Life was not the same following the transformation; women were forced to cover up with a head scarf, and alcohol, pre-marital sex and being gay all became illegal, punishable with death. And even recently, Barbie dolls became the newest illegal substance, described as "corruptive" by the same Ayatollah Khomeini. Yet as the laws were multiplating, so were the immigrants, and today the United States alone counts one million and a half Iranians, many of them, like Fary located in the "little Persia" town in Los Angeles.
Being Jewish at the time of the revolution didn't help Fary and her family, as the whole political system was being set on Islam, a religion that often clashes with Judaism, especially after the creation of the Jewish state of Israel in 1948. And many of the immigrants were in fact Jewish. Fary remembers the demonstrations that were going on in Tehran and the mayhem that occurred prior to the overturn of her country. "They were arresting people over stupid matter, you didn't know if they were going to knock on your doors".
Despite it all, she calls the day she left Iran "the black day".
Before arriving to the United States, Fary and her family were moving through Europe seeking asylum, from France to England and Switzerland, until they received the permit to immigrate to the United States. She considers herself lucky to have made it out, and especially here to the United States. Yet throughout it all, leaving Iran was difficult for Fary, and she didn't know what to expect of Europe or America. She feared the same persecution and oppression she was seeing in Iran to occur in America. But most of all, she knew her family wouldn't stay the same, as many of her siblings had settled in Europe and others stayed in Iran because of their businesses. "I was scared of never finding what I had, I feared I lost it" she says in her broken English.
However, those fears quickly faded within few weeks upon her arrival to the United States, as she discovered Iranian and Jewish communities in Los Angeles. She quickly learned English, but found herself still speaking her mother tongue, as well as Hebrew, whom she learned but rarely practiced in Iran. Her husband at that time became an active member in a nearby synagogue, and she was slowly making friends and recreating the life she had in Iran, "and even better" she says with a laugh. Her husband quickly found a job as a doctor, and within a few years, they were already "Americanized", and had everything they wanted. In the most simplest words she could use, she says "I saw good people".
Fary now says she has the American dream.
Fary, like many minorities of immigrants are often amazed with the many sub-communities of immigrants in the United States. "There's everything in America" is the way she put it. Fary then expresses her remorse at the government's crackdown on illegal immigration, saying that every time she sees people being persecuted for immigration reasons, she remembers her own trouble trying to immigrate. She believes America is a country of immigration, and everybody should have the right to be a part of it. "I can't imagine what would've happened to me if I wasn't allowed in this country" she says grimly.
By the time Fary was settling in the United States, the political situation were worsening with Iran. The hostage crisis was getting to an end, and the whole world was becoming aware of the situation back there. But to her surprise, people were being sympathetic rather than judgmental. At one point she recalls hearing people many times a day telling her "Khomeini is crazy" or expressing some sort of sorrow for her. Most of the times, she couldn't understand what people were telling her, but she knew they were being sympathetic. Fary admitted being a bit ashamed of being Iranian in the beginning, but says everything was okay for her. She admired Americans for such position.
Fast forward to the new millennium, Iranian-American ties take a whole new dip as Iran starts developing its nuclear powers, which could possibly lead to nuclear weapons, something that paralyzes Americans and brings back memories of the Cold War, where Russia and the U.S. were on the brink of a nuclear war. When asked about these recent developing in Iran, Fary expresses great regret. "I'm very scared about the future, Iran has arms now and they're a real threat. I'm against the war but troops should stay in Iraq". She then interferes "I don't blame anti-Iranian sentiments at this moment, so many things are wrong as usual". Fary sees the military growth of Iran very threatening to the whole region, especially to Israel and the United States. But she understands, saying that such developments are very predictable from the Ayatollahs who pushed her to flee her country.
Fary now lives in her Westwood home with her husband. She has five children and eight grand children "so far" she says with a big smile. She says she couldn't have hoped for anything better than what she built here in America. Fary says she's the happiest for her family being born in America. "At least my grandchildren can play with the Barbie and I can buy them nice dresses", she says in a tone that makes it clear that such act cannot be done back in Iran.
Fary tries hard to put the words together during the whole time you talk to her, yet what she's trying to say is perfectly clear: "God bless America, no war please."
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