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Comments on ‘Waking Dreams’
Ghazal at October 17, 2003 12:39 PM:
I remember we had a story in our high school Persian literature about an old man called Aligholi who lived in soviet Azerbaijan and his only wish was that if he could only hear azan from the minaret of their mosque. Back then I couldn’t really sympathies with him but now when I think about how much I am obsessed with my own past memories and how much I miss them I automatically remember Aligholi. I like to think someday I will live in a small town in Iran , in a clay house with a garden of flowers and berries where there is going to be a small pool in the middle and red fishes will swim in it. I like to think I will go to the line again and get a Sangak (some kind of bread). Or in Ramadan I can go and buy Zolbia bamiyeh... [more at the permalink of the entry above]
Kaveh Kh. at October 17, 2003 12:43 PM:
A (wo)man's home is at the heart of all those (s)he loves.
Ordak D. Coward at October 17, 2003 05:43 PM:
I learnt my lesson the hard way. The lesson is that I am not responsible to anybody in this life and that the social responsibility that I somehow believed in it up to a few years back, is another form of "opium for the masses". Now, I understand that only my (not even my family) "peace of mind" is the ultimate goal, and every other social or ethical value I had could only be looked as a possible option on the path to achieve my peace of mind. PS. I sense that SG is not going to comment on author's article this time :)
Mehrad at October 17, 2003 05:53 PM:
I simply liked your story, Amir! Honestly, I have never understood those Iranians who say they've got nothing important to miss in Iran.
Mehrad at October 17, 2003 06:31 PM:
Dear Ordak, You're lucky; as you can, at lesat, be sure about reaching your ultimate goal someday and enjoy it forever. I truely believe that Life sucks, so let's not get too emotional about the lessons it teaches us! It always has new ones to teach...
Hazhir at October 17, 2003 06:38 PM:
Thanks Amir for sharing your feelings with us, I enjoyed reading your post... by the way, you are writing here, so you are making some difference, by nurturing this virtual Iranian community:)
Kaveh Kh. at October 17, 2003 11:33 PM:
Actually I think Amir is not after anything but that peace of mind that Ordak refers to, in fact self-satisfaction has many faces. Amir refers to those poor Iranian children as spectacles of misery and destitute. I am not sure if they, say those cute little girls, would agree to such renditions of themselves. They would definitely find their life hard --harder than those who spent some of their hours in the blackout periods, harder than those ravaged by terrorist attacks, harder than those of the American homeless, and harder than the futureless Palestinians. But many of them will admit that they are enjoying their lives! You may say it is because of their ignorance, irrelevance, or even religious arrogance. That is only a twisting of the fact... The fact is that it is us, not them that are feeling the misery and destitute in our hopeless desire of... [more at the permalink of the entry above]
Iman Aghilian at October 18, 2003 01:44 AM:
I have taken up "active irresponsibility". I would not blame myself should I decide not to take action in some situation. And I recognize my empathy and compassion(I pass on this one. This term is already badly spoilt.) as real feelings that I may or may not take action on.
AIS at October 18, 2003 02:15 AM:
Dear Amir, I really enjoyed your article, since it shares a lot with my own feelings. Well, to be honest I never have cared for the adults in Iran, but only for children and for animals. Perhaps because I never identified myself with the main mentality and culture here, but I regard adults as responsible for their own lives, and they are responsible for a lot of the misery they living in. (That's still a bit self-deception, but hey I can't live without this much! as a friend once told me, self-deception is a great virtue!) But childer are different. Even more so are animals. I know it's perhaps irrational but I can't help it. I suffer for the dogs and cats and cows and chickens and deers and even mice in Iran, their condition, the fact that they get shot in the streets, get killed in savage conditions... [more at the permalink of the entry above]
Mehrad at October 18, 2003 10:35 AM:
Kaveh, I'm wondering how you could be so sure about "The fact that it is us, not them that are feeling the misery and destitute in our hopeless desire of projecting our "self" on the outside world."
Kaveh Kh. at October 18, 2003 10:57 AM:
Correct version: "The fact that it is ME, not them that are feeling the misery and destitute in MY hopeless desire of projecting MY "self" on the outside world." I can never be sure of others' opinions.
