split. In one of the photos you may see that there should be no skins whatsoever. I know it sounds
crazily difficult, but since they are fresh and soaked overnight, it’s actually quite easy to do this.
With all that said, here is what you need to serve two:
1 cup beans (shelled, skinned, split)
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp dried dill
1 tsp turmeric
3 cloves finely diced garlic (or more to taste)
Fresh eggs (1 per person)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
And this is how it goes:
1. In a medium sauce pan, sauté the finely diced garlic and
olive oil over medium heat for a minute. Heating the garlic and oil simultaneously more effectively infuses the
garlic flavor into the oil. Remember not to brown the garlic.
2. Add beans and all the spices except for salt and cook the
mixture for another 1 to 2 minutes. For some reason that I
cannot scientifically explain, sautéing spices before adding the liquid really enhances the flavor.
3. Pour in two cups of water. Bring the mixture up to a boil,
and then lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer until
the beans are fully cooked but not falling apart. Cooking
time varies between 45 minutes to an hour depending on
the type of bean.
4. Add salt. Then poach two eggs in the mixture right before
serving so you may cook the egg to your liking. If you
think you might have leftovers, which rarely happens to
me, use only enough eggs per servings. You can always
poach more eggs in the stew while it is warming up.
Maryam can be reached at Maryam.shafiee60@gmail.com.
Editor’s Note:
For many of us, our fondest and often funniest memories of Iran are related to eating.
Maryam Shafiee’s column, From the Ashpaz
-Khaneh, is designed to foil any attempt to
forget those culinary adventures.
She was born in Tehran in 1981 and studied
architecture at Zanjan University and Rajaee
University of Tehran.
In 2012, she moved to the United States
where she has continued her studies in architecture at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In the course of her master studies, she
worked for the UMass Campus Planning Department where she became involved with
Peace Corps Iran Association through her supervisor, Tom Huf (Babolsar, Mashhad, Tehran, 1967-71).
In 2013, along with two Iranian students
and two Iran RPCVs, she participated in a panel discussion at the Peace Corps Connect—
Boston.
Nema-ye Nazdik (Close-Up)
By Cameron Cross, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
In December of 2003, Iran suffered one of the worst natural disasters in its recent history.
The ancient city of Bam, with a population of around 100,000 inhabitants located in the
southeastern province of Kerman, was struck by a 6.6 magnitude earthquake that flattened
the city killing some 26,000 people and injuring another 30,000.
For all its horror, the tragedy did lead to some positive developments both locally and internationally: the loss of so much life prompted stricter implementation of seismically sound
building codes (especially with the grim knowledge that Tehran sits on a fault line similar to
that in Bam), and the multinational relief effort, including direct aid from the United States
for the first time since the 1979 revolution, contributed to a preliminary thaw in relations between the two countries that continues (in fits and starts) to this day.
Jahangir Golestan-Parast’s 2008 documentary, Bam 6.6., is about the transformative power
of reaching out to help, narrated against the backdrop of this tragic event. The story is told from the perspective of a young American couple, Tobb and Adele, who in 2003 decided to visit Iran in spite of the consternation of their families. As fate would have it, they ended up in Bam on the night of the disaster. Weaving the
testimony of those who saw and survived the earthquake with extensive footage of its aftermath, the film
guides us through Adele’s experience of being pulled out of the rubble, thanks to the efforts of their guide and
local volunteers, her treatment at Kasra hospital, and eventual reunification with her family.
It is not an easy story for the people on screen to tell, nor is it easy to watch as a spectator; but the losses and
hardships endured are tempered by an overarching mesEditor’s Note:
sage of hope that “differences in culture need not create
Iranian films such as Taxi and A Separation are
rifts between human beings,” as Golestan-Parast says.
achieving
well-deserved international recognition,
Scenes of extraordinary selflessness, courage, and generbut
there
are
many other excellent films that may be
osity by ordinary people pervade the film, capturing an
unfamiliar to Western audiences. Cameron Cross
image of Iran and its people that all who have spent
takes on the role of film critic in Nema-ye Nazdik
some time there will recognize.
The film’s humanistic message will be especially ap- (Close-Up).
A native of Evergreen, Colorado, Dr. Cross fell in
preciated by audiences who seek to learn about Iran in a
love
with Persian history, language, and culture in
space where politics becomes irrelevant and the imperahis
early
teens, an interest that only grew stronger as
tive to respond when people are in need is the only thing
that really matters—if only we did not need natural dis- the years passed, and eventually brought him to the
asters to remind us of the basic principle, the film seems University of Chicago for graduate school. His primary area of specialization is classical Persian literato say.
Raising awareness about the plight of others continues ture, particularly the heroic and erotic narrative poto play a large role in Golestan-Parast’s work which may ems of Ferdowsi, Gorgani, and Nezami. His other
be viewed on the Amazon Video library; his latest film, interests include ancient Iranian religion, myth, and
folklore; the poetics of doubt and ambiguity in
Homeless to Homeowner (2015), brings these same
Sa’adi, Khayyam, and Hafez; Persian traditional muthemes to the table in the context of homelessness in
sic; modernism in Persian poetry and Iranian cinema.
America.
Comments or suggestions for films to be reviewed can He is currently an assistant professor of Iranian studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
be addressed to Cameron at kchalipa@umich.edu.
Founder of the Peace Corps. Although J ohn F. Kennedy is cr edited with founding the Peace Cor ps, it
was not his original idea. The credit for that belongs to Hubert H. Humphrey, then U.S. Senator from Minnesota. In 1957, Humphrey introduced a Peace Corps bill in Congress. It failed. Many senators, including liberal ones, thought it silly and unworkable.
