Today a good portion of first-generation Iranian Immigrants to the US have reached old age. Comparing the conditions of these elderly Iranian immigrants to their counterparts in Iran leads us to two contradictory conclusions: Loneliness and estrangement have hardened their adjustment to the requirements of old age, and compared to patriarchal Iran, the individualistic society of America has lowered their social prestige as carriers of old traditions.
In contrast, because they enjoy the same legal rights and social and medical benefits that the American senior citizens are entitled to, the elderly Iranian immigrants can potentially be more creative and active than their counterparts in Iran.
I. Old Age: Iran vs. the US
The border line of old age differs between Iran and the United States. According to “international Data” from the “Bureau of the US Census” for the year 2000, the average life expectancy in Iran is 69.7 and in the United States is 77.1.(1) Of course, because the legal age for the US citizen to receive SSI is 65 we should consider this age as the beginning of old age in this country. Nevertheless, there are still many men and women who have passed the age of 65 and kept their jobs, not only because they don’t want to loose their financial independence but also for this reason that they find themselves creative and useful as before in the work place.
In 1970, Maggie Kuhn (1905-95) founded the “Grey Panthers” organization just because she had been forced to retire at the age of 65. One of the goals of this organization is to fight against discrimination and prejudice against the elderly.
It is obvious that new medical achievements and progress in public hygiene, especially in gerontology and geriatrics play an important role to keep the elderly creative and active. But one should not forget the importance of organizing and raising consciousness in this respect.
Being old does not mean sitting home, longing for the good old days and waiting for death. In this period, contrary to the cynical Persian proverb “sar-piri va ma’rekehgiri!” (old age and new tricks!), one can fall in love again, change jobs or professions, return to school and like a living person enjoy life. Therefore, medical progress, economic independence, support of a social network and struggle against age discrimination can be considered as the four pillars of the elderly movement in the United States.
In Iran, social life is still based on extended family and the role of the elderly is defined within this framework. If after the death of a spouse, an elderly father (or ,as more often happens, an old mother) cannot maintain his or her financial independence and social network, they usually have to move in with one of their children, or like nomads move between the house of this son and that daughter. This method of dealing with old-age challenges seems good as long as tensions have not been built up between the elderly parents and the younger members of the family. But usually this is not the case and individual differences and generational gaps make the home environment unbearable for both sides, as reflected in jokes related to the relationship between “brides” and “mother-in-laws”.
In the US, the elderly do not have to impose themselves on their children because after retirement they can receive social security benefits and stand on their own feet. In addition, there are many organizations such as elderly centers which bring the senior citizens together taking them for hiking or going to jims, movie theatres and concerts, creating a social network which reduces their dependency on their children.
Of course, the financial and social independence does not mean that the elderly should lose their role as grandparents and break off their relationships with their children and grandchildren. On the contrary, independence would allow them to have a quality time with their grandchildren, receiving passion for life from them and sharing lessons of their lives with them.
Struggle against ageism is not limited to old people and includes other age groups such as children and the adolescent who because of their age might become discriminated against. Since both children and the elderly have limited physical strength, they are more vulnerable and subject to harassment by the young and middle-aged groups.
Child abuse and elderly harassment are two sides of the same coin, and legal achievements such as passing legislations against child labor and paying social security benefits to old people are all results of the same struggle.
II. Paintings and Writings of the Iranian Elderly in S. California
One of the activists of struggle against ageism and the organizers of Iranian elderly movement in Southern California is Kaveh Dadashzadeh, who has been teaching painting as a volunteer for a few years at one of the senior centers, called “House of Sultan” in Orange County. Most of the members of this “House” are Iranian elderly men and women from the nearby area who come together for drawings pictures, writing poems, dancing, playing chess, eating meals, drinking tea, and chatting, Monday through Friday from 8 am to 2 pm.
Kaveh has been selecting samples from the paintings and writings of close to 100 Iranian senior citizens belonging to “House of Sultan” and three other elderly centers in Los Angeles and Orange counties, in order to publish them in an anthology, called The Life Goes on: Paintings and Writings of Iranian Elderly in Southern California.
