Lesson Learned: Iranian’s are continuing to stand tall, despite the fact the the government is not planning to step down from their absurd demands anytime soon. Instead of just sit around, Iranian’s are making names for themselves in other parts of the world. Something that most people are too scared to do. They are looking it at a new chapter in their lives, a chapter that could either make them or break them. Why not take a chance?
Description:
In this article written by Nat Hentoff, he tells how he was contacted through email by someone by the name of Ehsan,who he didn’t know, wanting him to call him once he received the message. The individual had found his books in a private library in Iran, and found out how to contact him through Facebook. He wanted his permission to translate and publish his book into Persian, the two books being “Jazz: New Perspectives on the History of Jazz,” and last year “At the Jazz Band ball: Sixty Years on the Jazz Scene,” which he had just published. With enthusiasm, Hentoff assented both requests. However, like Ehsan had predicted, Iran’s censors forbid publication of the first book and when he found a copy of the second, he printed it out without letting the censors know. Ehsan, a 29 year old young Iranian man, is of Iranian dissident and jazz aficionado. His blog, “Take the ‘A’ Train,” is dedicated to spreading jazz gospel as a voice of freedom, which is hard to do in his native country where certain types of music and arts are forbidden. The contact between himself and Mr. Khoshbakht’s has bloomed into continuing internet and telephone conversations over the years. Since then, he has noticed how determined this young man has become pertaining to being a member of what he calls “the jazz family,” even under such a strict dictatorship. He named his blog after the famous Duke Ellington, stating “I love Duke, and I see jazz as that train. Living in Iran, the only notion I had of freedom was listening to these jazz people, especially Duke Ellington.” Ehsan makes it known that he has read passages of his books, and plays music from all the people that he writes about. Khoshbakht discovered jazz when he came across a compilation cassette. “What changed my life was Louis Armstrong...” he exclaimed. Jazz become his religion, it was a way of escaping realities of the outside world for him. Instead of continuing a job in architecture and urban design, he went to become a full time jazz aficionado. Since the blackout of “Western values” in Iran, he has wrote articles for newspapers and magazines on jazz, as well as making his own radio programs, allowing people to download them. Five months ago, Mr. Khoshbakht has left Iran, and has moved to London where he is now engaging in films studies but also keeping up with his blog. He arrived knowing nobody, but with the help of friends, a local bass player invited him to one of his gigs, in hopes of introducing him to several other musicians. He is continuing with his life long dream, letting nothing or no one get in his way. (Hentoff 1)
Evaluation:
This article was a kind of hard article to follow, jumping from one thing to the next. I had to read the article over several times to fully understand some sentences. Other than that, I found the article very interesting. I personally enjoyed how the article opened up with how Mr. Khoshbakht contacted the author all the way from Iran, just with the help of Facebook. It’s amazing how determined he was to get his voice heard whatever way possible! Like other articles I have read, the Iranian youth continues to not let the government control their futures. Like Khoshnbakht, they are leaving Iran to start a better life, not constricted and banned from doing what they please. I love stories like these, making me so thankful to be able to live in an area where I have the freedom to do the simplest things, which sometimes I take for granted. If you want to read a story that’s inspirational, this is the article for you!
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