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November 11, 2003
Home Sweet Home?
I never thought I'd be happy to be back in Tehran. But driving in on the last leg of a lurching 5 hour bus ride back through the mountains from the north, I was actually glad to see the entrance to one of the gazillion freeways running through and around this city.
That's because my trip, although productive in the sense that I made some good friends, was nevertheless very frustrating. It poured rain the days I was with my first host, making it difficult to get much on tape. Then the next day and a half when I was with the woman who looks for cranes, we had no success in finding a bird and spent most of the time in taxis trying to get out to the fields.
In addition, at the first place I stayed, the host's wife never spoke to me. Whether it was because she wasn't feeling well because she was fasting (his explanation), or because she didn't like having another woman in the house (my take on it), it made for an uncomfortable visit. I heard her yelling to someone on the phone and I imagined she was talking about me, although that's probably not the case. But it was the first time I was in an Iranian home where I didn't feel welcomed.
Her husband speaks fluent English and she doesn't speak it at all, so that must be very difficult for her to be left out of conversations. Similar to the way I feel a lot here, not knowing Farsi. For instance, I sat in on a four hour meeting in Farsi with my host and was about to lose my mind! I called a few friends in the States to pass the time. Cell phones are amazing. I will finally have to capitulate and get one in the States. The reception here is actually better, though, than in Idaho.
Because the area is so much wetter, there are also bugs! Cockroaches roamed around the office I was visiting, and before I went to bed the first night, I saw a 3 inch centipede on the wall behind the bed. Although I'm here to observe nature, I must say I banged it quite thoroughly with a book. I had visions of it crawling across my face in the middle of the night.
The Caspian Sea area has been the recipient of rampant and unplanned development. Although some of the buildings are still low and you can see the Sea, many are taller and garish. In addition, the trash on the beach is just horrible. It's worse now because of flooding that has brought trash from the rivers into the Sea, but I think it's always bad. Folks, don't ever take for granted the progress the US has made in something as simple as convincing people not to litter. It makes a big difference. I encouraged my host, who is well connected in government, to try and get a PSA made similar to the one that was made with Iron Eyes Cody in the 70s, crying as he watched someone litter out of a car. The Iranians could use one of the native tribes as the actor instead. Something has to be done. Of course, there's hardly any trash receptacles here either.
The second home I stayed in, the house of the crane watcher, seen above, was an eclectic jumble of material from her life in Finland, America and Iran. She and her son, who is a graduate of Reed College, live together. He moved back to be closer to his Iranian heritage. We talked quite a bit about the political situation there. It was interesting to hear an Iranian-American's view on it. I can't imagine living as they do, mother and son, for so many years so isolated from everything. On the other hand, I admire the fact that they do.
One of the reasons they continue to live there is because of their love of Siberian cranes, who stop here on their flyway. The woman, Ellen, has been watching them for many years. At first, there were 10. But now there are only 3. No one quite knows why, but she thinks it might be because of the breakup of the Soviet Union and the loss of habitat stability there, as all the separate states have different environmental rules.
Ellen has enlisted the locals to help her watch for the cranes, in particular the duck trappers who work in these interesting set-ups called domgas. They use a series of blinds, decoy ducks and netting to trap wild ducks for sale. At the same time, they keep a lookout for cranes. Ellen is also trying to get the local women to make handicrafts with the cranes on them.
I got some interesting footage of the domgas, but no cranes. The weather was cold and sloppy and the sun set early, so we didn't have much time to film. I was frustrated that we couldn't see the cranes, although I realized it was a risk to just come for a short time. Still, normally they should have been there. But I had to get back to Tehran for an interview. We tried to call the man to change it, but we couldn't reach him. So I had to get on a bus and take a 5-hour ride back to Tehran through the treacherous mountains at night.
Of course, a few days after I would get back, Ellen would call me excitedly and say that the cranes had come and there was even a baby with them! Such is the life of a producer. The picture below is what I would have seen, courtesy of the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, WI. They're at: www.savingcranes.org.
So now I am back in Tehran, in my hotel, albeit in a smaller, less expensive room. I still have not made it to the university guest house, and I think they are probably mad at me, but this place is more centrally located and I can get meals here. It is also near this wonderful artist's cafe. I will be meeting with the father of the environmental movement in just an hour. This is an interview that has not been easy to schedule, so I am a bit nervous about it. It has been done through intermediaries, as his phone is tapped. Once he sees my camera, he may not grant the interview. The camera, indeed, is a hindrance in this country. Even with my first host, who is well connected, he requested that I not use the tripod a lot because it makes me too visible. There were other scenes that we could just not stop and take at all because they were on a main street. I am a bit discouraged about all of this, but at least I have some good interviews on tape that can be turned into a print piece if necessary.
Posted by MJF at November 11, 2003 09:36 AM
Comments
Marcia, this is really interesting. We have been reading it from David's laptop in Austin. Returning tonight. Looking forward to seeing you Sunday.
Love, Debbie and Bob.
Posted by: Debbie Groberg at November 29, 2003 02:32 AM