Report Two, Part 1: Building the World House -- Cultural Observations

 

FOR's Peacemaking Delegation to Iran: May 2007

 

 

Stanley Rich: Building the World House

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s final published essay “The World House” (1967) asserts that all human beings on our planet earth live in one big house and so we must learn to coexist peacefully if our world house is to survive for future generations. With this metaphor in mind I would like to share some dialogues I have experienced during my second week in Iran. This civilian diplomacy delegation has enabled me, a native of the American deep south, to visit and converse with members of my world house family in faraway Iran.

Three peaceful encounters in particular have touched my heart and mind. On the street in Shiraz, I became encircled by an enthusiastic group of design and handicraft students from a local university. These beautiful, energetic young people were thrilled to talk with an American university professor. The brief minutes of conversation and taking photos helped to bring us together in friendship. The result was a seemingly small but memorable connection.

A second vivid impression came from a brief encounter with a group of unemployed and relatively poor motorcycle guys from a small village northeast of Shiraz. We spoke eagerly and excitedly about aspects of our lives and one young man served as the Farsi-English translator.

At the Jameh Grand Mosque in Yazd, a Zoroastrian man in his mid-twenties who works as a construction site crane operator, spoke with me about his hopes and dreams for the future. He told of his longing to see his cousins that live in California and Indiana.

While these three conversations may not directly affect national foreign policy decisions for our two countries, they have enabled us to relate to each other and promote understanding in powerful ways. In his essay, King writes that the frequent, natural human conflicts in the world house diminish the quality of our life together and can even destroy entire rooms. I hope to encourage improved connections in our world house family.

This FOR-sponsored trip to Iran has revealed to the members our delegation greater insights about the U.S.-Iran disputes, animosities, negative stereotypes and deep misunderstandings we hold about each other. Like any family, our human household will inevitably have conflicts. In order to heal the suspicions and pain, the family members must have conversations with each other on a continuous basis, even daily. Third party counselors and advisors can help to promote healing and harmony. Likewise, the government leaders of both the United States and Iran must open dialogue on the level of political diplomacy, beginning by placing skilled diplomats in the “interests sections” of friendly foreign embassies in Tehran and Washington DC. When each country moves to a higher moral level of mutual respect and recognizes the basic core of human needs, values, and desires that are shared by all Americans and Iranians, then these two valuable rooms in the world house may produce family members who can live and flourish through increased dialogue and compassionate listening to one another. Then peaceful coexistence will begin.

 

Helena Garan: Love Letters

Thanks to the wonderful peace-loving people of my community in Upstate New York, I arrived in Iran with about 200 letters filled with friendship, compassion, understanding, and love to be distributed among the Iranians I would encounter during my two-week stay.

People of all ages have looked at us with big smiles and then approached us with “Where are you from?” They were always delighted with our answer. “Welcome, welcome to our country! America good. Iran good?” At the end of our conversation, I ask them if they’d like to receive a letter from a caring American. They were always honored to accept it. Those letters from New Yorkers have given me so many opportunities to interact in a loving and meaningful way with the hospitable people of this ancient country. The women showed their appreciation with hugs and kisses. I know that one letter is only a small gesture; however, my hope is that reading that letter will have a ripple effect, that they will show it to their family and friends, laying the foundation for the bridges we wish to build between the USA and Iran.

Many Iranians have memorized a lot of poetry, sometimes sung accompanied by hauntingly beautiful traditional music. In Shiraz, we visited the tombs of two famous Persian poets. Following is a poem by Sa’di, appropriate for our civilian diplomacy mission here in Iran:

The Sons of Adam are the members of a whole.
Each is created from a greater, single soul.
Whenever Fate to one of them brings pain
No other can without distress remain.
You, who for others’ torment do not care
Cannot the name of ‘human’ rightly bear.

 

Denise Ames: A Long and Continuous Poem

My brief but rich traveling experience has unveiled for me multiple dimensions of Iranian culture and history. I would characterize it as a long and continuous poem, full of tensions, contradictions, ambiguities, paradoxes, and beauty.

