Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Shihen Gobody all the way from Paris, France. I appreciate
you taking the time to call in.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
No problem, I am glad I'm able to join.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Yes, a nuclear engineer, member of the National Council of
Resistance of Iran, but educated, US educated. When did you
move to the United States?
Speaker 2 (00:18):
How old were you when I moved to the United States?
I was only seventeen.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Seventeen, you know, one. You know, I've spoken with a
handful of guests from the NCRI. Whenever I asked that question,
I get a lot of seventeen.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
I don't know about a lot of them. But I
left just for a good education in the US.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
And college stuff. So it was just college age, and
that's where I'm going.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Exactly exactly, And I went to some of the best
universities in the US, including UCLA.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
What year was that when you were seventeen when you
got here? Do you recall the year off the top
of your head?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Of course, of course, of course I do. Yeah, it
was nineteen It was late nineteen seventy eight. And then
I went to luc La Wow the following the following year,
in the academic year, I was there and I studied
there more than nuclear engineering.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
I have to be honest with you hearing that, Shahen,
if you don't mind calling you Shahen. Being from Iran
in the United States at that time, you got here
in nineteen seventy eight, it's nineteen eighty to eighty one
of the hostage crisis. That had to be a tricky
time for you here.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Well, actually, American people were very understandable. They realized that
it has nothing to do with US Iranians. They knew
it was the work of the lunatics, namely Humani, who
was doing this for his own extremist objectives. And they
knew that the NIE people themselves are the victims of
this regime themselves.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
So I don't know, ye, So at.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
That time I could explain things, and I found a
lot of people understandable.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
That's interesting. You know. I was fourteen and just get
starting high school and it was current events. Every day
was basically the hostage crisis. And what was very interesting
to me was it was this very scary time. I
don't think we had otherwise even touched upon Iran. It
was in any of my classes. So it was the
(02:21):
first time I was really hearing of this place, and
it was a scary time as an American, especially being
fourteen years old. You know, my mother was we may
go to war. You know you're gonna get draft. They're
going to reinstate the draft, this stuff. And then years
later when the Iyatola Komene would die and I watched
on the news, you know, him his body getting spilled
(02:43):
out into the street, and the way the people treat him,
That's when I was able to wrap my head around
all this. This guy was a monster, you know, iron
couldn't they couldn't wait for him to no longer be
in power. It wasn't until I saw that clip.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Actually he was a monster. This regime has been monstrous.
To put it in perspective for your good listeners, in
the course of the last four decades, more than one
hundred and twenty thousand good Iranians, men and women as
young as thirteen years old and as old as seventy
two have been executed simply for standing up for human
rights and democracy. And most of them, I would say,
(03:24):
more than ninety percent of them belonged to the resistance
movement called the People's Mojahadin Organization of Iran also known
as m K, which is the biggest member of the
National Council of Resistance, which is a coalition. The NCRI
is a coalition of anti Shah Antimola democratic forces looking
for a democratic, secular republic in Iran. It's like the
(03:48):
Parliament in exile of the Resistance. Its main headquarters is
in Paris, but it has offices all over the world,
including Washington, London, elsewhere. And interestingly enough, the President elect
of the Resistance of Iran is a woman. Yes, Madame
Mariam Brajavi.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Yeah, I wanted to ask you, am I wrong to
be shocked by that, to be surprised by that that
it's a woman's leadership that's looking to take down the
Mullahs or to neuter the because I was surprised by that.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Well, actually, in one sense it's surprising. On the other hand,
it's very revealing and be shows that how diametics opposed
the Ringing people and the Resistance are to the Mullahs,
because everyone knows that misogyny and treating women as less
than second class citizens is one of the traits of
(04:40):
the misogynists, the individuals Iran and Islamic extremist actually, but.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Yes, that was my view. I had wondered if that
was no longer the case. But that's the American viewpoint, sure,
of course.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
But the fact of the matter is of the one
hundred and twenty thousand people who sacrifice their lives to
bring about democracy the engine rights in Iran, tens of
thousands of them are women. So actually you see the
women play very very big role in the resistance because
they have much more to fight for and to strive for,
from their right to choose their own attire, to be treated,
(05:21):
for gender equality and so on and so forth, as
well as the other rights that every Iraine in men
