Alireza Bakhtiar hasn’t been back to Iran since his family left in 2009.
His mother, a prominent journalist and women’s activist, had repeatedly received threats on her life by the Iranian government for writing a series of articles on Iran’s secret prisons. He misses his homeland at times, but on March 25, he was able to take part in Persian festivities and socialize with other Persians, many of whom had left the country under similar circumstances.
Azita Paziraei left Iran in the 1990s to study pharmacy at the University of Illinois in Chicago, where her husband was pursuing his PhD. They started their family in the Chicago area and lived there for several years before relocating to Buffalo, where Mr. Paziraei was offered a job, and settling in the suburb of East Amherst. To stay close to their roots and maintain ties with other Persians in the area, Azita and her husband host Persian gatherings in Buffalo and organize Nowruz (New Year) parties every March.
Azadeh Safaie and her family had to leave Iran almost overnight after the Islamic revolution of 1979, as staying in the country was becoming dangerous for many people who did not agree with the revolution’s ideologies. The family settled inBuffalo, where Safaie attended college and now works as an academic advisor. While Safaie is not big on attending Persian gatherings in the area, she keeps in touch with her Persian friends around the world and follows events going on back home.
March 25 was the first day of spring, marking the first day of the Persian New Year. Around 400 Persian expatriates in the Buffalo area gathered at the Banchetti Banquet Facility and Grove to celebrate their new year with dinner, dancing, and socializing. While thousands of miles away from their family members and friends back home, members of the Persian community in Buffalo have maintained their cultural traditions, such as celebrating the new year and holding poetry nights. Thanks to the Pomegranate restaurant, people in Buffalo can get a taste of Persian cuisine.
Azita Paziraei, Alireza Bakhtiar, and Azadeh Safaie are among the Persians in Buffalo. They strive to live productive lives in the United States while upholding their Persian values and sustaining their Persian identity. While they are from different backgrounds and walks of life, they each share their own perspective on what it means to live as a Persian in the U.S.
“In the absence of family members and friends back in Iran, those of us in the Persian community have become as family to one another and provide mental and emotional support,” says Azita Paziraei. “It is a very accepting, inclusive community which invites anyone – Persian or non-Persian – at any point to join.”
Azita is in charge of organizing Persian poetry nights, which are held once a month at the Legion Hall in East Amherst. People are notified through Facebook and are free to bring their family and friends. Around 80 to 100 people show up for each poetry night, and Azita’s husband is usually the emcee. In addition to reciting poems, traditional Persian songs are sometimes performed with a guitar or Persian instruments such as the santoor. Some families prepare dishes, and dinner is served as a potluck.
“I try to keep it going and lively,” she says. “It’s important to be with and see each other and just mingle. I like seeing the youth connecting with older adults, adding positive energy to the whole equation. The [Persian] UB students especially have a lot of goodness and energy to offer, through their musical abilities and the topics they bring up in conversation.”
Azita has lived in Buffalo since 2001 and works as a pharmacist in Lockport. She says that people at work know she has a nurturing personality, which is why many trainees are entrusted to her. Her manager is American and knows her first language is not English, but according to Azita, appreciates her communication abilities and makes her feel valued.
“Americans look at how you present yourself. When they see what you bring to the table with your knowledge and education, they show their appreciation with a good salary and recommendations. That’s one of the things that has kept me in this country; they never made me feel out of sorts.” She says her professors and classmates were kind to her during her college years, and that she was always paid and valued as much as her American colleagues.
Azita has two sons who were born and raised in the U.S, and feels it is imperative for them to understand Persian history, culture, and way of life. She urges her sons to get acquainted with the Persian UB students and to observe them as they recite poetry or discuss events in Iran. “Our culture has a lot to offer,” she says. “I believe my children can be more productive knowing their culture alongside the American culture. They should see the other side of the world and be closer to their family back home.”
Alireza Bakhtiar is a junior business major at the University at Buffalo. He is satisfied with UB and feels accepted as a Persian, for the most part: “It’s probably because of the way we take care to dress elegantly and present ourselves in a pleasant manner that people tend to be impressed by us.” At the same time, though, he believes that the school system has failed to clearly define and introduce cultures such as Iran’s. “Some students, upon knowing you are a foreigner, act in a hesitant and confused manner. It’s probably because they don’t know with whom exactly they are interacting, and from what culture.”
