Second in a series.
Re: “I Won’t Say Politically Forbidden Words”
Iran is not a Third World country.
Recently they received billions “of their money” back that can be used in more development — if spent wisely!
In the late 1970s, most Iranian citizens — intellectuals, peasants, women, religious persons, leftists, socialists, communists — went outside regularly and shouted “Death to America! Death to the Shah! Hail Khomeini!”
They chose their own path and were proud!
Thirty-seven years later, many Iranians feel they made a mistake. They love their country. They are comfortable with their religion.
But as they watch Dish TV programs from America and see waves of Hollywood movies, they think that is the true everyday life of Americans.
Some of their friends have come to America in pursuit of political asylum, some as refugees. Of course there are Iranians who really are in these categories. But not all.
What has pushed me to write this essay is some contacts I recently have had with these people.
One day last week, I went to Santa Monica beach, let’s say with a friend.
The weather was nice, naturally. I felt an ache when I saw so many of our homeless community – including veterans who have sacrificed the best times of their lives for their country. They fought in unbelievable conditions , in the raw battlefields of Vietnam, Korea and Iraq.
Now they are homeless. How can that be?
We passed by an artificial cemetery on the beach that show the condition of our victims and ask donations for their families.
Other homeless persons were visibly not healthy — physically or mentally.
Why aren’t they at hospitals or in psychiatric facilities?
(To be continued)
Rosemary Hartounian Cohen, who lives in the Fairfax District, received her Ph.D in sociology from the Sorbonne in Paris. She lived in two other countries before moving, with her husband and four children, to Los Angeles in 1984. She has published five books in America. Since 1985, she has operated Atelier de Paris, an international art business, on Robertson Boulevard. Her email address is Rosemary@atelierdeparis.com.