To his credit, however, Kennedy thought the idea neither silly nor unworkable, and three years later in a
speech on the steps of the University of Michigan Union, gave life to Humphrey’s idea. Two years after that,
the first volunteers landed in Iran. You can read John Krauskopf’s recollection of that night on the PCIA
website at http://tinyurl.com/jo492ls.
Where Are They Now?
June Stealy with
Adib Yaghmai
June Stealy (Mar agheh, 1965-66) served with Iran 6, a TEFL
group trained in Austin, Texas, the summer of 1965. Sent to Maragheh, south of Tabriz in East Azerbaijan province, she taught English
for one year before resigning to marry fellow teacher Adib Yaghmai.
Following their marriage, June and Adib lived in Tabriz, where she
taught for several years at the Iran-America Society and the British
Council. For over twenty years she taught English at Tabriz University
and in 1989 was awarded one of the limited numbers of certificates
given for outstanding teaching at the university.
Genna
Following June and Adib’s divorce in 1990, June returned to Indiana
Wangsness
and earned a master’s in speech pathology at Purdue University. She
has worked as a speech pathologist for over twenty years and currently is employed
part-time as she works her way into retirement. June remains in touch with her Iranian
family who live in Tabriz and in Kansas. She also enjoys teaching others the great
game of bridge. June can be reached at junestealy@gmail.com.
Bill Reese (Kar s, Tur key, 1965, Khoy, 1966-68) was reassigned by the Peace
Corps to Iran after serving as a TEFL teacher in Kars, Turkey, a town about forty kilometers from the Russian border. “It was a rough town where some of the teachers
carried pistols to class every day,” recalls Bill. Of course, as members of the Peace Corps, volunteers were not
allowed to pack pistols. Bill continues the story: “At the end of the year when we all turned in our grades, we
PCVs (there were four of us) failed those who could not pass the tests or who had not shown up all year. This
resulted in a huge showing of anti-Americanism by the teachers and students, with rocks being thrown. Actually they threw rocks at us all year, but it was worse at
this time.” The volunteers left town quickly, and after
a circuitous route from Kars to Greece to relax, then
Ankara and Washington, D.C., Bill was sent to Khoy
a Turkish-speaking town in West Azerbaijan.
Even though he had a crash course in Farsi, all his
teaching and communication were in Azeri which he
had spoken in Turkey. “After Turkey, Iran was heaven
for me!” continues Bill. “Loved every minute of it,
even the SAVAK agents who signed up for my adult
education English courses and came to my house every week to keep an eye on me! An American speaking
Azeri in Khoy ,I am sure, was suspect.”
Bill Reese (second from right) with Moch Pryderi
Following Peace Corps, Bill returned to graduate
school, getting his degree in Turkic Studies. He became a government linguist and worked in the Iranian legal section of the Library of Congress for a number of
years and then with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Munich for eighteen years as director of the Turkic
language broadcasts. He also renewed his life-long musical interest, playing in Europe for fifteen years with
The Free State String Band. After retiring, Bill discovered the great Welsh folk song traditions and dance music of his Welsh ancestors, and he formed Moch Pryderi (Welsh for Pryderi’s Pigs), a traditional Welsh folk
band. Today he keeps up a full schedule of performances (concerts, festivals, pubs). In addition to vocals, Bill
plays bouzouki, Welsh pibgorn, Welsh bagpipes, Breton bombardes, banjo, and whistles. To access Moch
Pryderi’s schedule in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, see www.mochpryderi.com.
June Stealy
Books, Books
Edited by Mary Marks (Kerman, 1964-66)
Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America, by Firoozeh Dumas.
Random House, 2004. 240p. Reviewed by Steve Horowitz (Maragheh, Rasht, 1968-71).
It is easy to imagine that a book called Funny in Farsi might be about the struggles of
Americans learning Persian, laughably producing an inadvertent obscenity when mispronouncing “k” for “kh,” or using the wrong vowel sound. In actuality, it is quite the opposite. The humor emerges from what Dumas experienced as an immigrant child in the U.S.,
mainly poking gentle fun at her father’s incomplete understanding of American language and culture.
She had expected that her father’s time in the U.S. as a student would provide an opening door to this
strange new world for her mother and herself. However, his limited communication with Americans had left
him unable to explain many cultural mysteries, including sloppy joes, mud pies, hush puppies, elbow grease,
and the difference between silver-fish and goldfish. While Firoozeh absorbed American culture at school, observing her classmates’ ignorance about her native country, Mom stayed home with her primary language
teachers: Monty Hall and Bob Barker. Factor in Dad’s never diminishing Persian accent, and his penchant for
trying to fix everything while pinching pennies, and you have a laugh-filled cross cultural mélange of Disneyland, extended families, lamb carcasses, and Las Vegas.
Although the book was written more than a decade ago, it is still relevant when trying to understand cultural
differences and the assimilation process that Iranians and other immigrants go through. Just when Dumas’
comical descriptions seem to settle down, a surprising laugh awaits you on the very next page.
Children of Paradise: The Struggle for the Soul of Iran, by Laura Secor. Riverhead Books, 2016. 528p. Reviewed by Tom Huf (Babolsar, Mashhad, Tehran, 1967-71).
This compelling account of Iran’s search for a modern identity will fill gaps for Iran volunteers in understanding what happened after the Peace Corps departed in 1976. Laura Secor’s spare and precise language—
she’s a journalist—tempers her scholarly approach. Even the densest material, thick with unfamiliar names, is
a pleasure to read and rings true to those who know Iran well. This evocative narrative emerges from her deep
engagement with history, personal contacts, and many visits to Iran.