The warmth and generosity of a village woman who invited me, a complete stranger, into her home can be contrasted to the "billboard" pictures of stern-faced clerics and political leaders who keep an ever-present watchful eye on all.

Ambiguities and multiple meanings abound, from why our visas were stamped "tourist only" to the embedded Zoroastrian symbols in Islamic art and architecture. Yet the innocence, compassion, and intellect of the Iranian people shine through, as symbolized by the way men and women reverently touch the tombs of their beloved poets Hafez and Sa’di in Shiraz.

I will always treasure the depth, complexity, and love of the Iranian people as reflected in the history, traditions, and culture.

 

Geneva Woodruff: Trust

Trust between individuals as well as between countries is built on deeds, not words. When you trust someone, you know that they will do what they promise. You also know unequivocally that when they give their word it will be honored.

Yesterday I had an incredible encounter based on trust with, of all people, a rug dealer. They have a reputation worldwide for sales practices not unlike an American car salesman’s. On the way to lunch with the delegation I passed by this man’s shop. Upon seeing him and his rugs, I asked our wonderful tour guide Seyed if I could forego lunch to look at the rugs.

The dealer’s English was limited, but we managed to communicate, both of us sharing an appreciation for the artistry and craftsmanship of old oriental rugs. At times we shared a laugh over our meager attempts to be understood. When it came time to pay for the four sizable rugs I had selected, he told me he didn’t take credit cards. Seeing my disappointment at having to leave these beautiful carpets behind, he said, “No problem, send me the money when you get home.” Thinking I had misunderstood, I asked him to repeat what he had said. He repeated the same statement. Still not believing I had heard him correctly, I told him I would get the guide to interpret. Again in Farsi he said the same thing to Seyed. And so I left with the carpets with the promise of payment.

Typically I would have shaken his hand to seal the deal, but being a woman and he a Muslim man, that would not have been culturally appropriate. As I drove away on the bus still in shock by his level of trust, I wondered what he was now thinking of the encounter. I imagined that he felt I was trustworthy but not particularly bright in that he had to repeat himself, twice in English and once in Farsi, to get his point across.

Think about it: what are the chances that an encounter of this kind would ever occur in the United States if the seller was American and the buyer was a foreigner from Iran?

 

Farrah Garan: "America Like a Dream"

Despite the Islamic dress code in Iran, women continue to express themselves with their clothing. You can tell a bit about a woman’s political and cultural stance by the way she wears her hijab (scarf) and how much hair she chooses to reveal. For example, I was curious about the young women working at the museum gift shop at Persepolis who were dressed in the conservative, completely black chador that covers all but the face. Mostly I had only seen older women dressed that way. After a kind exchange and one of them lovingly pinching my cheek, I broached the subject. “How do you feel about wearing the veil?” I asked.

“We like it,” she responded. “We are Muslim. This is symbol of Muslim. I am proud to show my beliefs.” Later, as I was walking through the ruins, a girl in her mid-twenties struck up a conversation with me. I could guess by her clothing that she did not identify so strongly with the strict Muslim codes. Like many young women, she was wearing a silk scarf tied under her chin and pushed back so that half of the top of her head was exposed. She had a stylish long, white fitted jacket, jeans, pumps with manicured toes and a considerable amount of make-up. She did not like the hijab, and she expressed to me the frustration of many young people. This stems not so much from rules about clothing and alcohol, as from economic woes. It is very hard to find a job, and those that have one must work long hours. Regardless, she said, young people still feel that they will never be able to afford a house and provide for a family. For this reason, they idolize the United States. “We think of America like a dream,” she said.

In the hotel, I saw a BBC report from Iran. The journalist was talking to people in the bazaar in Tehran. They said that because of the sanctions imposed by the West, inflation has been increasing rapidly. As the prices of commodities rise, the people are starting to feel the blow. An article our group read recently mentioned that the U.S. government would implement a plan to further destabilize the Iranian currency. Sadly, it is these lovely people that greet us so warmly on the street who will suffer from such lamentable political action.

 

Go to Part 2 of the Second Report

©2005 Fellowship of Reconciliation