POINT DE VUE - Paris 6th July 2004 - A report by Jean-Jacques Bruges - Translated by Cyrus Kadivar
EMPRESS FARAH PAHLAVI OF IRAN:
"Only the smile of my grand-daughters allows me to forget my sorrrows."
Princess Yasmine Pahlavi and daughter "Farah" (JOY)
POINT DE VUE:
You became a grandmother for the third time. You have published a book that became a bestseller. The Persian New Year that began on the 21st March was favourable to you....
HIM FARAH PAHLAVI:
This year has been exceptionally important. I finally took the decision to write, to recount my life the way I lived it. It was also to honour my husband's memory, to tell my children what I witnessed, but also to describe to my young compatriots
this period in Iran's history that they did not experience. A past that their parents regret. I also had in my heart a desire to retrace my personal story.I sensed it was my duty to do so and I have a feeling that I achieved it. I do not believe that my mission is over yet. More that anything else I want to support all those inside and outside, who are fighting to restore democracy in my homeland. This book represents my duty vis-a-vis the past. The birth of my little grandchild, Farah, fills me with joy and represents the future.
PDV:Who chose the name?
FP:
The choice was made by my son Reza, his wife Yasmine and approved by her two sisters, Noor and Iman. Naturally, this touched me deeply. It is not our custom to give a child the name of one of its grand-parents still living. But one can always usher in a new tradition and I am overjoyed.
PDV: What does it signify?
FP:
It means "Joy". It is a double joy and a continuation because the names of my other grand-daughters also have their own meaning. Noor, means "Light", Iman, means "Faith" and today "Farah", means "Joy."
PDV:
This birth, this success, can it compensate for the dark years of exile, the passing of the Shah and the tragic end of the Princess Leila?
FP:
Such wounds will remain open in my heart forever. Nothing can make me forget this tragedy. Only the smiles of my grand-daughters can lessen the pain sometimes.
PDV:
You have just published your Memoirs in the United States?
FP:
My title was translated into "An Enduring Love," that is "A love that never ends." This love is my love for the Shah, but also my love for my country.
PDV:
Do you have the feeling that you have said everything?
FP:
I wrote the story of my life as I have lived it.Without a doubt certain people may say that I could have said more. To finish this work well, I chose to stick to reality, to say the essential. I did not aim to make a political analysis of the domestic and
international scene. I was careful not to betray those who shared their secrets, whether political or private... At first, it was nice to recollect the good souvenirs: the years passed in Iran, my youth, my meeting with the Shah, my marriage, the birth of my children. The rest was more difficult: the dark years, the mournings and 25 years of exile, beginning with months of
anguish in search of a safe haven. The discovery of the nature of humanity and the deceptions as well. I am capable of
turning the page. I can not cut myself off from my destiny. On the other hand, I do not live in the past, I live in the present and face the future.
PDV:
In which countries has the book been published?
FP:
Outside the French, Persian and American editions, which has been sold in Anglo-Saxon countries, the book has already appeared in the Benelux and in Spain. It will soon appear in Germany, Turkey, but also in Hungary, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, all former republics linked to the USSR. They were the first countries who, after its French publication,
agreed to publish my book. Suprisingly, even before the appearance of the Persian edition, many people succeeded in
smuggling the French edition into Iran.A friend of mine returning from Isfahan told me that the French version of my book was sold in the black market for 100 Dollars!
PDV:
What were the reactions of your children, and particularly your eldest daughter, when reading your Memoirs?
FP:The first thing I did before sending my manuscript to a publisher was to send a copy to each of my children. They read it carefully. It was vital to me that they liked the book. They were particularly interested in my accounts describing my childhood and my youth. Perhaps I had not told them enough. They knew very little of the Iran of that period.
PDV:
Did they ask you to change this or that passage?
FP:
Nothing of importance. My daughter Farahnaz who is a warm-hearted person, found certain phrases rather harsh, especially when I criticised my mother's severity. She asked me to tone it down. In fact,if I had chosen to describe her strict attitudes towards me, it was really to express my gratitude for the education she gave me , which allowed me to carry my head high and to deal with the challenges of my destiny. Farahnaz also asked me to insist more on the close relationship that linked my daughter Leila, who passed away tragically, to her brother Ali Reza who was a few years older than her...
PDV:
You seem bitter sometimes when evoking the attitude of the West during 1978/79. What was its responsibility in the fall of the monarchical regime in Iran?
FP:
Many readers, Iranian and others, have written to me to say that one of the qualities of the book is that it does not express bitterness. I have tried to state the facts and the events in the way they happened, without passing judgement. I wanted it that way. At the beginning the causes of the Islamic revolution was as much internal as they were external. But the West's
greatest error was in not forseeing the sudden rise of religious fundamentalism, the major catalyst of terrorism.
PDV:
Did you have a presentiment?
FP:
No, I admit that. But very soon Iranians also realised that the new regime did not correspond to what they were expecting. For 25 years the world closed its eyes on this fundamentalist movement which was propagated from Iran and consumed the entire world. Alas! It took those bloody events which engulfed the planet and did not spare the United States for it to acknowledge at the highest levels the menacing dangers facing us. Today, when I question myself on the future of
Iran, when I ponder the daily tragic circumstances that my compatriots are facing, I find myself not losing courage and holding up my head. I do not doubt that our present suffering will germinate one day into one of our greatest consolations: the liberation of Iran. Twenty-five years of Islamic revolution is nothing in comparison to 2500 years of monarchical history.
PDV:
Is the Iranian diaspora beginning to return?
FP:
There are 4 million Iranians living in exile. None of them doubt that they will find their way beloved homeland once their country has been liberated.I am convinced that in due time, the Islamic republic will go down as an evil paratheses in our history.
PDV:
In Washington, you have bought a house near your eldest son. Where do you prefer to live today? In America with your family, in Cairo or alone in Paris?
FP:
This mixture of three continents agrees with me perfectly. I do not want to lose my roots outside Iran, my only country. I am very happy in the United States where I enjoy the company of my children, my daughter-in-law and my grand children. Over there I benefit from a certain liberty, a certain anonymity which I appreciate. I am happy in Paris. I have many friends and
also several members of my family. In addition, Paris occupies a central position which allows me to travel easily, to Morocco or Egypt. I have accepted life as such. What pains me the most is not seeing my grandchildren growing each day and being far from my children.
PDV:
Your daughter, the Princess Farahnaz and your son, Prince Ali Reza, are still unmarried?
FP:
This hurts my heart sometimes. But you know, my children experienced some difficult moments when they were very young which was even harder for adults. I keep the hope that one day they will find him or her who will in turn bring them happiness and comfort...
POINT DE VUE/No: 2919