Secor commences with Ali Shariati, the pre-Khomeini activist who led the opposition after the 1953 antiMossadegh coup. He, with others, paved the way for the Children of Paradise, Iranian sociologists, writers,
philosophers, and cultural critics who inspired the pre- revolutionaries and the current moderates alike. Before
1979, these intellectuals risked imprisonment. According to Secor, during the brutal 1980s, Supreme Leader
Khomeini maintained control by keeping the leftist, secular intelligentsia and senior government officials off
balance. Eliminating effective dissent by the few who dared question his hard line stance left Khomeini unopposed in his authorization of unprecedented political executions.
Iran began the 1990s with the world’s second highest rate of political executions (after China), repudiating
the idealistic visions of the Children of Paradise for a country of justice, fairness, and opportunity. But, remarkably, in subsequent decades it has emerged with the cultural willpower to reengage with the world and
with a nascent moderate opposition. Secor’s account closes with the lauded 2013 election of President Hassan
Rouhani. The 2015 nuclear agreement followed.
This is an excellent source for answers on how the actions of the Islamic Republic and the voices of its people can be so dissonant. For Iran volunteers, it is a handbook for the Peace Corps’ Third Goal: promoting a
better understanding of Iran and its peoples among Americans.
If you have suggestions of books to review, or would like to review books for this column, please contact
Mary Marks: mary@peacecorpsiran.org.
Please Forward KhabarNameh to Your Friends
From the President
Advocacy: Political and Cultural Dimensions
By Carolyn Yale (Shiraz, 1974-76)
In today’s politically charged atmosphere, thoughtful attention to foreign policy and discussions of the Middle East in particular either overlook Iran or are riddled with animosity. The
prospect of cooperative relations with Iran is overshadowed by distrust and threats of punitive
measures. This is not a promising way forward.
PCIA is putting new energy into advocacy regarding Iran through our Advocacy Committee,
now headed by board member Kathleen MacLeod (Tehran, Gorgon, 1964-66). Advocacy
reaches beyond political issues into education outreach in this country and “cultural diplomacy” with Iran. Interest in other cultures carries us outside the realpolitik of Washington to people and their lives. Interests in common can become the basis for cooperation. The following are major elements of our advocacy and outreach:
• Reliable information: Our website pr ovides online pr esentations and links to sour ces we consider
worthwhile. We try to select sources that are fair and factually reliable, although we don’t expect everyone to agree with everything we post or circulate. In addition, our Facebook group provides a good opportunity for lively discussions on matters related to Iran. This is an excellent way to engage in dialog
with Iranians and to learn about the Iran of today.
• Opportunities for personal experience: Looking to the futur e, we will suppor t pr ogr ams that
bring Iranians and Americans together, both on an individual level and collectively, whether in the arts,
education, academia, various professions, or simply to promote friendships. We want to encourage more
travel to Iran and professional and cultural exchanges. We will also look for opportunities to participate
in events sponsored by others, such as the Now Ruz celebrations held by Iranian-American communities
across the country. We can leverage our message by engaging on a project-specific basis with organizations whose values and goals in building understanding and trust align with ours. We will encourage our
members to be involved in these projects.
• Political voice: Our political advocacy will focus on suppor t for the J oint Compr ehensive Plan of
Action (“Nuclear Agreement”) and specific measures such as changes in visa programs that reduce barriers to international travel and professional and cultural exchange. We want government to support the
kinds of “personal diplomacy” that are the heart of Peace Corps.
Advocacy must be realistic and judicious. We recognize that in Iran, as in this country, there is a range of
“voices” and positions. We do not want to give the impression of naively aiding a repressive government, and
we certainly want to avoid interactions with Iranians sympathetic to our goals that would put them at risk.
On occasion, the board has released statements such as support of the proposed Nuclear Agreement
(summer 2015) and for party platform endorsement of diplomacy. These are signed by board members and not
intended to represent the opinion of association members. While we presume PCIA members share the values
in our mission statement, we cannot speak for all members on specific issues. We recognize that there are differing perspectives and ask that, in supporting our mission, you speak from your own experience and judgment. You can contact me at carolyn@peacecorpsiran.org.
In the coming year, PCIA’s Advocacy Committee will focus on these issues:
•
•
•
Implementing the spirit and letter of the Nuclear Agreement
Using diplomacy and other peaceful means to resolve issues between Iran and the United States
Easing restrictions on visas, consistent with implementation of the Nuclear Agreement.
The PCIA Board of Directors organizes its activities into three general categories. Current programs/activities are listed in bold,
along with one or more examples for future action.
• Membership engagement: Khabar Nameh, From the Field, website, social media, finding friends, recording volunteers’ stories.
Archive material.
• Conferences and events: Participate in the NPCA Conference Sept. 2016; Plan PCIA conference within next two years.
• Outreach and advocacy: Advocacy Committee focusing on issues of policy and government; Sister Cities, cultur al exchanges.
(Musicians, continued from page 7)
Susan and Donald Oehler (Tehr an, 1968-70) were graduates of New York’s Juilliard School of Music, playing flute and clarinet respectively. Donald was
principal clarinetist with both orchestras. He taught at the Conservatory of
Music for two years, traveled with a young string quartet from the orchestra,
and organized a chamber music series with Susan. He recalls being “roped”
into conducting a brass ensemble that fellow musician Jerry Kempton organized. They tackled Copland’s The Fanfare for a Common Man among other
pieces. At the end of his stay, Don soloed with guest conductor, Karl Oesterriecher, from Vienna. Susan played flute with both orchestras, taught at the
Don
conservatory, and played in chamber music concerts she and Don organized.
Susan
She credits Jay Crook for recruiting them in the first place and always being very interested in
the orchestra, often attending their concerts.
Arrival of Second Group
In 1970, Jerry, Susan, and Don departed and three new musicians arrived. After language
and cultural training in Philadelphia and Karadj during the summer of 1970, they took their
seats onstage with the symphony orchestra.
