A little known thing about me - my link with Iran (first published 10/12/20)

  Iran


I have often wondered what my connection is to Iran.  


In 1977 I made my first visit to Washington DC.  I was so excited to see the Nation’s Capitol.  Someone else decided to visit the very same week, the Shah of Iran.  People for and against the Shah showed up in force in response to his visit.  Everyone was wearing masks, scared of the SAVAK, the domestic security force of Iran, known for its ruthlessness.  Everything closed to visitors - the White House, the Capitol, and almost all Government buildings.  To be honest, I knew nothing about the Shah other than he was ruining my trip to the Capitol.  I was mad and screamed at the Capitol police for pushing me away from sites I wanted to visit.  


We did make it to our Representative John Moss’s office to obtain White House tour tickets which were issued for the day after the Shah was scheduled to leave town and which would be our last day in Washington and last chance to see the White House.  While we were already in the office building, we decided to take the basement path from one building to the next.  While the entire Capitol was on the highest alert, no-one stopped us.  When we got to the Senate side of the building, staffers were in the window looking out.  What was there - thousands of protesters.  I asked what was happening and one answered that the Shah was in the building meeting with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and pointed to a door down the hall.  We ventured down the hall and just then the door swung open and out came the Shah, only feet away, waves and with his entourage heads towards the door.  We ran back to the window and watched what looked like a wave of bodies around this man who got into a limo and drove away.     Within fifteen minutes the streets of Washington are empty of protesters, the Shah has left town.  The next day, everything was open and I got my visit to the White House.  With all that security and protection, I’ve always wondered how I got within a few feet of the Shah with virtually no one between me and this man that so many hated..  


Fast forward to 2005. Brussels, Belgium.  Susan and I are chaperones for a group of American students staying in Belgium.  One of the daily excursions was into Brussels.  We toured the Belgium Parliament building and had finished visiting one of their two houses of parliament and were in the hall that connected the two when along came some security personnel requesting we move to the side so a party can pass.  I must add that up to this time we had not seen anyone in the building and there was little or no security.  Up comes the newly elected Iranian Prime Minister, Mahmound Ahmadinejad .  He asks where the students are from, they say the USA and he stops and holds a makeshift press conference with the students (we adults stood behind).  I remember him specifically saying, “nations can disagree but people can get along”.  None of us knew that he had made quite a previous splat the previous night by refusing to shake hands with the women premier of Belgium and insulted the Belgiums by walking out of a State dinner because the Belgiums had served their world-renowned beer.  After this brief encounter, his entourage moved on and we continued our tour.  By the time we got back to the little town where we were staying, everyone in town had seen the encounter on TV.


Fast forward to September 2007.  Our daughter Rose has just started her first year at Columbia University and we have come to the university for parent week. Who will be visiting the campus?  None other than Mahmound Ahmadinejah.  His visit is part of Columbia University’s annual World Leaders Forum,  The campus has heightened security with all the gates controlled.   Protesters abound.  This time we do not get to personally see the Iranian leader but we sure are impacted by his visit.  

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