While Alireza has made many friends on campus and many American students know him as sociable and friendly, he feels there is a lack of common experiences with them from childhood. In his opinion, familiar expressions, popular TV shows from the past, and shared cultural experiences make a difference in forming friendships. “I find it difficult at times to build a strong relationship with Americans because I haven’t grown up in this culture. Sometimes even starting a conversation has to do with a sentence or expression, which only people from a shared culture can relate to or know the significance.”
Alireza interacts with Buffalo’s Persian community and attends poetry nights whenever he can. He finds them warm and hospitable, and in them he finds the cultural commonalities he feels are missing in his American relationships. “Among the many people I have come to know on campus, only a few show an interest in becoming familiar with the Persian culture. It depends on the person; I guess some people are more into exploring other cultures and others are not.”
The Pomegranate has been operating for over a year. “Business hasn’t been bad. We have many American customers as well as Persians in the area who come to dine here,” says Soudabeh, the wife of the owner. “The chicken breast with brown rice, and the lamb kabob are the two most popular dishes among our American customers.” Another popular dish is pomegranate stew, featuring chicken breast in a rich walnut-and-pomegranate sauce and served over white rice with saffron. The Koobideh, ground beef kabob, is a favorite among Persians as well.
Azadeh Safaie came to the U.S in 1979 at the age of 12. The family came to Buffalo as her elder brother was teaching at the Civil Engineering Department at UB, and she ended up majoring in psychology, French, and comparative literature at the same university for her undergraduate studies. After pursuing a graduate degree in political science at NYU, she decided to pursue a second graduate degree in student personnel administration with a concentration in counseling. She is now the undergraduate academic advisor for the Communication Department at UB, a position she has held since 2005.
“What I love about my job is interacting with students. I love the department, the faculty, and being in a university atmosphere.” She has maintained a special connection with students as their advisor, to the point that they feel comfortable discussing problems and personal matters with her. She has students from New York State and other countries, and not all are typical college-age students.
She has encountered few cultural challenges in the States, as she grew up in a liberal, educated family and was exposed to Western culture from an early age. She considers having to pack up overnight and leave Iran the biggest challenge her family has ever faced. “A lot of people have left the country, but under different circumstances. The only challenging experience I had in the States was in high school, during the hostage crisis in Iran. Even though it was a private school, I felt challenged.”
The family would have stayed in Iran if the Islamic Revolution had never occurred. Her goal was to attend university in France, then return to Iran to work for the foreign ministry, where her uncle held a position.
As a first-generation Persian in the U.S., Safaie feels responsible for preserving her Persian identity by reading Persian books, staying in touch with her Persian acquaintances around the world, and following events back home.
Among various posters and photos on her office wall, there is a slogan titled ‘Free Iran’, and a picture of an Iranian student activist holding up the blood-stained T-shirt of a fellow student killed by government authorities.
She says the American people have accepted her as one of their own. “No other culture is more tolerant than that of America. I’ve been to Europe and know that the attitude there towards immigrants is different.” At the same time, she feels the average American is not exposed to other cultures, and the furthest many of them travel is across the country. “The average European is exposed to other languages and countries; their culture and politics are intertwined. Not because they want to, but they have to. The average American doesn’t have to be exposed. The world economy is based on theirs; everyone looks to the U.S for everything.”
She urges her students to study abroad as much as possible, believing that nothing builds a person more than exposure to how others live.
While Azita Paziraei, Alireza Bakhtiar, and Azadeh Safaie thrive in their careers and studies in the U.S, they have not forgotten their Persian culture. On the contrary, they strive to keep their cultural values alive, knowing they can live more productive lives by staying true to their Persian identity and connection to their homeland while assimilating into American culture. They also believe that Americans should try to understand other cultures and travel abroad, not just to see the world, but to understand the world. “It will stay with them forever,” says Safaie. “There’s nothing better than being exposed to different cultures.”