Iran's situation in 1978

1978 - Iran’s situation

When I was preparing to leave Iran, there was political turmoil and social unrest that had already begun years before, reaching a climax in 1977 on different fronts, slowly pulling the nation toward revolution.

Just a week before my departure, on the 19th of August 1978, there was a horrifying terror attack in the southern city of Abadan. A movie theatre, the Cinema Rex was set on fire. All the doors were mysteriously locked making it impossible for anyone to escape. Nearly 500 innocent civilians were trapped, burnt alive. The carnage happened in the hottest month, in one of the hottest cities. According to the chief-of-police’s account, the scene would remind you of the gas chambers of Hitler. The opposition groups and the ruling government were pointing fingers at one another, accusing the other of the heinous attack. The brutalities that the Shah’s secret police, SAVAK, were inflicting on people in those days to suppress the uprising that was gaining momentum day by day, like a rolling snowball, made it hard for people to dismiss these accusations by the opposition groups. Later, it was considered to be a pivotal event that triggered the revolution. And, in my view, the events that occurred following the revolution cleared the air for many as to who was the real culprit on that fateful day.

Despite all this, nobody, myself included, could have imagined it would be living through days leading up to the impending moment of a sudden and drastic change of regime. I did not say farewell nor resign my job. Instead, I began a two-month summer break and planned to come to Japan for a short visit.

Occasionally, whenever I think back to that summer, I can’t help but wonder if, on that day of departure while hugging my mother good-bye, I knew somehow that this would be the last time ever to hug her, that I would never see her again, or even be able to go to her funeral. Indeed, if I had known what was to come would I have acted differently?

Within a short period of my arrival in Japan, the political events taking a turn for worse in Iran, made me realize, bitterly, it was becoming impossible for me to return home, at least, for a while.  The only road ahead was to stay on in Japan and see how the situation in the Middle East would develop. I was unprepared for these sudden changes, and for the unfolding events that followed. In truth, I felt this new country was not ready for me, either.