AMERICA: THE COUNTRY OF IMMIGRANTS
Iranian-American Immigrant Tells his Story
With the rising tensions of Iranian-U.S. relations because of President Trump dismantling the “disastrous” Iran-American nuclear deal, (Zurcher, 2018), it’s important to take a look at the Iranian-American immigrants and hear their stories of their lives straddled between two countries with high levels of animosity.
Hossein Hakim, an Iranian-American immigrant, is currently a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester Massachusetts. His research is based on signal processing and communication. He is also interested finance and dancing. He recently held an Argentine tango class at WPI.
He came to the U.S. in 1976 for his Graduate studies and obtained a master’s degree at Purdue University in Lafayette, IN. After working in various companies in Europe, he returned to Purdue for his PhD. He finished his PhD in 1982 and then worked at Gonzaga University in Washington state. In 1984, Hakim moved to Massachusetts and began his work at WPI. This year marks the 35th year that professor Hakim has worked at WPI.
Professor Hakim never forgot where he came from. “I was from a very poor family in a house with no electricity and no water and at that time we had no food,” he described.
Despite his economic hardships, Hakim was able attend the Arya-Mehr University in Tehran. “I was the top student of the best university in Iran, so I got a 5-year scholarship to come to the U.S. to get my PhD and go back.”
However, he would not be able to return to Iran.
Inflation soared in Iran during the 70s under the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, despite the fact that the country was growing economically due to oil. The Shah also frequently purged any opposition in Iran with the SAVAK, or the secret police force. Soon, the religious, under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, took control of the Iranian government and imposed harsh religious laws and suppression of Western ideals forcing many western-educated Iranians to leave the country (The Washington Post).
“When I got my PhD, the country was in a revolution and things were not going the way I wanted so I waited to see if things got better but things did not get better, so I became a naturalized U.S. citizen.” Hakim explained. Hakim obtained his U.S. citizenship in 1990.
When Hakim arrived in the U.S. in 1976, he remembered a friendly community in Lafayette. “I thought at the time… it was not so much against immigrants, so I had a very pleasant experience.” Hakim reminisced. However, with the 1979 seizure of 66 hostages in a U.S. embassy among anti-western sentiments in Iran, Hakim received threats from people in his community. “When the hostage crisis happened in Iran, the mood changed. People called me and said they wanted to kill me.”
Despite these troubles, Hakim still thought the atmosphere in America was pleasant. “It was tough because people were emotional,” Hakim admits, “but nothing happened to me, so I had a bit of a positive experience here.”
Hakim praises the U.S. for “giving him a lot of his education and treating his children well.” His daughter currently is studying at Columbia university for her MBA, while his son attended the college of the Holy Cross and became a spokesperson under the Obama Administration.
Although Hakim is grateful for the U.S., he is also highly critical of the country’s foreign policy. “The U.S. at times doesn’t play fair… It takes advantages of other countries and doesn’t care about their progress.” “The U.S. supported the Shah though he was not good for the people for Iran, but the U.S. supported the Shah because the Shah supported the U.S.” Hakim revealed. He mentioned how the Shah was not supportive of the freedom of the press.
Hakim has however, always looked up to the fact that the U.S. has always been a country of immigrants that granted freedoms such as ones in speech.
When asked about the U.S.-Iran relations, Hakim expounded the importance of compromise. While the government of Iran is by no means a saint, there are legitimate grievances put forth by Iran in the Iran nuclear deals that should not have been ignored by the Trump administration. The Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, lifted U.N. sanctions on Iran for ten years while Iran’s nuclear program could not be used for military purposes. On May 5th, 2018, the Trump administration announced that the U.S. would reimpose sanctions on Iran (Brinley, 2018).
Hakim believes he has achieved the “American Dream” through hard work from being the best in Iran to coming to America and obtaining his PhD. In the future, he wants to give back. Recently, he traveled to Colombia to help children in need with food, clothes, and education.
“I want to help children.” Hakim declared.
Hakim returns to Iran every 2 years to visit his mother and relatives. He has helped women in poverty in Iran get the training for the entrance exams in order to attend top universities in Iran.
Hakim’s life motto is to “have a life that has a joy in me and for people to say that ‘he is a happy person.’” He also says he wants people to look at him as a good person and for him to be a role model for others to do good in their country and their community.
“You only live once.”
References:
Bruton, F. Brinley. “What Is the Iran Nuclear Deal?” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 25 Apr. 2018, www.nbcnews.com/storyline/smart-facts/what-iran-nuclear-deal-n868346.
“Iran.” The Washington Post, WP Company, www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/countries/iran.html?nav=el.
“The Iranian Revolution of February 1979.” Middle East Institute, www.mei.edu/publications/iranian-revolution-february-1979.
Zurcher, Anthony. “Three Reasons behind Trump Ditching Iran Deal.” BBC News, BBC, 8 May 2018, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43902372.