How could they?

I am just sitting here and can do absolutely nothing but gazing at the monitor and this piece of news:

The Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act, passed unanimously
(97-0) in the Senate late Thursday, prohibits admission of people from
Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Sudan and North Korea unless they are
coming to the United States as immigrants.

"We know the chances of another terrorist attack are great, and we know it
is unconscionable for our systems to allow entry of another terrorist into
the United States," warned California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein,
one of the sponsors of the bill, during the debate preceding the vote.

I try to realize the meaning of words which is not that easy or at least it is my brain that does not want to accept the facts: No Iranian tourist can ever enter this country again because of the risk of another terrorist attack is high.

I sit back and as there is no window in this small cube of mine - where I contribute the output of my brain to the United States of America- to look at the outside, I stare at the empty space at the entrance of my cube and try to relax. I try to digest the logic behind this decision, to figure out how if my parents, if your parents, if a single father at the age of 70 is not allowed to come to see his child for the last time in this world, can prevent the risk of another terrorist attack. Especially when the former terrorist attack was entirely made by Saudis. I read the news again and yes there is no sign of Saudi Arabia among the list of life threatening countries of the world. I did my BS in Statistics and ever since I learned regression, I always try to figure out the correlation between the cause and effects. This helps to find the root of the problem. Now, the more I look at the variables in my equation which is by no means linear, the less I understand how my country “Iran” can fit so well and “Saudi Arabia” can not with such a great evidence of Sep. 11.

Let’s see. Sounds that there are pieces into this puzzle that I am not considering. There can be some hidden, historical variables that I am not putting them into my equation as they seem so trivial to me. The fact that in Iran, there are people -even though a tiny sample in comparison with the whole big number of people-that go to the Friday Prayers on their weekend just to shout “ Down with America”. There are pedestrian crossings in my country that are painted blue, white and red to resemble US flag and people walk on it every day. People who have the least idea of even where on earth USA is located. People who are living in such a poverty that they have forgotten their own names even. Yet they walk on it, every day many times and we see it on TV in here and in the entire world but we do not get as surprised as Americans do. We know the reason. We have even done it ourselves when we were there and we might not even have thought about it.

Like a child, people conceive their knowledge of the world and its happenings by just observing. There are definitely great thinkers behind the scenes in NYU, in Columbia University and etc. who see what lies behind the plays. But the vast majority of these people do have neither time nor the logic to sit and analyze my country out of 200 countries in the world. They see that people in Iran hate them by cursing them and they believe it so easily. Why shouldn’t I, if I am a simple, busy person, standing on my feet behind the counter 12 hours, trying to reduce the debt on my credit cards and watching TV is my only hobby after work and gym? The government of my country is called Islamic Republic of Iran. Easy to lead to the conclusion that Iranians are some other Arabs in Persian Gulf. Why should there be otherwise? And I remember all my tries at the outset of Norooz to prove, to show, to demonstrate that I am Persian, not Arab even though I understand Arabic, I am Moslem and I can read Koran. This battle has been so frustrating that I even know some Persians have given up their fight.

I can understand how the people in US might see and apprehend this decision even though we might be the most talented, educated and I can say well to do immigrants in US. It is understandable now for me that I look at all those hidden variables. They increase the correlation heavily. But still I can never forget how my father looked when he came out of INS in LAX even before Sep. 11, his

tired face after such a long journey, red eyes and unshaved face, having gone through all those lengthy procedures because of his Iranian passport,. And yet he was smiling and thankful because of seeing me, his only daughter. And I know I will never understand even if you and Iranian are the most hazardous creature of the world based on a general propaganda, how can you with such a proven record of success in this land be deprived of seeing your mother, kissing her warm face and sharing with her the small little memories that you have talked about them for years in your letters, in your phone calls while looking direct into her brown, calm eyes?

Katayoon