Phil Schutzman (Tehr an, 1970-72), played percussion with the symphony. He had difficulties over his percussionist role and was disappointed
that he did not have the opportunity to teach percussion at the conservatory.
He left just three months short of two years.
Marilyn Swindler (Tehr an, 1970-72), flutist, arrived with a Bachelor
of Music from The Juilliard School. Marilyn played solos with the orchestra
both seasons, as well as with a woodwind quintet. She taught flute at both
Phil
the classical and traditional music conservatories. Along with Judy Bevans2
(Tehran, 1970-72), she performed Baroque music recitals at a Tehran
church, playing flute while Judy played the church’s harpsichord.
Marilyn
Diane Welzel (Tehr an, 1970-72), clarinetist, arrived in Iran with a
Bachelor of Music. She played solos with the orchestra both seasons, as well
as with a woodwind quintet. Unwelcomed by the male head of the conservatory, she taught
students at Tehran’s American-run international schools, Community School and Iranzamin3.
A year after their arrival, Diane, Marilyn, and Phil performed at Tahkt-e-Jamshid during
the 2,500 year celebration of the Persian Empire held on October 12-16, 1971. At the ancient
Persian capital, huge tents were set up; heads of state and dignitaries from around the world
attended. Diane recalls they were served black caviar and champagne on the airplane back to
Diane
Tehran.
In May of 1972, just eleven days before departing Iran, Marilyn and Diane were honored
to play solo pieces for President Richard Nixon when the thirty-piece orchestra played Mozart, Strauss, and
Gluck during a state dinner at Niavaran Palace. Having been briefed by advisors that American Peace Corps
volunteers played in the orchestra, President Nixon and his wife Pat met with them after dinner.
Post Peace Corps
Jerry Kempton has been music dir ector for over fifty pr oductions of musical theater and thr ee operas in the New York City area and is the founder and conductor of the Island Chamber Symphony. He is the
principal trombone with the Brooklyn Symphony and the Amore Opera Company in New York City and a
published composer and arranger. “The two years I spent in Iran were among the most interesting and broadening of my life…overall it was a great time to be in the Middle East.”
Judith Klein Linder Schneider is a Bar oque scholar and editor of Fr ench hor n sheet music. Other
than the reference to sheet music available on Amazon, I have been unable to locate her.
(Musicians, continued on page 15)
(Musicians, continued from page 14)
Don Oehler is Pr ofessor of Music at the Univer sity of Nor th Car olina at Chapel Hill, concer t ar tist,
member of the Carolina Wind Quintet, conductor of the Chapel Hill Philharmonia, and past director of the
Cours Internationale de Musique, Morges, Switzerland, and the Corso Internazionale di Musica in Tuscania, Italy. He is founder of the Chapel Hill Chamber Music Workshop. He keeps studying his Farsi as best he can and has only
positive experiences to report from his life in Tehran.
Susan Oehler Bush moved into ar ts administr ation. In 1989, she
started a record label in New York, Albany Records, which concentrates on
American composers and performers as well as previously unrecorded music.
They have released the music of Reza Vali, an Iranian composer now on the
faculty at Carnegie-Mellon, who was a student at the conservatory when the
volunteers taught there.
Phil Schutzman for med a jazz gr oup that per for med many of his
Diane meeting Pat Nixon (back to
original compositions, which often revealed an Iranian musical influence. He
camera) while the Shah looks on.
taught instrumental music for band, orchestra, and jazz ensembles in Stamford, Connecticut, for thirty-five years, retiring in June of 2013. Marrying for
the second time in 2006, his wife, Zohreh, is Iranian. “I had a wonderful experience living in Iran and it
changed the direction of my life,” an awareness voiced by so many volunteers who served in Iran.
Marilyn Swindler Shayegan r etur ned to Tehr an under Ir anian gover nment
contract to play in the orchestra from 1973-74. “I would be living in Iran now if not for
the revolution, probably.” Four years ago, she sold the medical billing company she
founded and retired. Remaining active as a performing artist, she plays the flute at recitals, small concerts, and with chamber and jazz groups. A watercolor artist for twenty
years, she continues to paint, and she enjoys time with her two sons, one living nearby
and one in Trinidad.
Diane Welzel Hargreaves completed her MM in clar inet per for mance at the
Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and then turned to computers as a profession.
Diane retired from IBM on May 31 of this year, and recently started a new chamber
group. For many years, she has played in several small orchestras in the Atlanta area and
taught private clarinet students.
The revolution of 1979 brought new philosophies about the performing arts. The
Diane and Marilyn
(partially hidden) at Shiraz-Persepolis Festival of Art ended with the revolution. And after a decade of welstate dinner.
coming both local and international music, opera, and dance artists to perform on its
stage, Roudaki Hall closed. The last performances were held in the fall of 1978, ending an
historic era of cultural growth in Iran. Roudaki Hall was renamed Vahdat Hall (Unity Hall) and reopened in
1987. The Tehran Symphony continues to perform; the opera company was dissolved.
1
The festival officially opened on September 11, 1967. See festival history http://tinyurl.com/jtqdr5k
Judy Bevans (BA Music, M.Ed. and MM Early Music) taught at Reza Pahlavi School for the Blind in Tehran.
While not assigned to Roudaki Hall, Judy performed for two years with Peace Corps volunteers at other venues, including playing jazz once a month at the Iran-America Society where she performed on the Society’s Steinway concert
grand piano. She, Marilyn, Phil, and other musicians recorded an LP at IAS, “Jazz at the Anjoman.” Following Peace
Corps, Judy worked as a music therapist with multi-handicapped children at the Perkins School of the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts, and returned to school to study harpsichord.
3
See PCIA member Tara Bahrampour’s article at http://tinyurl.com/hqlge67.
