Back in 2003, I discovered a blog called Blue Bird Escapes, by a terribly talented young writer in Virginia who returned to her native Iran and wrote an eloquently frank and open diary sharing her views about trying to cross between the two worlds (dig in about here). I just got email from the writer, Elaheh Farmand, now a college freshman, sharing the news that she was published in the Washington Post. The challenge was to write about your life in 100 words or less. And here is what she wrote, as eloquent as ever:
I come from Tehran and no, there are no camels where I come from. There are cars and honking taxis that pass women in black veils or short, colorful scarves that barely cover their heads. In this beautiful prison of banned dreams, there certainly isn’t a statue of liberty; men and women liberate themselves with cafes, cigars, smuggled drugs and secret relationships. In America, I am a writer. I can imagine, dream, live, breathe as an Iranian, an American. I can add color to anything; if only I could paint the gray streets of Tehran with my words.
