My first memory of Iran came in the fourth grade – it was video, pictures, and other coverage of the American hostages in Iran. Politics was often discussed over turkey at Thanksgiving, so events in Iran, Poland, and anywhere else evil was doing its thing, were often the topic of discussion.
I remember not being able to locate Iran on a map, but I knew that Iran was bad. Not as bad as the Soviet Union, but bad.
Over the years I’ve learned that those student kidnappers, although not the type you’d necessarily want to invite over for Thanksgiving, may have actually had a reason for the kidnapping. Weird. They weren’t just crazy Arabs, they were (somewhat understandably) paranoid of the United States intervening in their internal affairs.
Which you and I know is ludicrous. The United States would never meddle in the Middle East without good reason.
Still, Dr. Haleh Esfiandiari, an Iranian-born academic who also carries an American passport, writes about how the Intelligence Ministry in Iran was convinced she was working with the CIA to overthrow the Iranian government. Now, it’s not crazy to imagine the CIA overthrowing governments, but the good doctor, well, her duties at the Woodrow Wilson were misunderstood by her interrogators.
So they locked her up in the famous Evin Prison. Read her story.
SheSpoke 