“Iranian-American. Neither the first word nor the second really belonged to her. Her place was on the hyphen, and on the hyphen she would stay…”
Marjan Kamali – Together Tea
I am a first generation migrant, my daughters call themselves the “Third Culture Children” and my Dutch therapist who is a third culture child herself once said “researchers believe it takes three generations for a migrant to eventually feel at home!”
The Third Culture Children & Together Tea by Marjan Kamali
Together Tea is about a generation of children who even though are lost between two cultures, still bravely turn their disadvantages to their biggest strength. They learn how not only to live within two cultures proudly but love both. Marjan Kamali’s books are the lives of my daughters and millions of other Iranians around the world far from their ancestor’s land.
The Stationery Shop of Tehran
The Stationery Shop of Tehran is another one of her books published in 2019. This book is describing Iran in 1953 from certain people’s point of view, though I am not sure if their way of thinking or living exists in Iran anymore. There are some historical facts which are completely overlooked in the narration of the events happening in 1953 in Iran in this book.
- The D’Arcy Concession was a petroleum oil concession that was signed in 1901 between William Knox D’Arcy and Mozzafar al-Din, Shah (from Qajar Dynasty) . The oil concession gave D’Arcy the exclusive rights to prospect for oil in Persia (now Iran).
- Mohammad Mosaddegh was a prince from Qajar Dynasty who became prime minister during the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah in the Pahlavi Dynasty and did contribute to nationalizing the Iranian Oil industry which was given away by his ancestors years earlier.
- During the Qajar Dynasty which lasted for 140 years, the most useless and brutal kings ruled Iran and the country lost many lands and resources to Russia and Britain. During this era, people form the court and religious clerks were considered of the highest social status and entitled for all sort of privileges.
- Pahlavi Dynasty kings were patriots enough to revive the old days of glory and create equal opportunities for people from different social levels.
- Iran’s history specially the contemporary history is full of controversy and still needs to be studied closely and independently to be understood as its reality lies beneath.
