Green is the Color of Growth

I am a child of nowhere--at least I thought so until this week. Though born in London and educated at Oxford, my heritage is Iranian. Both my parents are from Tehran, where I also spent part of my childhood. I immigrated to Los Angeles in 1985, later married an American and gave birth to an American son. When it comes to explaining my cultural identity, my head spins uncontrollably like that of Linda Blair in The Exorcist. No single country defines me, rather a combination of all three, depending on the situation. Living far from Iranian family and friends in suburban DC, Iran has been creeping lower on my totem pole.

But this week feels different. The Iranian in me is piping up. All you halves and mutts, like my son, all you multicultural schizophrenics, like me, there will come a time when parts of you come to life when you least expect them. However long or for whatever reason you suppress them, those parts of you that are from somewhere else will be at the fore.

For me, it started on Facebook. At first, the election in Iran meant little to me as an American bystander with no Iranian passport and no right to vote, except that I think a dangerous president who denies the Holocaust should be in a lunatic asylum, not running a large country.

Suddenly the postings on my News Feed went from Blank says I'm at a spa getting a pedicure to Blank says Long Live Freedom with an accompanying YouTube of a Basij motorcycle going up in flames. My Facebook transformed overnight into a place of intelligent political discussion, world-class articles on current events unfolding in Iran, videos of live demonstrations, Twitter posts of utmost urgency, all swathed in the color green. It is not that I think Facebook is for political purposes, but in a country where the passage of critical information is officially shutdown, I am grateful for its dissemination on the Web.

I felt an intense surge of patriotism for a country I barely know, a pride for the youthful population risking their lives to be heard, an incredulity at being a participant in history, a Webolution in the making, if not a Revolution. Then it occurred to me, in an ancient country where fallen regimes and dynasties are a dime a dozen, including the Safavid Dynasty, from whom I am descended, this spirit of rebellion must be in our genes.

Shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, I took part in a massive demonstration in London starting at Hyde Park Corner against the Ayatollah Khomeini. My older cousins and I -- they were gorgeous, with almond-eyes and flowing hair -- were front and center, leading the way. As a teenager, I thought we had more balls than a roomful of mullahs. I did not have a clue.

Whatever the short-term political outcome, for me, this is no longer about who wins the election. It is about growth, about grass roots, about the green. Suppressed for 30 years, some of the people of Iran have decided they have had enough and are demanding change. They are no longer afraid to take to the streets. This in itself is monumental.

I turned on the TV last night to get updates on Iran: I could not find a thing. Where was the real news? It was on my Facebook, where my youngest sister, married to an American Jew, has temporarily changed her profile picture to the Shahyaad Monument (now Azadi Monument), where I had to scroll through pages to catch up, where I can get the hot-off-the-street details on an election dispute that has taken on a life of its own.

I care less about the actual candidates. Between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hossein Mousavi, Mousavi is clearly the lesser of two evils. What we really need is for the axis to shift. It is moving.

"Are the Iranians still rioting?" asks my ten-year-old boy when he gets home from school the next day.

"Protesting, darling," I reply.

"Well, did they get rid of I'm a Dinner Jacket?"

"No, and they may not. But they're finally standing up for their rights and that's what really counts."

I may not be wearing green, but my eyes are flashing it. Green is the Color of Growth.

Comments

[Marcijo]

Well done. I can't even imagine what inner turmoil you all must be going through right now. Wonderful perspective. Keep going!

[girlwithgreeneyes]

Save the Children has a Maternal Child Index that rates all nations on Maternal Child Health. (which I highly recommend by the way. It's fascinating.) Two of the criteria are female political participation and the availability of female education. So much of what is going on in Iran now is the result of Iranian women's wholesale embrace of higher education. It's impossible for any government to maintain 2nd class citizenship for women once they see what they can achieve. So often we see demonstrations in the Middle East and I'm ask myself, "What do the women think?" as they are absent from the demonstrations.
In Iran we see brave women risking their lives every day. It's the participation of women that makes me believe that true basic change is coming.

[Charlotte Safavi - Huffpost Blogger]

I couldn't agree with you more. The women of Iran are brave beyond belief and are playing a critical role in what is going on. They are marching alongside, not behind the men, and in some cases, well ahead.
Best,
Charlotte

[Stephanie Cantizano]

Dear Charlotte,
Good for you that you are feeling a connection to your family history and doing something about it. I am one of those American mutts with many drops of blood none of which are Persian, married to a Dominican with 2 lovely daughters. I can't exactly explain why this crisis has stirred me so, perhaps it is from my strong belief in women's rights. Watching the videos out of Tehran, my eyes keep going straight to the women. Not only are they risking their lives but truly fighting for so much more than the men; the right not to be chattel, to be educated, to have careers, ideas which many young American women unfortunately take for granted. I have always maintained that educating women is the key to ending extremism. If you have poorly/uneducated women, you have angry young men living in poor conditions, disenfranchised, prone to militancy, as is evidenced in The Middle East, parts of The United States, all over really. Here's to the feisty heroines in Iran-"Do not be afraid".

[Charlotte Safavi - Huffpost Blogger]

Hi Stephanie,
Thanks for your thoughtful comments. I agree you don't need to be Iranian or have a drop of Persian blood to appreciate the bravery of these people. I too am moved by the women and plan to post a new story on that angle soon.
Best,
Charlotte

[yasminz]

Thank you for your post Charlotte. I so appreciate your words and can relate so well.
From one Half, mutt multicultural schizophrenic to another... so glad to feel understood.
Look forward to reading more from you.

