This was Children’s Book Week and every day this week I’ve given away a book.  So if you’re reading this I hope you appreciate how books are not just another consumer item, books are doors to reading, literacy and knowledge.

According to our today’s standards the ONLY true way to support an author which you like is to go out there and purchase her books.

Unfortunately no matter how many awards I win or I’m nominated for, or if my books are being taught in classrooms across the USA, the only factor which motivates a publisher to publish more of my work is the profit margin on the magical SALES NUMBER.

So if you got my book for free maybe tell your local library to purchase a copy, your school library, your friend? Maybe give a copy as a gift which keeps on giving. 

I am happy to promote my books and ask you to please buy them because I work incredibly hard on making them and it took me years of hard work and pounding the pavements to find a path for them to the publishing world. Again I want to remind you that books are not just another consumer item, books are more than that and I’m elated to be a contributing part to the book world. 

Thank you for reading and reading to your children. The first email comment to me gets the last free book, I hope I can do more of these giveaways in the future. Good luck.

May 10 2012 It’s Thursday and I’ve been giving away books all week. It feels awesome. So send me a message and be the first one. This is the second time today because of a misunderstanding I’ve already given two books out today but the more the merrier. Woohoo. Here we go. Good Luck. Email me here from the contact page. YAY.

 IRAN 101 – Post 3

Context - Neighbors in 1906

So as I said in Post 2 one of the most important events in the past 250 years of the history of Iran was the Iran’s Constitutional Revolution in 1906 which demanded the monarch to hand over his power to a parliament.

This forward thinking of the educated and the elite aristocrats which immediately attracted the public support and pushed the monarchy to a change has always fascinated me. The significance of this movement becomes tangible as we examine how forward this thinking really was in the international context of time and place.

So let’s look at Iran’s neighbors and see where they were in 1906.

Russia [if you look at the map of Iran now, you will not see Russia, you will see Armenia, Azarbaijan and Turkmenistan, all of these countries at that time were colonies of The Russian Empire.]

Russian Empire at the time had some very interesting turns of events. In 1905 we have a significant revolt of the Russian people against the absolute monarchy of the Tsar. This revolution led to the Russian Constitution of 1906.

The Russian Constitution of 1906 is a revision of laws initiated by the imperial government of Tsar to hand over the absolute power of the Tsar and involve a parliament to share the power with the monarch.

Iraq – Was not a country. The province after being the subject of squabbles between the Persian Safavid Dynasty and the Ottoman Turks was taken over by the Turks. There is a long history of Iraq as a part of the Persian Empire. For now we focus on the fact that in 1906 Iraq was a region occupied by the Turkish Ottomans who in 1906 were facing their own problems of keeping up their outdated empire.

As the new imperial forces of Netherlands, England and other western countries began their new strategies of ruling over the world by modern colonization ways of finding and exploiting mines, and the people of the countries without establishing direct colonial governments, the Ottoman Empire still tried to exert power by lording over lands and extending boundaries.

This sort of “Empire Building” proved troublesome due to the uprising of the locals who did not want to be ruled by foreigners. Also conquering lands without having the infrastructure to exploit the riches and the labor of the occupied land did not deem much profitable for the Turks.

So in 1906 Iraq did not have a central government or a government of its own people.

Turkey – Turkey was the seat of the Ottoman Empire and it was an absolute dictatorship. The Ottoman Turks as mentioned above, were not up to date with the new ways of the world domination, they formed alliances with other empires but in the end failed. In Turkey of 1906 an anti-monarch movement by the name of Young Turks started to shape.

Afghanistan – Afghani nation is a proud nation who whether we like it or not their small but important country, Afghanistan, has always been a part of the Greater Iran until the early 1700’s. Half of the country speaks Persian fluently and better than Iranians do (I say this because the words they use are the older words of the Persian language and I’m simply in love with the way they speak it). One of the most important literary figures of the Persian language the poet Rumi was born in Afghanistan, of course at the time Afghanistan was a part of Iran. Our culture and history is so intertwined and similar that it baffles me why are we not one nation, and why don’t we share our country with our Afghan brothers and sisters? The answer is India, England and much more which I know you will read about it at your own leisure. For now we focus on this fact that in 1906 Afghanistan consisted of many tribes and it was under the control of India and India as we know at that time was a British Colony!

In 1906 Afghanistan did not have a central government of its own people.

Pakistan -  Pakistan in 1906 was a British Colony, it was not a country with a constitutional law and a central government and it would not be one until the late forties. Pakistan used to be a part the Greater Iran at times throughout the history but Pakistan has always had a stronger cultural proximity to India. The reason Pakistan became a country lays in the desire of the Islamic Separatists of India. In 1906 Pakistan did not have a central government of its own people.

