Prisoners

On Monday's Daily Show, John Stewart interviewed Newsweek's Maziar Bahari, who was detained by Iranian officials in the aftermath of that nation's recent elections. For 118 days he was held in Iran's notorious Evin Prison. Part of the "evidence" used against him was his "interview" with Daily Show "correspondent" Jason Jones. In his talk with Stewart, Bahari mentioned that the Iranian government has no sense of humor. If that weren't so sad it would be very, very funny. (And I thought my mother had no sense of humor.) Bahari also had some interesting comments about his interrogator's take on New Jersey, that crucible of evil. (Well, they did vote in another Republican governor sure to cut their taxes and put them in an even deeper fiscal hole sure to be kicked down to the road for a future Dem to handle. But I digress.)

Sadly, Bahari is but one of many journalists, scholars, students, and ordinary bystanders locked up by the ultra-paranoid Iranian government.

In September 2009, Ecco released My Prison, My Home, Haleh Esfandiari's memoir of her captivity by the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad regime. An Iranian-born scholar and the founding director of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Middle East Program, she was accused of being a spy, and after weeks of harassment, was thrown into Evin Prison. Though it took a while, reviewers have praised the book and its insights. Unfortunately, Bahari and Esfandiari are just two of the many innocent victims, both Iranian and Western, who have found themselves pawns in a dangerous international game. There is also Roxana Saberi, the young correspondent for NPR and the BBC who suffered a similar fate. Harper will publish her memoir in April 2010, a book which offers a similar yet fresh perspective on this intriguing country, its politics, culture, and people.

Though their stories may have similar elements, all are worth reading and exploring. Tensions between Iran and the U.S. remain high; the more we can discover and learn about this country, the more we can place the reports we read and hear into broader context. While there are many good journalists out there, there is often much to be desired from the village (mainstream media) which presents stories with little background and few connections to wider issues—not to mention a lack of historical background. There are many illuminating books worth reading available, from an analysis by former CIA operative (and New York Times bestselling author) Bob Baer to Reading Lolita in Tehran to Mark Bowden's Guests of the Ayatollah, a recounting of the Iranian hostage crisis (which took place on my birthday, 11/4/79). His engaging history is coming to the screen via HBO.

Here's looking at you, Great Satan.