Iranian Diaspora

[WudangMaster]

This is a continuation of a topic started in the automotive section regarding Iranians outside of Iran and their descendants.

For some reasons I have a hard time to understand why many Iranians think of any one living outside of iran as being "monarchist" or "mko"...
yes there are some of both groups .Add to that the bitter taste of "green card" crowd in rohanni government as you mentioned yourself and I can not blame them for this "misconception ".

I have met many half iranian and half foreign borne kids including my own daughter who have never been in iran but love this nation by reading about it...they go on being successful members of their countries but never forget their roots.
I even had a 25 year old young man who wanted to join iranian military but I had to tell him they will not accept him because of his country of birth.
Any way..under such atmosphere of hostility on both sides I decided not to pursue the idea..
Sorry but I am way off topic on this car thread.

As I was creating this thread I realize there are distinctly groups of Iranians and their children outside of Iran for various reasons. I can highlight some of them here that I can think of, though I'm sure there are others I have not thought of yet.

1) There are Iranians who migrated over before 1979 mostly for college and ended up staying and produced offspring and became too rooted to move back. My own family being an example this group, started migrating in 1971 with my parents being the last to come over in 76. I and my brothers and cousins were all born from 79 throughout the 90s. The older generation had reza baaz pahlavichis, hezbollahis, and not paying much attention to care. Of the generation born here, only I care about such things and only I can read/write at an elementary level through lessons from my grandmother and self teaching and only I can speak the language decently and even improving over the years in understanding technical terminology and some literature, compared to when I was growing up and only learning the basics spoken at home with my parents. My brothers and cousins never learned the script and have lost the spoken language altogether as they grew to middle age adults and these are the ones with both parents being Farsi speaking. One half brother and cousin who have American mothers never learned the language in the first place. Of my generation in the family, only I can discuss Iranian things intelligently, be it historical or current. That love also originated from what ever exposure I had growing up and reading and later internet.

2) There are Iranians who migrated over in the 1980s onwards who are larger in number and are more staunch in political views and are far more infested with mko/mek terrorist roaches and the occasional reza baaz donkey. Their children parrot more political nonsense they pickup from their parents, assuming their children care about such things at all, especially if one parent is not of Iran.
There is one person who I personally knew who had a blond all American wife who became fully fluent in Farsi and all things Iranian and she was truly exceptional. Their children were also fluent Farsi but again that is a rare exception. Unfortunately, I think they were mko/mek supporters, though this was a long time ago and I cannot be sure. The fellow's name and picture are somewhat known so I don't want to mention names.

There are other cases as well that I will add to later when I think of them.

 

[aryobarzan]

This is a continuation of a topic started in the automotive section regarding Iranians outside of Iran and their descendants.



As I was creating this thread I realize there are distinctly groups of Iranians and their children outside of Iran for various reasons. I can highlight some of them here that I can think of, though I'm sure there are others I have not thought of yet.

1) There are Iranians who migrated over before 1979 mostly for college and ended up staying and produced offspring and became too rooted to move back. My own family being an example this group, started migrating in 1971 with my parents being the last to come over in 76. I and my brothers and cousins were all born from 79 throughout the 90s. The older generation had reza baaz pahlavichis, hezbollahis, and not paying much attention to care. Of the generation born here, only I care about such things and only I can read/write at an elementary level through lessons from my grandmother and self teaching and only I can speak the language decently and even improving over the years in understanding technical terminology and some literature, compared to when I was growing up and only learning the basics spoken at home with my parents. My brothers and cousins never learned the script and have lost the spoken language altogether as they grew to middle age adults and these are the ones with both parents being Farsi speaking. One half brother and cousin who have American mothers never learned the language in the first place. Of my generation in the family, only I can discuss Iranian things intelligently, be it historical or current. That love also originated from what ever exposure I had growing up and reading and later internet.