Saudi-Arabia  - in 1906 the Arabian lands on the peninsula now called the Saudi-Arabia was consisted of a few small merchant towns and many Bedouin tribes. The region was under the lands conquered by the Ottomen Turks. Saudi-Arabia is a brand new country and in 1906 did not have a central government or a central leading body of its own people.

I am going to stop here and invite you to take a look at where Iran was in comparison to its neighbors and the ever expanding colonial powers and the discovery of oil and the awareness of its educated class.

As you can see there are vast differences between these countries in the region and I’m glad I can give you the quick version. At the same time I am very sad that I do not have the education or the time to delve into each subject deeper. However our goal about this blog is set at a Cliff’s Notes level, so I suppose we’re good.

As you all remember I said this blog is to get the ball rolling and to give you a bit of information about Iran. In a fast world like this I suppose even this blog might have some sort of value.

I also want to point out about the fact that these days there’s a tendency for people to think that some sort of uprising is in the works for the entire world. That may very well be the case but in fact there has always been some sort of an uprising in the works. As you can see nations have always been influenced by each other and related to each other, one’s triumph has always inspired the others to move and intelligent aware people of all nations have always changed the course of history.

The reason we think there is an uprising is because we now have the ability to know more and faster. As we type in to see “Cat” videos we will come across “Catastrophe” videos, internet is funny that way so use at your own risk because with knowledge comes responsibility and power.

Thank you for reading about Iran. 

Gajar Dynasty, William Knox D’Arcy, British Petroleum,  Iran’s Constitutional Revolution- 1906-1908 

I like to start with this; in 1908 when a lad by the name of William Knox D’Arcy found oil in Iran he soon after became the director of British Petroleum.

A few years right before this history changing discovery of oil, Iran had gone through a significant turning point called the Iran’s Constitutional Revolution.

Iran’s Constitutional Revolution was actually initiated by the aristocrats, educated elite and religious leaders in order to curb the absolute authority of the king. In the end the revolt succeeded to create the first parliament for Iran.

Like any revolution this one also involved, strikes, scuffles, imprisonments and loss of lives.  It’s important to know that the religious leaders who met the population regularly in the mosques on Fridays, (similar to priests who meet the population on Sundays at the churches)  had a great power in conveying the word to the people.The elite and aristocrats used this clergy power for propaganda efforts and literally put the religious leaders on a pedestal throughout the course of this revolt.

Iran’s Parliament was established in 1906. Elections for the members were held and a legislative body at the parliament was formed.

For the first time in the history of Iran the king of the country handed over some power to another faction. Iran’s Monarchy became a Constitutional Monarchy, at least on paper.

I like to end with this; in 1908 when a lad by the name of William Knox D’Arcy found oil in Iran he soon after became the director of British Petroleum.

Oh wonderful glorious liquid black gold what if you had never been found? What if Mr. D’Arcy never found a drop of you in Iran? Where would Iran be now? An industrial country with a democratic government? A poverty stricken desert? An up and coming country emerging from the USSR communism? We will never know.

IRAN 101 – Detour to reply to a question.

As I mentioned on the web, that I’m going to write a blog about Iran, my friend Irina Mirskaya asked, is it still the same since you left? Mine had changed so much, I’d feel as a stranger in my own town.

Irina is an illustrator/textile designer/author who is also an immigrant to USA from a lovely country which I want to know more about.

I think this is an excellent question and one that I can reply to in a novel. But since I promised to be brief here, I’ll stick to my promise and write the novel later. I warn that his is already going to be a long post so please accept my apologies in advance.

Due to school, work, finances, family obligations and the fact that most of my very close relatives live right here within twenty minutes of my doorstep in the US of A, I have not traveled back to Iran in the past almost three decades, except for once, about fifteen years ago.

Irina, I can not begin to tell you how many things have changed. But I felt very Iranian there. In fact for some odd reason I felt more Iranian there than the other Iranians who lived there! That’s what I felt fifteen years ago, but I’m over it now, specially after the uprising a few years ago. I salute them. I felt they claimed their country back. I was mad and angry at them and now in my heart all I have is pure respect, love and admiration for the brave people of Iran who are trying to survive.

As I was born in Iran, I speak the language fluently. This gives me the privilege of having access to some of the most wonderful literary works written in the human history. I specially benefit from knowing the language because I read these works and use them in my everyday life. As I’m an author this knowledge is of immense value to me. So I feel doubly Iranian and immersed in the literature. I also know the history, the culture and a little more about the arts and the architecture of Iran than the average fellow.

So yes I felt and feel very Iranian.

However many Iranians there told me that,

·       I spoke with an American accent

·       I did not care about Iran

·       and I have become an American.

