183 September-October 2019 Vol. XXVII No. 183 • In Search of Humanity • No Wall Is High Enough! • “What’s in a name?” Saeed Jalali • Water and Life • 5 Most Popular Weight Loss Diets • Third annual Hafez Day • Mohsen Namjoo live in San Diego • ABBAS KIAROSTAMI, THE FILMMAKER AND THE MAN • Persian Mehregan Festival with Reza Rohani & Sara Naeini Great News Peyk is going online! www.peykmagazine.com 32 nd Year Iranian School of San Diego Registration, August 25 and 29, 2019 183 Since 1991 By: Shahri Estakhry Persian Cultural Center’s Bilingual Magazine Is a bi - monthly publication organized for literary, cultural and information purposes In Search of Humanity Financial support is provided by the City of Hope. It is the element that human beings permit themselves for a better future. It is the force San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture. behind the impossible. It is the prayer to guide those lost in their surroundings, in impossible situations. Persian Cultural Center 6790 Top Gun St. #7, San Diego, CA 92121 Tel: (858) 552-9355 It was with this hope that thousands fled their homelands, leaving behind families and familiarities Fax: (619) 374-7335 and, against all odds, got themselves to the gates of the United States, which they believed was Email: [email protected] www.pccsd.org the land of opportunity, justice, and humanity… with much hope for their future. At this point came the unspeakable tragedies which have stopped them and shocked the September-October 2019 it seemed-until world, demolishing the respect and the credit this country has earned through its short history. Despite this nation’s history with slavery and genocide of Vol. XXVII recently-that indigenous Americans, it seemed—until recently—that this country was still Circulation: 6000 this country Persian Cultural Center striving to be a land of opportunity, justice, and humanity. A non - profit national corporation was still striving Established in 1989. San Diego, California to be a land of I have been working globally for the benefit of children in need for 48 years Board of Directors: opportunity, of my life. Children in need of education, children in need of good health, and foremost children in dire need of nourishment. According to UNICEF, hunger Nikoo Atefi, Fariba Babakhani- Ghazi, justice, and Amir Farshad Babakhani, Parnian Badii, is the number one killer of children globally. I thought I had seen the worst that Hamid Beikzadeh, Farideh Fazel, humanity. was possible to see until now. Witnessing the cruelty and inhumane standard Ida Khodami, Hossain Hajimowlana, we have adopted at our border gates is unbelievable. I never thought I would Ali Sadr, Venus Safaei, live to see such horrific cruelty. We all are seeing and reading about what is happening and yet Shahla Salah, Golsa Soraya many have chosen to be silent about it. We need to imagine ourselves in their places. So painful, so unreal to see families torn apart. The border images will remain with me for the rest of my life. Editorial Board Shahri Estakhry, Aria Fani, Saeid Noori Bushehri, For a long time, I have strongly believed that U.S. immigration policy has no rhyme or reason. Shahrzad Julazadeh, Shaghayegh Hanson, The present system we have is truly beneficial only to those who know how to use its flaws and Hossein Hajimolana, Reza Khabazian and loopholes. It is a broken system and a disgrace beyond words. This is not how the defenders of Rachel Tait democracy and freedom should resolve problems. Contributing Writers Tania Ahmadi, Mohammad Ahrar, Noushin Timothy Snyder Levin, Professor of History at Yale University and author of the book Tyranny, Khorsanian, Sanaz Majd, Leily Rezvani and writes: “anticipatory obedience is a political tragedy. Perhaps rulers did not initially know that Marriam Zarrabi and Sara Vazirzadeh citizens were willing to compromise this value or that principle.” Editor–In–Chief: Ali Sadr Today, we are at the crossing of the tragedy of anticipatory obedience. What are you willing to Graphic Artist: Saeed Jalali compromise? Peyk reserves the right to edit all materials at its sole discretion. Materials submitted will not be returned to sender, even if not used, and the contributor will be deemed to have given consent and license for the reproduction and publication of such submission in Peyk magazine and / or the Peyk website PCC Foundation Charitable Organization Affiliate of Persian Cultural Center Tel (858) 552-9355 Fax & Message: ( 619) 374 - 7335 Cover Design: Saeed Jalali 3 PCC (Persian Cultural Center): PCC NEWS Family Game Night – June 28, 2019 On June 28, a good number of people of all ages got together and enjoyed a family night of playing traditional games, singing karaoke, and eating great food at the Iranian American Center (IAC). Docunight – July 3, 2019 The documentary “Like a Woman,” directed by Mojgan Inanlou, was screened in the month of July. “Like A Woman” is the first and only documentary about Faezeh Hashemi’s political and private life. The movie covers many unseen aspects of Hashemi Rafsanjani’s family and his controversial children. After the movie, an audience discussion was moderated by Ali Khorsandian. Jong-e Farhangi - July 12, 2019 The July Jong was hosted by Reza Khabazian. This event had two guests. First, author Zohreh Ghahremani spoke about “storytelling” and her latest novel. In the second half, Hans Farrahi spoke about his experience as a musician and instructor. He then played few pieces of music on piano. In each section, the audience members asked their questions during a Q&A session. Movie and Discussion Series – July 19, 2019 The July movie selection was Crazy Rook, directed by Abolhassan Davoodi, with a cast including Saber Abar, Bijan Emkanian and Gohar Kheirandish. The movie is about a group of young people who meet on social media, get together to have some fun, but the story turnes when one of them committed a crime. Each character has a very different version of the incident. The movie has won five Simorgh Bolurin awards at the Fajr International Film Festival—Iran’s major annual film festival—for Best Movie Selected by Audience, Best Film, Best Director, Best Sound, and Special Effects. After the screening, host Mahmoud Reza Pirouzian introduced the director and facilitated a discussion on the different aspects of the film with attendees. Screening Nabat and Q&A by Shahab Hosseini – August 3 and 4, 2019 In cooperation with POL Media and PCC, the movie Nabat (2016) was screened on August 3 and 4 at the “Q” auditorium in San Diego. Nabat is directed by Pegah Arzi, with a cast including Shahab Hosseini, Nazanin Farahani, and Setayesh Hosseini. After the screening, a Q&A session with Shahab Hosseini was moderated by Mahmoud Pirouzian. At the end, the attendees took memorable pictures with Shahab Hosseini on the red carpet. More than 500 people came to see the movie in two days. Docunight – August 7, 2019 The documentary “Janbal,” directed by Mina Bozorgmehr and Hadi Kamali Mogahdam, was screened at the IAC on August 7. Inspired by an ancient Hormoz Island myth in which people sacrifice the clothing of the deceased to the sea so that the goddess Sea-Mother will cleanse their souls, “Janbal” takes stories told by the island’s 4 No. 183 September-October 2019 dwellers as its starting point, and playfully finds its form from there. After the movie, the discussion section was moderated by Ali Khorsandian. Jong-e Farhangi - August 9, 2019 The August Jong was hosted by Ali Sadr. The first guest of this event was Khodadad Sharif, a lawyer and member of the Iranian American Bar Association, who discussed financial aspects of civil litigation and family law and took questions from audience members. Essy Ghavamodini, a professional photographer, was the second guest of this event and he described his forty-year journey working as a photographer for major sporting events and major concerts in San Diego. Some of his pictures were exhibited at the Center. PCC’s Board Meetings PCC’s board of directors holds its meetings every second Wednesday of the month at IAC. The last two meetings took place on July 10 and August 14, 2019. Art Gallery: A Dream of Humanity– August 17 through October 19, 2019 In cooperation with UCSD’s Art and Humanities department, a collection of Reza Deghati’s works is being shown by PCC at the Iranian American Centerfrom August 17 through October 19. This gallery is presented by Gallery Yellow. The event is free, and the photographs are available for purchase. San Diego Iranian School Registration – August 25 and 29, 2019 Registration for the school year of 2019 - 2020 was held on August 25 and 29, 2019, at Mt. Carmel High School. 5 Aria Fani In 2013, I wrote an essay in Peyk in which I examined border militarization as a political phenomenon in the United States and Israel. In it, I argued that in both countries, border militarization is rooted in the destruction of land and the dehumanization of indigenous communities. What had given occasion to this essay was the fact that the US Congress had passed a massive budget to further militarize the border and it was signed into law by Barack Obama. Six years later, we have an openly xenophobic president in the White House who ran a presidential campaign based on a promised border wall. In reprinting this essay, I would like to point your attention to the ways in which our inhumane immigration laws predate the current administration. In order to fight for a more humane and inclusive immigration system, we must understand that the current Let us start in Palestine.