2
Thanks to the volunteers who corresponded with me about their Peace Corps experiences for this article. Thanks also to
Jay Crook, whose extensive knowledge of Iran helped with a few of the finer details. Historically, this group was one of
Peace Corps Iran’s specialized assignments, presenting unique opportunities for young musicians willing to participate
in an unproven field of Peace Corps/Iran collaboration. As was the case with the doctors and their families
(KhabarNameh, February 2016), Peace Corps did not continue this specialized program. genna@peacecorpsiran.org.
Recollections
Edited by Dave Devine (Zahedan, 1971-73)
Short vignettes about our Iran experiences are the focus of this column. Please send
“Recollections” submissions of approximately 450 words to ddevine1705@yahoo.com or call
me at 520-325-2108 for information.
Short Sketches from Iran
By Gerry Emmerich (Tehran, 1971-73)
Our small training group arrived at Mehrabad Airport on a hot, dusty night in June 1971.We had been on a
plane for what seemed like days—Philadelphia, New York, Paris, Rome, Beirut, and finally Tehran. We were
exhausted, but anxious to check out the capital during our bus ride to the Hotel Atlantic. There were tankers
putting water into the joob at the street’s edge, and also watering the chenars (plane trees) growing along the
joob. We were very surprised to see a man relieving himself into the joob, but it
was midnight and there weren’t many people around. About a hundred yards further along, and a little downhill, we were very surprised to see another man
drinking out of the joob.
After training in Karaj, I moved to a first floor apartment in central Tehran that
had lots of room for visitors. Through an atrium open to the sky, my bathroom
was in a small enclosure and it had a shower nozzle located directly above the
mostarah (toilet hole). I quickly wrote home for some “soap on a rope,” and it
worked just fine. I also had a little friend who lived
in the mostarah. Whenever water went down it, a
little lizard would rush out. Visitors were always surprised, but it seemed he kept the mosquito and fly
population in the bathroom under control.
One of my first letters home—I needed the “soap
Gerry Emmerich with pike at
on a rope” right away—described my bathroom and
Bandar Pahlavi.
its mostarah complete with a detailed diagram. My
grandmother, who lived with my family, was both
appalled and alarmed. In the only letter she wrote to me (her immigrant family
required her to go to work after completing fourth grade, so she wasn’t comfortable writing letters), she was so concerned that she offered to send me a “real toilet.” In the next several letters home, I had to convince my grandmother that she
didn’t need to send me a toilet.
(Gerry’s encounters with Iran will be continued in the next issue.)
Trivia Corner
Sibil Gro Gozashtan (Mustache Pledge)
From “Rom Rom,” Editorial Consultant
Years ago, in traditional societies, including some in Iran, when two men entered into a contract, they each
plucked a hair from their mustache as a pledge—something like a handshake once was in America. Then, if one
or the other defaulted on the contract, his entire beard had to be shaved as a sign of the breach.
Contributions to this column can be sent to joan@peacecorpsiran.org.
On the World Wide Web
Iran in Political Party Platforms
By Douglas Meyer (Semnan, 1967-68)
Unless you live under a rock in an Antarctic lake (see Lake Vida in Wikipedia), by this
time you have likely had all the political news that you care to hear.
So this article will be short. My esteemed editor and I agreed that we would do nothing
more than publish links to the platform planks of the major parties as they relate to matters
Iranian. To avoid an appearance of partisanship, the platforms are presented in the order in
which they were published, or first noticed by me. I was able to find little specifically
mentioning Iran; mostly they are about motherhood and apple pie. Nevertheless, I’ve extracted a few tidbits that could be construed as relating to Iran and its part of the world.
Quick platform comparisons can be found at http://2016election.procon.org/.
Green: http://tinyurl.com/h37yr5f
The Green Party supports the “joint comprehensive plan of action” signed in July, 2015 by Iran and the P5+1 (five permanent
members of the UN Security Council: China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States plus Germany), and the European Union, which confirms Iran’s status as a zone free of nuclear weapons. According to the United States National Intelligence
Estimate, Iran halted an alleged active nuclear weapons program in the Fall of 2003. Iran, which has signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, has consistently called for a nuclear-free zone in the entire Middle East.
The “joint comprehensive plan of action” provides that in return for Iran upholding its agreements to rid itself of nuclear material as verified by inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), current economic sanctions by the US, European Union, and UN Security Council will be lifted. The Green Party supports the swift elimination of these economic sanctions on Iran and looks to the normalization of relations between Iran and the United States. In keeping with UN resolutions
call for a nuclear-free Middle East, the Green Party also calls on Israel, the only nuclear power in the Middle East with at least
200 nuclear warheads, to dismantle its nuclear weapons program and sign on to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.
Libertarian: https://www.lp.org/platform
3.3 International Affairs American foreign policy should seek an America at peace with the world. Our foreign policy should
emphasize defense against attack from abroad and enhance the likelihood of peace by avoiding foreign entanglements.
We would end the current U.S. government policy of intervention, including military and economic aid. We recognize the
right of all people to resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights. We condemn the use of force, and especially the
use of terrorism, against the innocent, regardless of whether such acts are committed by governments or by political or revolutionary groups.
Republican: https://www.gop.com/the-2016-republican-party-platform/
There are many mentions of Iran and Iranians in this document. They are too numerous to cite directly.
You’ll find them on the following pages of this pdf: http://tinyurl.com/jpgn3sy pp.25, 26, 46 (twice), 50
(twice) and 54.
Democratic: https://www.demconvention.com/platfor m/
A PDF version is also available: http://tinyurl.com/h35hp5b.
Again, various mentions, and too many to directly link to. They can be found on pp. 39, 40 (twice), 43 (a
specific plank vis á vis Iran), 44 (with respect to relations with Russia).