2) There are Iranians who migrated over in the 1980s onwards who are larger in number and are more staunch in political views and are far more infested with mko/mek terrorist roaches and the occasional reza baaz donkey. Their children parrot more political nonsense they pickup from their parents, assuming their children care about such things at all, especially if one parent is not of Iran.
There is one person who I personally knew who had a blond all American wife who became fully fluent in Farsi and all things Iranian and she was truly exceptional. Their children were also fluent Farsi but again that is a rare exception. Unfortunately, I think they were mko/mek supporters, though this was a long time ago and I cannot be sure. The fellow's name and picture are somewhat known so I don't want to mention names.

There are other cases as well that I will add to later when I think of them.

Thank you .it is indeed interesting to know some of the stories of migrant iranians..I have to add a third category and those are the Iranians who already had foreign spouses and were back in iran and were working before the revolution. They had to go back because of their spouses not being able to live in an islamic style society...I call this category the "accidental immigrants"..I am one of them...I never thought one day I be making my life outside of iran...but life has its own plans for you. As years went by I never went back to iran because of the nature of my job so I have not seen iran for 40 years...but I always kept in touch with what was happening.

I say this...you can take an Iranian out of iran but you can never take iran out of an Iranian.

 

[Dariush the Great]

Thank you .it is indeed interesting to know some of the stories of migrant inranians..I have to add a third category and those are the Iranians who already had foreign spouses and were back in iran and were working before the revolution. They had to go back because of their spouses not being able to live in an islamic style society...I call this category the "accidental immigrants"..I am one of them...I never thought one day I be making my life outside of iran...but life has its own plans for you. As years went by I never went back to iran because of the nature of my job so I have not seen iran for 40 years...but I always kept in touch with what was happening.

I say this...you can take an Iranian out of iran but you can never take iran out of an Iranian.

well, you remained loyal to Iran despite being away for so long. Mard hasti dadash.

 

[aryobarzan]

May we start this thread with Maryam. May God bless her sole .
Remembering Maryam Mirzakhani, Iranian Maths Badass
The brilliant mathematician is the only woman to have ever won mathematics’ biggest prize, the Fields Medal.

On 13th August 2014, at a packed conference hall in Seoul, Tehran-born Maryam Mirzakhani made history. The short-haired, energetic mathematician’s work on the symmetry of curved surfaces won the prestigious Fields Medal—widely considered the Nobel Prize for maths.

 

[aryobarzan]

Professor Emeritus Ali Javan, inventor of the first gas laser, dies at 89
Longtime MIT professor was a trailblazer in the fields of laser technology and quantum electronics.

Chuck Leddy | Department of Physics
Publication Date:
September 29, 2016
PRESS INQUIRIES

Caption:
Ali Javan


MIT Professor Emeritus Ali Javan, the institute's first Francis Wright Davis Professor of Physics, who was a trailblazer in the fields of laser technology and quantum electronics, died of natural causes in Los Angeles on Sept. 12, at the age of 89. In 1960, while working at Bell Laboratories, Javan invented the world’s first gas laser. The technology would be applied to telecommunications, internet data transmission, holography, bar-code scanners, medical devices, and more.
Javan came to MIT as an associate professor of physics in 1961, and founded the nation’s first large-scale research center in laser technology. Javan also developed the first method for accurately measuring the speed of light and launched the field of high-resolution laser spectroscopy.
“In the 1960s and 1970s, Professor Javan's laser group at MIT was a hotbed of innovation and advances in amazingly broad areas in laser physics,” said Irving P. Herman PhD '77, who studied with Javan and is currently the Edwin Howard Armstrong Professor of Applied Physics at Columbia University. “His group was key to understanding the fundamentals of the interactions of laser with matter, and in implementing them. He will be remembered by his many students and colleagues as a brilliant man, a pioneer, an inspiring man, and a kind and dear man.”
From Tehran to New York City
Ali Javan was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1926, and came to the United States in 1949, where he studied and worked at Columbia University with Nobel prize-winning physicist Charles H. Townes.

 

[aryobarzan]

Professor Fazlollah Reza
I met him when he was Iranian Ambassador to Canada..He was a humble man came to my desk at the university sat and talked to us graduate students about Electrical engineering mathematics and and poetry!..

Professor Fazlollah Reza who was among the renowned Iranians, born in 1915 in Rasht, north of Iran, was an Iranian engineer, poet, and mathematician who died at the age of 105 in Ottawa, Canada today on 20th of November.