Since this artist and social activist before immigrating to the US, for a few decades in Iran, had been teaching painting to children and teenagers and presenting their artworks to the public, we should, indeed, consider him as an activist against age discrimination for both children and old people.
Kaveh Dadashzadeh was born in 1930 in Astara, Iran in a Tourkish speaking family. Because of his love of freedom and independent-Leftist tendency, he was imprisoned during the Shah’s regime both before and after the 1953 CIA-coup in Iran. One can read Kaveh’s memoir of seven years in political prison in his book, Padeshah-e Zendanha (“The King of Prisons”) which was first published in Los Angeles, 2005, and recently reached its third edition.
After being released from prison because of the pressure from the Intelligence Service, Savak, he could not find a position in public schools and only thanks to his prison friend, the well-known writer, Parviz Shahriari he was finally hired in the prestigious private school, Kharazmi, and was able to teach the art of painting to children and teens for more than twenty years. During these years, he had selected four volumes of the works of his students entitled Paintings and Writings of Children published by major publishers, Kharazmi, Gutanberg and Donia. Now he is planning to publish the fifth volume, called, Half a Century from the Children’s Point of View.
After the establishment of Islamic Republic of Iran, Kaveh was not able to teach more than 3 years and under the pressure from the new Intelligence Service, Savama, he was fired.
As a result, in 2000, Kaveh along with his beloved wife, late Mahin Shahbazi, known as Zari, had to immigrate to the US and resides in Los Angeles.
The majority of Kaveh students are women, because firstly, the population of the elderly women is more than men, and secondly, women who suffer from gender oppression in Iran, when come to the United States and enjoy the support of law, they more eagerly break their silence and start to express themselves.
Some of these artist and poets master their pens and brushes, but the majority is novice. Nevertheless, everyday they hear from their teacher that “do not imitate, but feel free to express yourself” and they dare to experiment.”
The subject-matters of these artists are of two types:
The first kind which relates to the past and is the result of nostalgia and contemplation about “a revolution usurped by mullahs”, and the second kind which relates to the future and filled with apprehension toward death, doubt about divine justice and mystery of the being.
A small portion of these works reflects the present situation of their artists who live in Southern California, and this is a shortcoming which needs to be addressed.
By creating art and literature, the elderly immigrants not only make beauty but they also, in the process of this creation rekindles their “spirits. Their artworks will be looked upon as historical data by historians who want to write the social history of Iranian-American ethnic group in Southern California.
Even though our traditional Iranian culture is anti-child and patriarchal in which gray-bearded men and gray-hair women play pivotal roles, it paradoxically holds a negative view toward aging as well. In this culture, old age usually means physical and mental disability, decay and death and not a natural and beautiful period out of four seasons of human life. When old, the bard, Rudaki (858-940s) only laments for his “lost pearls” of teeth, and the epic poet, Ferdowsi (935-1020) grieves for his fading “lamp of eyes”, and the exile poet, Naderpour (1929-2000) feels depressed, when instead of a young face, finds an “ugly skeleton” in the mirror. Longing for his lost homeland and bygone youth, Naderpour called his last collection of poems zamin va zaman (The Land and the Time) published in Los Angeles. (2) However, the elderly creators of paintings and Writings of Kaveh Dadashzadeh’s book have a different view. By creating these works they are telling themselves and others that: no! Old age is beautiful just as winter is beautiful. Even though as the contemporary poet, Shamlu (1925-2000) writes “The snow does not stop, the snow which falls on our hairs and eyebrows”, one should not give way to grieve. In the last season of life, men and women are still worthy of praise and love.
Notes
1. See: www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/idbtrrint.html
2. For more details see my essay “The Odyssey or the Aneid” in I Am Iran alone and Thirty-Five Other Essays (man khod Iran hastam va si-o-panj maqaleh-ye digar) Afra-Pegah publishers, Toronto, 2006
My gratitude to Mohsen Mirhoseini who originally rendered this essay into English. The Persian version of this essay was first published in Shahrvand magazine at: http://fa.shahrvand.com
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Kaveh Dadashzadeh is one of the activists of struggle against ageism and the organizers of Iranian elderly movement in Southern California . "