*Apologies for that obscure and fairly useless reference, but when I saw the name I knew I just had to work it into this article as
homage to one of our four student Farsi teachers during our “total immersion” language training in Fresno (1967). I was unable to
locate any lakes named after Bahram, Jahan, or Siamak, unfortunately. You know who you are.
PCIA Members Present Papers at International Conference in Vienna
By Jasamin Rostam-Kolayi
On Thursday, August 4, 2016, a panel at the Eleventh Biennial Conference of the International Society for Iranian Studies (recently renamed the Association for Iranian
Studies) in Vienna, Austria, featured three Peace Corps Iran volunteers who became
scholars of modern Iranian history, culture, and politics. Mary
Elaine Hegland (Mahabad, Gor gan, 1966-68), John Lorentz
(Karaj,1962-64), and Tom Ricks (Mashhad, Mahabad, 1964-66)
discussed their observations and analyses of major statesponsored reforms of the 1960s, such as land reform and literacy
Jasamin Rostam-Kolayi campaigns. The panel, entitled “Peace Corps Volunteers in Iran:
Witnesses to the 1960s,” was organized by Jasamin RostamKolayi, Associate Pr ofessor , Califor nia State Univer sity, Fuller ton.
In the first paper, “The Peace Corps in Iran: A Case Study of US-Iran Relations in
the 1960s,” Rostam-Kolayi examined the Peace Corps administration’s collaboration
with the Shah’s White Revolution and the volunteers’ ambivaMary Elaine Hegland
lence toward aspects of reform implemented in the areas where
they served.
The second presentation by Lorentz from Shawnee State University, entitled “The
Early Years of the Peace Corps in Iran (1962-64): A Volunteer’s Perspective,” discussed
the unique personal experiences and observations of a volunteer in Iran 1, the first group
of Americans in the Peace Corps sent to Iran as witnesses to and sometimes participants
in the Shah’s reform efforts.
In the third paper, “From Agriculture to Urban Real Estate: A
John Lorentz
21st Century Perspective on the 1962 Aliabad Land Reform,”
Hegland of Santa Clara University, charted the varied and adverse consequences of
land reform in Fars province.
In the fourth and final paper, “Peasant Unrest in West Azerbaijan Based on Eyewitness Accounts, 1964-1966,” Ricks explored mixed reactions to land reform and literacy projects in rural Azerbaijan from the mid-to-late 1960s. Ricks also chaired a panel
entitled “Slavery in 19th and 20th Century Iran” and delivered a paper on “Iranian DiasTom Ricks
pora Trading Communities in the Indian Ocean: A Reassessment of the Slave Trade in
19th Century Qajar Iran.”
The Association for Iranian Studies, formerly the Society for Iranian Studies and then the International Society for Iranian Studies, was founded in 1967 by Iranian-born graduate students in the New England and MidAtlantic regions with the aim of supporting the field of Iranian Studies at the international level. Affiliated
with the Middle East Studies Association (MESA), it is a private, non-political organization with the goal of
promoting high standards of scholarship in the field, encouraging the teaching of Iranian studies at the graduate and undergraduate level, and facilitating scholarly exchange among its membership. It publishes a peerreviewed journal, Iranian Studies, three times a year. As of 2003, the biennial conferences have been held outside of the United States, in cities such as Toronto, Istanbul, Montreal, and Vienna, this year’s venue.
Full abstracts can be found at http://tinyurl.com/jywtac4,and more information on the Association for Iranian Studies is available at http://societyforiranianstudies.org/.
Peace Corps Iran Association on the Web
Website: Our official website featur ing news and ar chives is at www.peacecorpsiran.org.
Facebook Group: You can join at https://www.facebook.com/groups/PeaceCorpsIranAssociation/.
From the Field is the PCIA Boar d’s monthly e-newsletter for sharing information and organizational updates. ou can subscribe at http://eepurl.com/7ld95.
A Dark Day in Peace Corps Iran History: Fifty Years Later
By Genna Stead Wangsness, PCIA Historian, (Shiraz, Tehran, 1965-1971)
August 1, 1966, started out like any other for Peace Corps Iran trainees at the University of Texas Austin.
Peace Corps had held its first training at UT in 1965; the following year’s group arrived in June of 1966, their
departure for Iran scheduled upon completion of training on September
14.
All that changed twelve minutes before noon when a troubled young
man, Charles Whitman, climbed the university’s clock tower and began
shooting indiscriminately at those below. Peace Corps Iran trainee
Thomas A. Ashton was among those killed; sever al tr ainees wer e
injured and countless others were traumatized. Fifty years later, on August 1, 2016, the university dedicated a new memorial to honor the victims.
In the shadow of the university clock tower now sits a sunset red
granite memorial—names of the dead etched into a six-foot-tall stone: first on the list is Thomas Aquinas Ashton’s name.
The massive rock was quarried east of Austin in an area known as Enchanted Rock or Crying Rock—so
named because of local Tonkawa, Apache, and Comanche tribal beliefs that the rocks held magical or spiritual
powers. The memorial offers a place for all to honor the victims and for those affected by this heartbreaking
event to, perhaps, leave their sorrows.
In Memoriam
BRADLEY, Patrick of Pismo Beach, Califor nia, died Fr iday, Febr uar y 5, 2016, after a
year in hospice care. Pat was born in 1942 in West Bend, Wisconsin, graduated from George
Washington University, and joined the Peace Corps. He served from 1964-66 as a member of
Iran 5 in Lahijan and Tehran. In Iran, he met Karen Borchardt (Tehran, 1965-67) whom he
married on their return to the United States. After divorcing, Pat raised their two children, Michael and Shannon, as a single dad. In 1995, he met Jan Craven and they married in 2000. In
2011, Patrick and Jan joined ten other Iran 5 volunteers at the Portland, Oregon reunion, but in
2012 he was diagnosed with a neurological movement disorder. “A soft-spoken Irishman with a
twinkle in his eye Patrick was ethical and generous, living with courage and gratitude.” Pat is survived by his
devoted wife, Jan, his children, seven grandchildren, and other relatives.