To that I must reply it wasn’t really the accent they objected to and found foreign, it was more my style of conversation. It’s true, I didn’t know or use the new slangs but the fact that I spoke my mind, I spoke direct and I spoke to the point seemed to be the problem. I realized this is not the way of conversation in Iran.

I realized the political and social atmosphere, the revolution, the war and myriads of incidents which the people of Iran had gone through in the past few years made them skirt around the issues they wanted to address. It made them exercise self-censurship even in their routine encounters and conversations. It made them use an extensive amount of flattery to cover up their absolute discontent.

This culture of hiding ones true self and lying all the time and being one way outside the house and another inside is a way of  survival for many in Iran. I think this behavior has a direct connection to the harsh laws of the dictator governments to date. This can become the subject of an anthropology book. I will address this Dr. Jekyl, Mr Hyde behavoir more in my future blogs as I find it fascinating.

In reply to the fact that I did not care about Iran, I must admit, I’m not a nationalist. Although I’m an Iranian and I’m an American too, I can never think that these two countries are better than any other country in the world! To me it’s absurd to think that. All countries have their problems and their glories and as a person who travels, who moved from one country to another in hope of a more comfortable life, who sees the world at the click of a mouse, I’m in awe of all countries and all people. Nationalism stumps me.

In reply to I have become an American, I confess I have no idea what that means?

I’m Mina Javaherbin and certain things happened in my life. I now live in the USA. I work here, I have a family here, I pay my taxes here, I vote here and I adhere to the laws here like many other immigrants who came here.

At the cost of sounding a little weired for a minute now, I want to say if you think that this country is a total failure then please move out.

We have a large earth. Please go away. Move to another country and enjoy your life in a place which suits you best. I moved from one country to another and you can too.

I think this country has many problems and I love that I’m free to say this and free to occupy anything I want. Wall Street, my home, a book…. USA is not a perfect country but I don’t want to live anywhere else on this planet. I want to live here. I don’t want to live in England, I don’t want to live in Thailand, I don’t want to live in France, I don’t want to live in Iran, I want to and I chose to live here. Between you and I, I happen to think since the entire world looks up to us we better clean up our act in US and inspire the world. If anyone can, it’s us.

I become so upset when Iranian artists or people in the public eye from Iran attempt to make themselves look important and exciting by saying that “I’m living here due to political exile !” Stop it. Get over yourselves and your constant lies. We all know what happened and happens to political opposition in Iran. The government did not exile you. If you were important enough you’d be under six foot right now. So go look up the definition of exile and please get over your self and stop lying to the American people and stop assaulting the public’s intelligence by assuming they’ll never find out about your lies and your publicity stunts.

However there are a handful of admired political activists who somehow made it out and I for one am very happy they have chosen to not go back to Iran as we know where they may end up. 

I might have never come here if certain things did not happen in Iran, but I’m here now and this is my life. I immigrated to America like many other immigrants. This is how this country is built. I explained to many in Iran how immigrants come here and they not only become a part of America but in many ways they also bring their heritage to share and integrate. I explained to them that this is the true magic of America. A magic which has made this country strong, a magic which will one day help us out of major pickles.

Unfortunately the concept of immigration, integration and democracy is not easily comprehended in Iran. I feel it’s because the people in Iran never had the chance to practice democracy or live in a democratic atmosphere and regime. While I’m at it, may I please say that democracy is not something America can bring to the world through war, drones and bombs, so please, don’t.

Democracy is a concept to learn, to acquire, and grow up with. Democracy is a tradition. Democracy seeps into society and becomes a way of life. It takes time for democracy to settle in the minds of people and it’s a complicated concept to understand for a beginner. For example I know many educated people from Iran who have lived here in America for years but they still act like they live in a feudal tribal community. They actually have the equivalent of a tribal alpha leader in their very cute little camps too, e.g. the lord of the tribe can be the celebrity in their mix, the most educated person with the dream job, or the richest person in the click. They have minimal contact with other factions of the society, keep to themselves and do think that they know it all. Most do not vote or think themselves as a part of this country and many are waiting to go back!

But there are not many of them around for the nation to even sense their existence. However they are obvious enough to the trained eye and a source of constant irritation for many. This sort of behavior usually goes away after a few generations of immigrants as we can see the similar examples in many other groups of immigrants who came here before the Iranians. Note to self, write a cartoon strip or a funny graphic novel about these reluctant immigrants or inspire others to do so.

So to answer to you my dear Irina I certainly did not feel like a stranger in my own town when I visited but I sure had many strange feelings and thoughts.

