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Mahin Hashemi

Mahin Hashemi

Baha’i Refugee from Iran

Born: Iran
Heritage: Baha'i

The first thing is to associate with very well behaved individuals. If you want to succeed choose your friends wisely. Number one is to serve mankind. If you get an education you can serve people.

Mahin Hashemi

Baha’i Refugee from Iran

My name is Mahin Hashemi. I was born August 1, 1937. I grew up in a city next to the Caspian Sea in northern Iran, which is a beautiful place. I use to go fishing and camping all the time.

My father was a physician. Patients would give him chicken and rice for payment. I only got to see father on the weekends. That’s how we lived until [I was] ten years old. My mother got very ill with tuberculosis. We had to move to the capitol of Tehran to treat her. My mother died in the hospital when she was only 42 years old. My father remarried and had his own life. I felt lonely a lot.

Religion isn’t hereditary. You have to investigate and then choose. We had two religions in our family. My father was Muslim, but mother was Baha’i. When I was fifteen I decided I wanted to be Baha’i. After that I didn’t feel lonely anymore. If you believe in God you will never feel lonely. You always have someone.

The Baha’i religion is so peaceful. It’s teaching you to serve and love mankind. Its basic principal is the equality of men and women. Baha’u’llah is the prophet and founder of the Baha’i faith. Baha’i started 160 years ago in Iran.

I got married when I was 22 years old. I have four children, two boys and two girls. In 1979 there was a revolution in Iran. There was a religious man called Ayatollah Khomeini. He promised the people that when he returned to Iran he would make every thing nice and beautiful. Sadly, the Iranian people got fooled.

The Ayatollah started bothering the Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians and the Baha’is. With the Jews and Christians they would take their money, but wouldn’t kill them. With the Baha’is they would not only steal all of your things, but if you would not refute the Baha’is faith they would kill you. There were 300,000 Baha’i living in Iran at the time.
It was very scary. We were one of the last ones who could leave Iran by plane. There was an American Baha’i family in Fargo, North Dakota who accepted us.

This was during the American hostage crisis, so some people in America didn’t like us because we were from Iran. At that time, we really had no place to really be.

I was 39 years old when I left Iran. For 26 years I have been in America. People are very good to us here. Right now I enjoy being with grandchildren and taking care of them.

Notation: Download PDF
HONOR SONG LYRICS

Iran

Honoring Mahin Hashemi

Iran

A beautiful place to be
Next to the Caspian Sea
Iran, Iran
My father was Muslim
My mother Baha’i
Iran, Iran

All nations of this earth
Should live in peace together

Iran
My mother got ill with TB
So we moved to the capitol city of
Iran, Iran
With six siblings by my side
My mother forty-two when she died
Iran, Iran

All nations of this earth
Should live in peace together

Iran
Mother never talked about her faith
On my own had to investigate
Iran, Iran
To unite all of humankind
The prophets of God
come at different times
Iran, Iran

All nations of this earth
Should live in peace together

Iran
When times went bad, we trusted a man
Who said I will make everyone happy
Iran, Iran
We soon figured out when he came
His follow through was not the same
Iran, Iran

All nations of this earth
Should live in peace together

Iran
He put a mark on the doors of the Baha’is
To intimidate and to make us cry
Iran, Iran
If we would not give up our faith
Misery or death was our fate
Iran, Iran

All nations of this earth
Should live in peace together

Iran
Every time I feel alone
I turn to God and I’m at home
Iran, Iran
Husband said we can not stay
So we caught the last flight to the U.S.A.
Iran, Iran

All nations of this earth
Should live in peace together

Iran
So many Iranians are my friends
I will return when the fighting ends
Iran, Iran
Love humankind with all your might
Peace on earth, do not fight
Iran, Iran

All nations of this earth
Should live in peace together

Music by LARRY LONG
Words by LARRY LONG with Ms. Linda Felix’s 6th grade of Oak Point Intermediate School (Eden Prairie, Minnesota)
© Larry Long 2004 / BM

Listen: Iran