ERDMAN, John Lyle of Spr ingfield, Illinois, died Wednesday, Febr uar y 24, 2016. J ohn
was born in Independence, Iowa. He served in Bandar Abbas from 1972-74 as part of a group of
vocational educational volunteers who trained in Rezaiyeh. After Peace Corps he began working for the railroads: he was employed as a signal maintainer for Chicago Northwestern Railroad, Amtrak, and Southern Pacific in California. Later he became a locomotive engineer for
Union Pacific Railroad until his retirement in 2012. He is survived by his wife Karen and other
family.
FISHBACH, H. Glen of Laguna Beach, Califor nia, died Tuesday, Mar ch 8, 2016, at the
age of 89. Glen served as Peace Corps Iran director from 1966-69 [see KhabarNameh, September 2014]. In addition, he was deputy director in India from 1963-66, and Peace Corps
western regional director from 1969-70. Glen’s family reports “He was at home overlooking
the Pacific Ocean, where he wanted to be. He was still an indomitable spirit but could not recover his failing body.” Director Fishbach is survived by his wife of 62 years, Eileen, his
(In Memoriam, continued on page 20)
(In Memoriam from page 19)
children Steve, Andrea (Andi), and Alisa, all of whom lived in Tehran during their father’s Iran assignment,
and five grandchildren. A celebration of his life was held Friday, July 8, in Laguna Beach.
SKINNER, David of Moscow, Idaho, passed away on J anuar y 28, 2016, at the age of 68.
After graduating from Washington State University in 1970 with a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture, specializing in soils, he joined the Peace Corps and served in Mashhad
from 1970-72. Dave traveled throughout Europe and North Africa during this time, where he
climbed Mt. Kenya before returning home in 1973. A first-class botanist specializing in native plants of the Palouse region of the northwest U.S., Dave spent 30 years working for the
USDA NRS Plant Materials Center in Pullman. He married Kris McRae and they later divorced. In 2008, he married Jo Bohna and they made Moscow their home. Dave cared deeply
about his family, nature, the environment, national parks, baseball, and so much more. He is
survived by his wife Jo, son, daughter, mother, brother, and other loved ones.
WILSON, Ernie died J uly 3, 2016, in Boise, Idaho, of a br ain tumor . As a member of
Iran 23, Municipal Public Works, Ernie served in Gorgon as a teacher with the Ministry of
Natural Resources. The photo of Ernie is from the Peace Corps Trainee Booklet. His life
was filled with the love of the outdoors, road trips, trains, music, and his many friends. He
was a graduate of Oregon State University and was on the OSU rowing team. Returning to
the U.S. he settled in Seattle working as a surveyor. He married Cheryl Amundson in 1983,
but later divorced. Ernie is survived by his sister, Rhonda Hughes (Larry), nephews Raleigh Hughes and Sean Wilson, nieces Laura Glanner (Jeremy) and Erica Broflovski, and
brother Jeff Wilson (Kay).
Other Deaths of Note
BILL, James Alban died at the age of 76 in Williamsbur g, Vir ginia, on November 21,
2015, surrounded by his wife, son, and daughter after a long struggle with Parkinson’s disease
and dementia. Jim is survived by his wife of fifty years, Ann Marie Bachhuber Bill, two children, and other loved ones. After Jim and Ann married, they spent two years living in Tehran,
immersed fully in the culture, while Jim did research for his Ph.D. For the next twenty-five
years, Jim made countless trips to Iran and other Middle Eastern countries to advance U.S.
understanding of a part of the world that he loved. In the foreign policy world, he was known
as one of the preeminent experts on the Middle East, Iran in particular. He began his career at
the University of Texas at Austin where he taught for twenty years. Over the course of his career, Jim published ten books, one the highly acclaimed The Eagle and the Lion: The Tragedy
of American-Iranian Relations.
DEKKER, Jerry died on May 5, 2016, in San Fr ancisco, Califor nia. With extensive
travel experience in Iran and the Middle East, Jerry worked for Iran Traveler
(www.irantraveler.net), a travel organization frequented by volunteers wanting to return
to Iran. Jerry went to Iran following graduate school, where he taught at Tehran’s
Iranzamin, worked in Ahwaz, and became fluent in Farsi. Leaving Iran just prior to the
Islamic Revolution, he returned to the U.S. and became an instructor of Humanities at
New College of California in San Francisco. In 1997, he returned to Iran and began organizing tours, which he did up until his death.
SHAMMAI, Sayed Abbas of League City, Texas, died on Febr uar y 2, 2016, at the age of 91, following a
fall. Born and raised in Fars Province (Shiraz), Engineer Shamai received Agricultural Engineering training in
North Carolina. In Iran, he served with the Rural Public Works Program of Iran’s Ministry of Interior. He was
(In Memoriam, continued on page 21)
(In Memoriam, continued from page 20)
totally dedicated to the improvement of the life of rural people throughout Iran, especially after the Shah’s
“White Revolution” (Land Reform). He worked with U.S.-AID and other national NGOs. In 1966 he welcomed U.S. Peace Corps volunteers, providing technical assistance to Iran's villages and provincial centers.
He was totally dedicated to improving Iran’s people as well as mentoring his Peace Corps volunteers. “I miss
him like a father,” commented Jim Fox (Pakistan, 1964-66; Iran, 1966-69).
