Then They Came For Me...

I just finished this amazing book by Maziar Bahari.  Maziar was raised an Iranian and then emigrated to Canada and was living in London at the time he flew back to Iran to cover the 2009 elections.  Throughout his career, he had tried very hard to stay neutral and avoid the topics that would make him a target for the Iranian government.  Even in that neutrality, they still targeted him and arrested him for sedition and conspiracy.

This is his story

The book is beautifully written and shares the history of Iran and its various tyrants in a very understandable way and this is no small feat, as the complexities are many.

One passage at the end of the book that I thought was really poignant:

"So far the United States has been trying to stop Iran's nuclear program through financial and economic sanctions.  But Iranians have lived with sanctions since the beginning of the revolution, and shrewd Iranian officials know quite well how to use legal and financial loopholes in the international system to their own advantage...  The idea of an American or Israeli attack against Iran is, at the moment, a nightmare, but it could quickly turn into reality with disastrous results for both Iran and the rest of the world.  I can understand other countries' frustration with the lack of development in nuclear negotiations with Iran.  After all, many Iranian diplomats and officials are erratic thugs like Rosewater [his torturer throughout the book] (incidentally, some Iranian diplomats are former interrogators and torturers).  I also know that many American politicians seek reelection by displays of saber rattling with Iran.  But a military attack against Iran will militarize the regime further, and will encourage even nationalist pro-Western Iranians to side with the government against a foreign enemy.  My nightmare scenario of a violent crushing of all remnants of the democratic movement in Iran and a foreign military attack would also mean jeopardizing Western interests in the region for the foreseeable future." (p. 320-322)

The thing that struck me throughout the book is the Nationalist pride of Iranians for their country and their continued belief that it can be made better and turned around.  Even Maziar's 80-something mother refused to leave Iran after her son's arrest and then release.  

Iran's history is rich and of its people - many are kind and truly passionate about a new way...
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