and women are deprived of. But actually Madame Brajevi has
introduced a ten point plan for the future of Iran
which calls for separation of religion and government, for total
gender equality, for total freedoms, for a non nuclear run
(05:43):
an Iran which would be in peace and tranquility with
the rest of the world, a market economy, basically a
very very different Iran that we have today. And what's
way telling is that majority members of the US House
of Representatives just on Thursday support of the resolution in
(06:06):
support of Madame Rajavis ten point Plan two one hundred
and twenty three members of the House of Representatives, which
is the total bipartisan majority, the same with a lot
of members of the US Senate again and by partisan
way all you know, all over the world, four thousand
legislators are in support of this plan. So this is
getting a lot of recognition, a lot of traction internationally
(06:27):
and inside Iran despite the regimes, the viciousness the resistance
network is going. There's more and more young people who
are joining the resistance because one has to remember that
the Union people have had four major nncient white uprisings
against the regime, all calling for regime changed by themselves,
(06:48):
absolutely for a free and democratic Iran, a government of
Iranians for Iranians. As Abraham Lincoln's dead.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
I can't imagine baby Shah is okay with Mariam Rajavi
rising with her ascension.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Absolutely not. And actually the reality is the resistance is
anti Shah Antimura, one of the main stogan in the
streets of Iran is down with oppressor being the Shah
being the supreme leader, which means that the Irenian people
have kissed goodbye to dictatorial regimes one shape or the other.
Really is really really striving for a true democracy, and
(07:26):
I think that's very important.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
I think it's very important, and I think optics wise
and just for the Iranian people, it would be an
amazing development if it was a woman's leadership, this Mariam
Rajavi came into power, especially over baby shop, powerful stuff globally,
I think it would resonate globally. Again, I appreciate you
(07:50):
taking the time to come on. Shahin Gobodih, an observer
of Iranian affairs for over three decades, Thanks so much
for calling from Paris.
Shihen Gobody all the way from Paris, France. I appreciate
you taking the time to call in.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
No problem, I am glad I'm able to join.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Yes, a nuclear engineer, member of the National Council of
Resistance of Iran, but educated, US educated. When did you
move to the United States?
Speaker 2 (00:18):
How old were you when I moved to the United States?
I was only seventeen.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Seventeen, you know, one. You know, I've spoken with a
handful of guests from the NCRI. Whenever I asked that question,
I get a lot of seventeen.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
I don't know about a lot of them. But I
left just for a good education in the US.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
And college stuff. So it was just college age, and
that's where I'm going.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Exactly exactly, And I went to some of the best
universities in the US, including UCLA.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
What year was that when you were seventeen when you
got here? Do you recall the year off the top
of your head?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Of course, of course, of course I do. Yeah, it
was nineteen It was late nineteen seventy eight. And then
I went to luc La Wow the following the following year,
in the academic year, I was there and I studied
there more than nuclear engineering.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
I have to be honest with you hearing that, Shahen,
if you don't mind calling you Shahen. Being from Iran
in the United States at that time, you got here
in nineteen seventy eight, it's nineteen eighty to eighty one
of the hostage crisis. That had to be a tricky
time for you here.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Well, actually, American people were very understandable. They realized that
it has nothing to do with US Iranians. They knew
it was the work of the lunatics, namely Humani, who
was doing this for his own extremist objectives. And they
knew that the NIE people themselves are the victims of
this regime themselves.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
So I don't know, ye, So at.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
That time I could explain things, and I found a
lot of people understandable.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
That's interesting. You know. I was fourteen and just get
starting high school and it was current events. Every day
was basically the hostage crisis. And what was very interesting
to me was it was this very scary time. I
don't think we had otherwise even touched upon Iran. It
was in any of my classes. So it was the
(02:21):
first time I was really hearing of this place, and
it was a scary time as an American, especially being
fourteen years old. You know, my mother was we may
go to war. You know you're gonna get draft. They're
going to reinstate the draft, this stuff. And then years
later when the Iyatola Komene would die and I watched
on the news, you know, him his body getting spilled
(02:43):
out into the street, and the way the people treat him,
That's when I was able to wrap my head around
all this. This guy was a monster, you know, iron
couldn't they couldn't wait for him to no longer be
in power. It wasn't until I saw that clip.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Actually he was a monster. This regime has been monstrous.