Tributes
Remembering Peace Corps Iran Director Glen Fishbach
I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Iran from 1966 to 1968. Glen was a terrific director. However, more importantly, he was one of the finest people I ever met.
-Dennis Brown.
I, too, was proud to serve under Glen in Iran. He exemplified the spirit of the early Peace Corps.
-Alex Patico.
I was stationed in Sahneh, Iran, from May 1966 to February 1968, and remember his guiding hand.
-Dr. Gary G. Frank.
I remember him well—a good man with a good heart. I was there at the time.
-Deanna Bayless Dennis, 1965-67.
Glen was a father figure to me. I was proud to have him walk me down the aisle when Roger and I married
in St. Abraham’s Church, Tehran, in 1967.
-Genna Stead Wangsness.
Remembering James Bill
What words will do justice to Jim’s memory? We knew him and his wonderful family since the late 1960s
when he was doing his Ph.D. research in Tehran and he used to come to Hamadan to speak at Peace Corps
training programs. I remember best his passion on the subject of Iran and the United States and his willingness to question in public the easy assumptions of the time. In the early 1970s, at an MEI conference in
Washington, he confronted an Iranian embassy spokesman who was telling us how wonderful everything
was. He did so at a time when many scholars found it expedient to ignore the abuses of the Pahlavi era. I still
assign his The Eagle and the Lion in my classes, and his portrayal of the U.S. embassy in Tehran in the 60s
and 70s is both accurate and devastating. In that book, he showed more charity to me than I deserved. We did
not always agree on matters Iranian, but I always admired him for his passion, his honesty, and his belief that
things should be better between Iran and the United States. He was also a superb teacher, although his academic career was tragically cut short. We will miss his friendship, wisdom, and compassion.
-John Limbert, U.S. Naval Academy.
We welcome comments for publication, especially additional information on the Peace Corps service of
the deceased. In addition to reporting on recent deaths, PCIA maintains a memorial book of those who have
died. If you know of anyone who has died, have memories of anyone who served in Iran or further information that you would like to share, contact Genna Stead Wangsness at genna@peacecorpsiran.org.
Facebook Group: PCIA member s ar e constantly contr ibuting infor mation, links to news ar ticles, pictures, and comments to the PCIA Facebook group. We especially welcome comments about articles you
have read in the KhabarNameh.
You can join at https://www.facebook.com/groups/PeaceCorpsIranAssociation/.
Peace Corps Iran Association Membership and Interest Form
(Please print this form and mail to Doug Schermer, 1040 Dakota Ave., Wayland, IA 52654
CONTACT INFORMATION
Name _______________________________________________
•
•
Last name in Iran, if different ____________________________ •
Address _____________________________________________ •
City__________________________ State _____ Zip_________
•
Phone/Home __________________ Cell ___________________
Email _______________________________________________
ABOUT YOUR PEACE CORPS SERVICE
(Membership is open to all who support the mission and goals of
PCIA. It is not necessary to have been a PC Volunteer.)
•
•
•
Check all that apply: [ ] PC Volunteer [ ] Staff [ ] Trainer
•
[ ] Spouse/Partner [ ] Friend of PCIA [ ] Remained in Iran
after PC service [ ] Other _____________________________
Years of PC service ________________ to _________________
Training site _________________________________________
Peace Corps Iran group number __________________________
Type of program ______________________________________
Site(s) ______________________________________________
Please use reverse side to add additional comments about your Peace Corps
service and any post Peace Corps experiences you had in Iran.
PCIA...
Publishes KhabarNameh, an electronic
newsletter, twice a year.
Issues a monthly e-letter, From the Field.
Manages a growing database of the Peace
Corps Iran community.
Sponsors conferences and reunions: Portland in 2011, Boston in 2013, and Austin,
in 2015.
Maintains a memorial book of Iran volunteers who have died.
Collects stories and reminiscences from
Iran RPCVs.
Hosts a Facebook group for news and discussions about Iran
https://www.facebook.com/groups/
PeaceCorpsIranAssociation/
Supports its website:
www.peacecorpsiran.org.
Advocates on issues of interest to PCIA
members
PCIA is a registered 501(c)(3) corporation
chartered in Oregon. There are no dues but
donations to Peace Corps Iran Association are
appreciated. Contributions to PCIA are tax
deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Checks made out to PCIA should be sent
to Doug Schermer, Treasurer, 1040 Dakota
Ave, Wayland, IA, 52654.
Our official address is 4101 SW Hillsdale
Ave., Portland, OR 97239. You can contact
PCIA President Carolyn Yale at
carolyn@peacecorpsiran.org.
PCIA INTEREST SURVEY
PCIA PRIVACY
PCIA will not release member information to outside organizations
without your consent. Check below to give permission to share contact
information (name, address, email, telephone) and/or Peace Corps service information as specified.
Please complete this interest survey. We will
use this to organize projects and target emails
of interest to you in addition to emails sent to
everyone.
OK to share your contact information and Peace Corps service
[ ] Advocacy
information with other PCIA members and be included in the membership
[ ] Legacy and History of PC in Iran
directory? ……………………………………….……..….…[ ] Yes…..[ ] No [ ] Outreach
[ ] Education
OK to share your contact information with the National
Peace Corps Association? ………………………………..…[ ] Yes…..[ ] No [ ] Strategic Partnerships
[ ] Communications
I wish to receive the monthly e-newsletter From the Field….[ ] Yes
[ ] No [ ] Fund Raising
[ ] Other _____________________________
Peace Corps Iran Association promotes peace and understanding between Americans and Iranians; fosters appreciation of Iran
in the U.S. through education, outreach, and advocacy; and preserves and shares the Iran Peace Corps legacy.

September KhabarNameh

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