Senior Grad at October 18, 2003 11:29 AM:
Why, O. Coward, did you think that SG would not give you a piece of his mind here? As our friend, Ali M. once bemoaned: "Why, O., why?" ;-) True, I have not much to say against (or perhaps even nothing *about*) Iranian children, but why did you think I was incapable of diputing *stories*, that are *not* exactly arguments. :-) (See the comments below Kaveh Kh.'s latest article!) So anyway I have a bit of a disagreement with your position, although I perfectly understand (or I would like to think so) where you're coming from. I myself have not been able to resolve the dilemma for myself, so don't get all defensive on me. :-) In fact, I agree with you that it all boils down to one's "peace of mind", or as our beloved Americans would put it, one's happiness. But then again by concentrating on yourself... [more at the permalink of the entry above]
Vahid at October 18, 2003 02:43 PM:
Very beautiful and touching piece. Thanks for sharing it with us Amir. When I finished my guidance school and went to high school, I was happy and excited, but after two month, I suddenly missed my old school and friends, and classrooms, and teachers, of my old school. I realized how dependent I became to my memories, and at the same time I learned that life is like a river and you cannot repeat the old memories, what is gone, is gone! Now it is 3 years that I am living away from Iran. Strangely I do not miss much, and I do not think about my memories. This worries me, because it is not like me, it is like I am avoiding my past. This gives me a mixed feeling, it makes me feel good, since I do not miss home, but at the same time fills me... [more at the permalink of the entry above]
a at October 18, 2003 05:03 PM:
Very funny faces in the picture. Did someone mention cute ones? Ghazal: I really enjoy it each time that I explain to an American that it snows in Iran.
Nasser at October 22, 2003 02:02 AM:
dear all, that was really a nice writing. you know dudes.I think our spirits still live in iran.we are facing a dilemma between the cultyral and spiritual values on the one hand, and Material values on the other hand. let's admit it dudes that all we can find in western countries is a good job and having a financially peaceful life with access to recent tecknology.But in Iran we can find our oringin.we i remember the times I spent with my grandparents being on a SOFREH eating GHEYME and GHORME SABZI, I can not help thinking of it.I am obssessed with my previous life in Iran.That was all love, laugh with friends and relatives.I could find iranian guys and friends that i could speak with them comfortabley about our common concerns.Dude i have a recommendation.let's find a kind of job that let us to be connected to iran.i have... [more at the permalink of the entry above]
Shiraz at October 22, 2003 04:57 PM:
Nice article! When is the autobiography going to be published? Well, I'm not in a position to say if we have a responsibility towards our country or not. But I have been observing my friends and what I see in some of them, myself included, is that “somehow” we feel responsible even though we don’t know how we can be of help. We are sort of torn apart between our own expectations from life (job opportunities, freedom, good education, etc.), which we think we can achieve them better in western countries, and the feeling that as citizens of another country we have to give something back. But the fact is that “that other country” is so much more different from where I am living now that my everyday life here makes me feel guilty. I don’t know how would I feel, had I come from another industrial country. Would... [more at the permalink of the entry above]
Amir at October 23, 2003 02:31 PM:
I should like to thank FToI editors for accepting my piece and also for their useful suggestions and the interest they showed. I should also thank those who took time to leave a comment for their interest and caring to share their point of view. I also hope I will have the chance to contribute more to this fantastic "dialogizer" in the future. I would also like to write briefly in regard to some of the comments above. For example, about snowing in Iran, I don't mind explaining it to non-Iranians, but whenever I do so, they still stare at me with wide open eyes, as if they're telling me how I dare say such big lies. They probably conclude that Iranians are the biggest liars on earth. Showing them pictures of snowy streets of Tehran doesn't help much either. I take side with Senior Grad on Ordak D.... [more at the permalink of the entry above]
Steppenwolf at October 26, 2003 02:53 PM:
For those who feel responsible, and those who do not (Like Iman Aghilian), there is nothing so romantic about the children living their life in their homeland, romanticism and nostalgia come out of "ignorancia" (as kundera says). The problem is that some of us feel really "special".