New Year's Eve Message

On the eve of a new Persian New Year and the beginning of spring, I have been reading up news on the status of COVID-19 disease around the world.  The news is certainly sobering and quite contradictory to the expected spirit of such a night. Iranians have celebrated the festival of Nowruz for thousands of years, and this is the first time, in my lifetime, I have witnessed a halt to typical Nowruz traditions, both inside and outside of Iran. All New Year events, gatherings, visits, trips, shopping, concerts, and parties are cancelled all over the world. COVID-19 has managed a feat which the hardliners in the Islamic Republic were never able to achieve in forty-one years of power! COVID-19 has brought Iran to its knees. I have this overwhelming sense of dread and despair for the innocent people of Iran who, for over four decades, have been tangled up in one devastating event after another caused by their government and the constant feud between the governments of Iran and the United States. The nation of Iran is being ravaged by COVID-19 presently, but due to the US sanctions, the Iranian people are succumbing to this virus in large numbers due to lack of medical supplies and the long suffering of medical facilities from shortage of equipment, parts, medicine, etc. Even now, as the world is in the clutches of an epidemic, the US sanctions are not yet lifted and the horrifying plight of Iranians are overlooked by the world. I am extremely worried about my homeland, but more importantly, I am worried about the fate of my parents, aunts, cousins, and friends. I feel totally helpless.

I, too, have experienced school closures. Ours, in fact, lasted close to four months, throughout the winter of 1979. During that period, due to the nature of the political upheaval and the declaration of martial law, our activities were quite limited. As a senior, I was more focused on slipping from the house, under my mom’s radar to secretly attend mass demonstrations, rather than thinking of my academic future. In my case, I already had a concrete plan to study in the US so I was not too worried. Of course, teenagers are generally immune from worrying too much about the future and they also lack the experience to foresee the future obstacles which could arise.

I was sixteen when my senior year in high-school started. By the end of the first month of the academic year, I had already secured my admission to a US college and was eagerly waiting for the school year to end so I could join my older brother who had left the previous year. When we started school in late September 1978, we had no idea that the schools would be closed three months later due to a political revolution which replaced several thousand years of monarchy with a republic!

Experiencing a revolution is a once in a lifetime experience. For me, as a teenager, the period was filled with excitement, hope, risks, solidarity with my fellow countrymen, and the realization of the collective power of masses.  For my parents, it was a period of uncertainty, fear, danger, risk, and uncertain future.

 Thus, my memories from my time off from school generally revolve around political rallies, meeting friends, and riding my bike in our neighborhood every night. At the beginning of the school year, we had about 90 students in our graduating class. By the time the schools reopened in mid-spring, after the revolution was over, there were only 19 of us left! The rest had fled Iran, their families afraid of living under the thumb of a religious government.

Even though our lives were more in danger in Iran during the school closure, but I believe, as children and adolescents, we had a much more fulfilling experience than the students who are now forced to stay home all over the world due to COVID-19. The most important difference is the limitations placed on our social networks and the emphasis on social distancing. Children need to be with other children to interact and exercise their body and mind. Maintaining a social network through the internet may be sufficient for some adults but definitely not for children and adolescents.

Nevertheless, I hope this epidemic fades away sooner rather than later and life returns to normal on our planet Earth. I hope an effective vaccine becomes available as soon as possible.

Above all, on the eve of the Iranian New Year, Nowruz, I wish health and prosperity for all inhabitants of Earth including humans, animals, and plants.