Professor Reza graduated from the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Tehran in 1938, receiving a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. He received a master's and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Columbia University in 1946 and Polytechnic University of New York (now, New York University Tandon School of Engineering) in 1950 respectively. He was a Fellow of the IEEE and AAAS for his contribution to network and information theory. He is an honorary member of the Academy of Persian Language and Literature and has written and spoken extensively on classical Persian poetry.

 

[Shawnee]

I think I represent a fourth category. I left Iran for scientific progress and education, love of studying in ivy schools and growth. I was born in US but raised in Iran.

I left Iran like a complete mullah hater. I hated MEK even more. I think they are the worst scum ever. I like Shahis more since at least they have some zaat and passion left. People like Zahedi are real patriots.
Saltanat talabi is not the future for Iran though.

I developed connections to the west overtime and got settled. The love for Iran always stayed though.

 

[El Sidd]

@Yankee-stani

What are your thoughts on Iranian diaspora, the identity crisis and collapse of a multi cultural world?

Please feel free to cite personal examples.

Regards

 

[Raghfarm007]

Professor Emeritus Ali Javan, inventor of the first gas laser, dies at 89
Longtime MIT professor was a trailblazer in the fields of laser technology and quantum electronics.

Chuck Leddy | Department of Physics
Publication Date:
September 29, 2016
PRESS INQUIRIES

Caption:
Ali Javan


MIT Professor Emeritus Ali Javan, the institute's first Francis Wright Davis Professor of Physics, who was a trailblazer in the fields of laser technology and quantum electronics, died of natural causes in Los Angeles on Sept. 12, at the age of 89. In 1960, while working at Bell Laboratories, Javan invented the world’s first gas laser. The technology would be applied to telecommunications, internet data transmission, holography, bar-code scanners, medical devices, and more.
Javan came to MIT as an associate professor of physics in 1961, and founded the nation’s first large-scale research center in laser technology. Javan also developed the first method for accurately measuring the speed of light and launched the field of high-resolution laser spectroscopy.
“In the 1960s and 1970s, Professor Javan's laser group at MIT was a hotbed of innovation and advances in amazingly broad areas in laser physics,” said Irving P. Herman PhD '77, who studied with Javan and is currently the Edwin Howard Armstrong Professor of Applied Physics at Columbia University. “His group was key to understanding the fundamentals of the interactions of laser with matter, and in implementing them. He will be remembered by his many students and colleagues as a brilliant man, a pioneer, an inspiring man, and a kind and dear man.”
From Tehran to New York City
Ali Javan was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1926, and came to the United States in 1949, where he studied and worked at Columbia University with Nobel prize-winning physicist Charles H. Townes.

I met Ali Javan in Iran in the early 1990s.... he wanted to do big things in Iran....Rafsanjni screwed it up, and Javan left for good.

 

[WudangMaster]

@Yankee-stani

What are your thoughts on Iranian diaspora, the identity crisis and collapse of a multi cultural world?

Please feel free to cite personal examples.

Regards

On a slightly related topic I have experienced that if you want your offspring to assimilate the parent culture in a different country, it is imperative that both parents speak the language fluently at home and practice many of the traditions and all the time making it "fun" and not heavy handed so they won't possibly rebel against it as teenagers. It is a challenge to say the least because it has to be maintained constantly and the kids are being bombarded with the surrounding culture and language, especially going through at least 12 years of regular school plus whatever secondary education. The parent language will never be as strong as the language the children are receiving a formal education in unless the offspring themselves make an effort. Also surrounding them with visual representations of the parent country helps in subtle ways. As an example, many offspring of Iranians outside of the country remember either carpets, khatam kari, ghalam zani, ghalam, kari, mina kari, or a nice samovar, etc growing up in the home and these along with the food and language at home all work together in maintenance of cultural roots.