[Charlotte Safavi - Huffpost Blogger]

Glad to share, fellow mutt!

[MichaelGryboski]

The introduction had a profound statement: "I am a child of nowhere." I think there are a lot of people in the United States who get to that feeling, especially if one lives in an environment like mine where the vast majority of the people who live here are not born here (DC-Northern Virginia area). We all are kind of thrown together and as I grew up and became friends with people who had that old country culture in addition to an American identity, me having only an American identity made me feel like a cultural orphan.

It would be interesting to see if "I'm a Dinner Jacket" is still recognized as president. (I loved that statement.)

[Charlotte Safavi - Huffpost Blogger]

Hi Michael,
Thanks for your comment! We must be neighbors, as I also live in the DC area. I am fascinated by the emerging multicultural face of America, as you can tell. I also like your cultural orphan image! That's how I felt in Iran,when we moved there from England where I was born. I should have another post up next week. The multicultural theme is one that is often present in my work.
Best,
Charlotte

[Sharon Tanenhaus]

Thank you, Charlotte. There's nothing more powerful than one's own personal story and yours touched me deeply. Here, in the U.S., where voter turnout is such a small percentage of our population to start, any minor inconvenience can cause it to drop even further. I feel as you do, that who ultimately wins the election doesn't even matter. The real winners are the people of Iran, who turned out at an estimated record 85% to vote and are now continuing to make their voices heard. Please keep writing, Charlotte, of your personal experience. We need to hear your voice, as well.

[Charlotte Safavi - Huffpost Blogger]

My angle is personal and multicultural whenever possible. Thanks, Sharon. Appreciate your input and comments.
Best,
Charlotte

[Gloria Blalock]

Charlotte, thank you for keeping us in the loop on a subject which is so prevelant and important. Like you, I am a mutt. Born in Cuba, raised in the US, and married to an American. The situation in Iran hits close to home for me. Someday soon, I too, will be faced with some of the same outrage that you are experiencing. Your virtual voice is important to all of us paying attention to this situation and applaude you for writing so passionately about these cuurent events. Thank you.

[MarjiParji]

Thank you for this article. You helped me express some of the extraordinary and unexpected feelings I have been having this last week to many of the non-Iranians in my life. It reminded me of something that Mohsen Makhmalbaf said in his statement today about Mousavi - that the Iranian people have come together like drops of water to form a sea. My heart is heavy, my chest is tight and my thought, prayers and light are being beamed to those brave souls who resist, despite the fear. I am proud to be an Iranian today.

[Charlotte Safavi - Huffpost Blogger]

Thanks for sharing. I love the image of Iranians coming together like drops of water to form a sea. I would add a sea of green...

[Beth Schacter]

Thank you, Charlotte for writing so beautifully, so personally and so effectively about this situation in Iran. There is hope in your words, and I needed to hear that hope.

[Charlotte Safavi - Huffpost Blogger]

Whatever the outcome, the train has left the station. The people have done what they have been afraid to do in 30 years, there's hope in that alone. I appreciate the read, Beth.
Charlotte

[Mahasti Afshar]

Thanks, Charlotte, for this heartfelt and evocative article. It reminds me that things once thought local are now increasingly global. The green cybermovement out of Iran is a case in point.
I personally think nationalism is a very outmoded notion except on the sentimental level. But I think we need to break down national borders and embrace the entire planet regardless of our personal backgrounds. The way IT brainies banded together -- in Iran and abroad -- to bring the Iranian case to the world and defeated the regime's efforts to keep it local is a great step in that direction. I'm glad to have been witness to the amazing growth of an idea that is green indeed. This seed will bear fruit, although there may be a summer drought ahead.

[Charlotte Safavi - Huffpost Blogger]

Thanks for sharing Mahasti. Even in the desert, things grow.

[tesshardingl]

Loved this! So affecting.....well done.

[EllenSteinbaum]

Thank you, Charlotte, for this insightful post. It's a reminder of how small the world is and how fluid our various identities are. And how brave those protestors are in their demands for what we complacently take for granted.

[Charlotte Safavi]

The world has shrunk to a tweet! Thanks for your comments, Ellen.

[Rodney Wilson]

What a great article. I was moved to tears while reading this piece. Thank you so very much for sharing your thoughts and feelings. Please continue, people need to hear more of this.

[mergina]

Your countrymen and women have it in your power to change your world, to change the entire Muslim World for the better. Liberty and justice always comes with a price, at times a high price, but FREEDOM is oh so worth the pain and suffering it takes to achieve. ONLY LOVE CAN SAVE US FROM OURELVES. NOW is your time. Stay strong and Change Your World. The World Stands With You.

[girlwithgreeneyes]

For many of us in academia, medicine, science, and law we long ago "deghettoized" our Iranian friends as distinct and unique. Over the past thirty years few of my friends have shared their personal "Leaving Iran" stories whether because of pain and reticence or simply because they preferred the joyous "Coming To America" stories. And for many like Charlotte, they have only childhood memories of Iran.

So while I understand the immense historic significance of each new day in Iran what I see are the faces of my friends whose nation once lost is beginning to be found.

[Charlotte Safavi - Huffpost Blogger]

Childhood memories are often the most poignant. To the girlwithgreeneyes from a girl with green eyes. Thanks for your comments.