There was a time in my life which I struggled with being an Iranian-American, or an American-Iranian or whatever that means, (I use the word because if I don’t use Iranian-American each time I have to say,”An Iranian person who due to life circumstances had to and wanted to leave Iran and chose to live in USA instead of Iran”), but as I’m getting older I realize my rather painful experience is a treasure box although specific to my life, it is where I go to pick out many universal elements for sharing with the world.

Thank you for the great question Irina which became my muse today and caused a lovely detour.

My blog is going to be more non-personal as you will see in the future, but how can we avoid blogs like this peppered throughout. So I’m fine with the organic way things shape as I go along.

Like I always say, the most personal experiences in our lives are the most universal ones.

Thank you for reading everyone. 

I’ll edit this more later, I’m tired now, so don’t judge my grammar and punctuation as I needed to get this stuff out before I croak.

Iran is a country older than history, like China, Egypt, Greece and so on. Don’t worry I’m not going to start from 3000 years ago.  Since this is suppose to be the water-melon version, as I indicated in the intro. blog, please feel free to google Persian History and sympathize with me when I tell you that my best grade in history was always a B in Iran.

I was a student who always had an A in math and physics and writing and reading but what can I tell you? 3000 years is too much to memorize.

The names, the kings, the dynasties and the wars are mind boggling and that’s what they tested us on. If they tested me on the story aspects I might have had a better a grade.

I’m going to start towards the end of the Qajar or the Gajar Dynasty. They started ruling Iran 225 years ago, and to create a little context here, that’s a few years after Buffalo Bill died and Calvin Coolidge the 30th president of America held office.

Again I want to remind you that we are going to talk about an old country. A country which has survived for ages, and still has more or less the same language the same name and the same traditions that date back to over 3000 years ago.

People in Iran, and Greater Iran (countries which were once a part of the Persian Empire), also people of Iranian heritage living all over the world, e.g. Iranian-Americans, still celebrate many of the ancient festivities specific to Iran. 

Please be prepared that we are going to talk about a country which dates older than Moses, Jesus and Mohammad.

This concludes my first post of Iran 101. 

Cheers.

IRAN 101

Hi Everyone

When I became a published writer I promised to not do two things.

1-Write my memoir, ugh.

2-Write a blog pertaining to my country of origin, Iran.

I’m still not writing a memoir, but I have now started a blog about Iran, desperate times call for desperate measures. I hate wars and this is my anti-war contribution.

I am an Iranian-American. I’ve lived 2/3 of my life in America and like many of us here in U.S. I’m not up to date and in the know about what is happening exactly in the politics inside Iran or between my two beloved countries Iran and America, my what a combo, this is like being a Jewish-Arab, I feel you people.

Clearly what I’m about to blog under IRAN 101 is not going to be of a “Carnegie Mellon Fellow” nature, my blog here would be more of a “Water-Melon Fellow” nature.

I will post short and to the point facts about Iran aimed at most of the population to fit into our daily reading schedule and not interrupt or take any time away from our Facebook and Twitter activities. God forbid.

With this blog I wish to inform the fellow readers who have no time to read heavy and awfully translated and simply non-existent books about Iran. I’ll be writing for a person like myself, a regular fellow. The only difference between my reader and I is that I grew up there and I can share a bunch of good stuff here with you. It’s going to be sort of a Cliff’s Notes, if you will, only better, cause Cliff’s Notes really suck so bad that every time I picked one up in college I had to throw up and go buy the real book. Oh my gosh may be I’m trying to trick you into reading the real book. I had no idea! Can I possibly be that sneaky?

But seriously the only reason I’m doing this is that the other day I realized the majority of the population in America still has no idea what in the world is going on there in Iran and bombing that country or not bombing that country really means nothing to them. Yikes! This will not do. I must do something. War is bad people.

In order to be able to talk and negotiate and not do the war thing we need to know a little so we can make better decisions and stop uninformed governments and uninformed people from running our lives. I for one do not like to live in a war zone EVER.

Trust me I’ve been there, it’s no fun to hear sirens and wait to see if the bomb will hit your home or not and hold your family members hands, in the bunker, in the basement, while crying that your mom is not in the basement with you cause she’s on the rooftop and she says if she’s going to die she does not want to die in a basement and… (more on that later in my memoir if I ever write one, ugh). 

So come on let’s learn a little and be informed about Iran.

I’m so busy with my life like all of you and I can not believe I’m going to do this. I’m already thinking what an idiot I must be. “Mina no one will care and read this.” A voice is saying inside my head. Then there is the other voice in my head, “Everyone will read this and they will learn and enjoy and be grateful that you wrote it.”

Let’s hope the latter is the case. Is there anything else around except for hope?

I promise to be brief, simple and informative. I have no idea when will I start and how often will I post. It all depends on you, my readers. 

Wish me luck people, I’m going in.

12/8/2011

California, USA