To put it in perspective for your good listeners, in
the course of the last four decades, more than one
hundred and twenty thousand good Iranians, men and women as
young as thirteen years old and as old as seventy
two have been executed simply for standing up for human
rights and democracy. And most of them, I would say,
(03:24):
more than ninety percent of them belonged to the resistance
movement called the People's Mojahadin Organization of Iran also known
as m K, which is the biggest member of the
National Council of Resistance, which is a coalition. The NCRI
is a coalition of anti Shah Antimola democratic forces looking
for a democratic, secular republic in Iran. It's like the
(03:48):
Parliament in exile of the Resistance. Its main headquarters is
in Paris, but it has offices all over the world,
including Washington, London, elsewhere. And interestingly enough, the President elect
of the Resistance of Iran is a woman. Yes, Madame
Mariam Brajavi.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Yeah, I wanted to ask you, am I wrong to
be shocked by that, to be surprised by that that
it's a woman's leadership that's looking to take down the
Mullahs or to neuter the because I was surprised by that.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Well, actually, in one sense it's surprising. On the other hand,
it's very revealing and be shows that how diametics opposed
the Ringing people and the Resistance are to the Mullahs,
because everyone knows that misogyny and treating women as less
than second class citizens is one of the traits of
(04:40):
the misogynists, the individuals Iran and Islamic extremist actually, but.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Yes, that was my view. I had wondered if that
was no longer the case. But that's the American viewpoint, sure,
of course.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
But the fact of the matter is of the one
hundred and twenty thousand people who sacrifice their lives to
bring about democracy the engine rights in Iran, tens of
thousands of them are women. So actually you see the
women play very very big role in the resistance because
they have much more to fight for and to strive for,
from their right to choose their own attire, to be treated,
(05:21):
for gender equality and so on and so forth, as
well as the other rights that every Iraine in men
and women are deprived of. But actually Madame Brajevi has
introduced a ten point plan for the future of Iran
which calls for separation of religion and government, for total
gender equality, for total freedoms, for a non nuclear run
(05:43):
an Iran which would be in peace and tranquility with
the rest of the world, a market economy, basically a
very very different Iran that we have today. And what's
way telling is that majority members of the US House
of Representatives just on Thursday support of the resolution in
(06:06):
support of Madame Rajavis ten point Plan two one hundred
and twenty three members of the House of Representatives, which
is the total bipartisan majority, the same with a lot
of members of the US Senate again and by partisan
way all you know, all over the world, four thousand
legislators are in support of this plan. So this is
getting a lot of recognition, a lot of traction internationally
(06:27):
and inside Iran despite the regimes, the viciousness the resistance
network is going. There's more and more young people who
are joining the resistance because one has to remember that
the Union people have had four major nncient white uprisings
against the regime, all calling for regime changed by themselves,
(06:48):
absolutely for a free and democratic Iran, a government of
Iranians for Iranians. As Abraham Lincoln's dead.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
I can't imagine baby Shah is okay with Mariam Rajavi
rising with her ascension.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Absolutely not. And actually the reality is the resistance is
anti Shah Antimura, one of the main stogan in the
streets of Iran is down with oppressor being the Shah
being the supreme leader, which means that the Irenian people
have kissed goodbye to dictatorial regimes one shape or the other.
Really is really really striving for a true democracy, and
(07:26):
I think that's very important.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
I think it's very important, and I think optics wise
and just for the Iranian people, it would be an
amazing development if it was a woman's leadership, this Mariam
Rajavi came into power, especially over baby shop, powerful stuff globally,
I think it would resonate globally. Again, I appreciate you
(07:50):
taking the time to come on. Shahin Gobodih, an observer
of Iranian affairs for over three decades, Thanks so much
for calling from Paris.
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