 

[aryobarzan]

The Iranian immigrant who conquered online video tech
By Andreane Williams
Business reporter

Published23 August
Share

image captionShahrzad Rafati arrived in Canada with just one suitcase and little English
This week we speak to Shahrzad Rafati, founder and boss of internet video technology firm BroadbandTV (BBTV).
Shahrzad Rafati was only 13 when she decided she would one day build a global business. She also knew that she wouldn't be able to achieve her dream if she stayed in her native Iran.
So at the age of 17 her drive and confidence managed to persuade her parents to let her move by herself to Vancouver to go to university.
Shahrzad arrived in the city on Canada's Pacific coast in 1996 with just one suitcase, and only a limited grasp of English.
"I couldn't communicate what I wanted to say [when I arrived], and I think that was probably the biggest challenge," she says. "But I was determined to make a success out of my life."

Today the 40-year-old continues to run BBTV, a company that helps firms around the world secure advertising revenues from videos on YouTube, Facebook and other websites and apps.
Launched by Shahrzad in 2005, its high-profile clients include everyone from the National Basketball Association, to Sony, Warner Bros and Disney. Canadian newspapers have speculated that the business is worth more than $1bn (£760m).

 

[Sina-1]

Iranians abroad should form alliances such as Jews and always support Iran no matter who is in power.

unfortunately, we are so fragmented that as soon as we have a party who is not in our liking we want to burn down all bridges and call each other traitors etc

the only way diaspora can have long term positive effect is to agree not interfere with Iran’s affairs. No matter who is in power. Vice versa is also valid. IRI should not interfere how diaspora conduct themselves outside Iran. If this agreement can be struck then i think it will be very beneficial for all parties involved.

 

[Raghfarm007]

The Iranian immigrant who conquered online video tech
By Andreane Williams
Business reporter

Published23 August
Share

image captionShahrzad Rafati arrived in Canada with just one suitcase and little English
This week we speak to Shahrzad Rafati, founder and boss of internet video technology firm BroadbandTV (BBTV).
Shahrzad Rafati was only 13 when she decided she would one day build a global business. She also knew that she wouldn't be able to achieve her dream if she stayed in her native Iran.
So at the age of 17 her drive and confidence managed to persuade her parents to let her move by herself to Vancouver to go to university.
Shahrzad arrived in the city on Canada's Pacific coast in 1996 with just one suitcase, and only a limited grasp of English.
"I couldn't communicate what I wanted to say [when I arrived], and I think that was probably the biggest challenge," she says. "But I was determined to make a success out of my life."

Today the 40-year-old continues to run BBTV, a company that helps firms around the world secure advertising revenues from videos on YouTube, Facebook and other websites and apps.
Launched by Shahrzad in 2005, its high-profile clients include everyone from the National Basketball Association, to Sony, Warner Bros and Disney. Canadian newspapers have speculated that the business is worth more than $1bn (£760m).

Bullshit story to try to say that she could only be successful if she left Iran....BBC made an identical story about her.... I know this business well....I bet you she is not worth very much money!

 

[El Sidd]

On a slightly related topic I have experienced that if you want your offspring to assimilate the parent culture in a different country, it is imperative that both parents speak the language fluently at home and practice many of the traditions and all the time making it "fun" and not heavy handed so they won't possibly rebel against it as teenagers. It is a challenge to say the least because it has to be maintained constantly and the kids are being bombarded with the surrounding culture and language, especially going through at least 12 years of regular school plus whatever secondary education. The parent language will never be as strong as the language the children are receiving a formal education in unless the offspring themselves make an effort. Also surrounding them with visual representations of the parent country helps in subtle ways. As an example, many offspring of Iranians outside of the country remember either carpets, khatam kari, ghalam zani, ghalam, kari, mina kari, or a nice samovar, etc growing up in the home and these along with the food and language at home all work together in maintenance of cultural roots.

A very keen analysis that touches the most urgent core issues of the diaspora. But don't you believe that it is West vs East clash of civilisation or humans struggle to adapt anew?

@Aspen @Yankee-stani @925boy

 

[WudangMaster]

A very keen analysis that touches the most urgent core issues of the diaspora. But don't you believe that it is West vs East clash of civilisation or humans struggle to adapt anew?

@Aspen @Yankee-stani @925boy

Not so much, especially as the offspring in the new country are in fact a hybrid in terms of culture and the east/west concern gets very blurred. I don't see it as a struggle to adapt anew as much as changes/adaptations happening organically over time.