OurManinTehranAnswersYour

QuestionsAboutIran
ByTHENEWYORKTIMESMAY15,2015
AftermorethanadecadereportingfromIran,ThomasErdbrink,theTehranbureau
chiefforTheNewYorkTimes,sayshesslowlystartingtounderstandthecountrywhere
nothingisasitseems.Here,heanswersquestionsaboutIransubmittedbyreaders.

Q.WhatisonethingthatIraniansaremostcuriousabouttheoutsideworld?
LawrenceCiulla,
@lawrenceciullaonTwitter
A.Ithinkthat,deepdown,manyIraniansarecuriouswhethertherestoftheworldis
reallythatdifferentfromtheirowncountry.Peopleheredotravel,oftentoplacessuch
asTurkeyandDubai.Inexpensivetravelopportunitieshavebeenoneofthereasonsthat
Iraniansarelessisolatedthantheywere35yearsago.Theincreaseinforeigntraveljust
overthepast15yearshaschangedIranasmoreIraniansbecomefamiliarwithhow
peopleinothercountrieslive.

Q.DopeopleinIranhaveasenseofhumor?Whatisthebestwayto
describethat?TomZee,Netherlands
A.Iraniansseemtomakefunofeverythinginlife,especiallytheirworst
setbacks.Iftheydidnothavethisoutlook,IdontthinkIwouldhavestayed
hereaslongasIhave.
Translatinghumorisalwayscomplicated,butIran,likeotherplacesinthe
world,hasaveinofhumorthatplaysonregionalstereotypes.Peoplefrom
Isfahanareconsideredtobestingy,sotheyarethebuttofmanyjokes,asare
thepeoplefromtheCaspianSeacityofRasht,wheretheyareknownfortheir
liberalideas.
ThoughIraniansoftenexhibitagreatsenseofhumor,theyarealsovery
concernedwithkeepinguptheirwaterface,ortheirhonor.Jokesareoften

madebehindpeoplesbacks.Atthesametime,manyIraniansheretakegreat
pleasureinjokingaboutimportantpublicfigures.

Q.Iwouldliketolearnhowgay,lesbian,andtransgenderIranians
navigatetheirpublicandprivatelives.Also,abouttourism,andwomen
travelingalone.HeidiKing,Westport,Conn.
A.Heidi,youmightbesurprisedtohearthatgaysandlesbiansdonotalways
havetonavigatetheirlivesthatdifferentlyfromheterosexualIranians.Here,
everybodyseemstokeepupdifferentfacesintheirpublicandprivatelives.
FormerPresidentMahmoudAhmadinejadonceinfamouslyclaimedthat
therearenogaysinIran.ButlastyeartheIranianParliamentissuedareport
sayingthat17percentofthepopulationisgay.
Contrarytowhatsomemightthink,thereisnolawhereagainst
homosexuality.
TransgenderIranianscanhavesexchangeoperations.AyatollahKhomeini,
theformersupremeleader,hadsaidthattransgenderpeoplearesickandthat
thosepeopleborninthewrongbodymustbehelped.
Now,Iranisnoeasyplaceforgays,lesbiansandtransgenders.Butany
perceptionintheWestthatpeoplearehangedregularlyoneverystreet
cornerfortheirsexualityorgenderidentityisfarfromreality.

Q.WhataspectsofIraniancultureandlifedoIranianswishWesterners
knewmoreabout?WhatisthebiggestmisconceptiontheWesthasaboutlife
inIran?AlexandraBrinker,Suffield,Conn.
A.WhenaforeignervisitsIran,manypeopleherewouldlikelytrytoconvince
herofallthecountryhastooffer.
Lookatourclimate,theymightsay.InIranyoucanskiinthemountains
andswiminthebluePersianGulfwatersonthesameday!

VisitIsfahan
,anotherunofficialIraniantourismspokesmanmightsay.It
istrulyamagnificentcity.
Iranianswillremindvisitorsofthemanyphysicalsplendorsofthecountry
thenspoilthemwiththeirhospitality.Therewillbefood,music,fruits,tea
and,attheendoftheevening,onesIranianhostswillofferyouabedtostay
thenightonlysotheymightrepeatforyoutheentireritualthenextday.

ThegoalistomakesurevisitorsleavelovingIranitscultureanditspeople.
Thismightseemabitmuch,butIraniansworrythatWesternersoftenthink
thisplaceisonebigdesertwhereIraniansridecamelstowork.
Also,Irancanbealonelycountry,surroundedintheregionbyneighbors
withdifferentcultures,languagesandreligions.Iranianshavelearnedthata
goodwaytosurviveinthishostileregionisbybeingsohospitablethat
visitorsbecomealliesandemissaries.Ifthehostscanbereallyconvincing,
someguestsmayjuststay.

Q.HasthegovernmentofIransetanylimitsonwhatyoucanandcannot
report?MatthewDoherty,Tewksbury,Mass.
A.Matthew,thanks.Thatis,ofcourse,averyvalidandgoodquestion.
Journalistswhoworkhereforforeignnewsmediacompaniesarenot
censored.WearenotrequiredtoshowourarticlestotheIranianauthorities
beforewepublishthem.Butafteranarticleispublished,theauthoritiesor
ordinarypeoplemightgetupsetorclaimthatourstoriescontainliesor,
worse,arepartofacampaignbytheenemytoachievethisgoalorthat
objective.
Therearemanysensitivitieshere,andpressuresonreporters.Notonlyisthe
governmentextremelycarefulabouthowitisportrayedabroad,butordinary
Iraniansarealsoverysensitivetothewaytheforeignnewsmediareportson
theircountry.Aforeigncorrespondentheremustnavigateaminefieldof
sensitiveissuesbecause,nomattertheconcerns,readersofTheNewYork
Timesrightfullyexpectobjective,verifiableinformation.
Donotforget:Iranisalonelycountrywherepeoplefeelasiftheyare
surroundedbyenemies,includingtheUnitedStates.Theyareassuspicious
ofaforeignreporterassomeAmericanswouldbesuspiciousofanIranian
reporterintheUnitedStates.Infact,journalistsworkingforIranianstate
televisionattheUnitedNationsinNewYorkarenotallowedtotravelbeyond
a20mileradiusofthecity.Here,IneedapermiteverytimeIwanttoleave
thecapital.Tourists,however,cantravelthecountryfreely.

Q.WhateffectwilltheInternethaveasitexposesIranianstomodernity?
PatMarron,Sandpoint,Idaho
A.TheInternetischangingIranasithaschangedtheworld.
Eventheclerics
hereareonline
,andIranian
politicianshaveactiveTwitterandFacebook

profiles,
despitethefactthatthosesocialnetworksareamongmanywebsites
thatareofficiallyblockedhere.
Still,IraniansareavidusersofTwitter,FacebookandInstagram,whichare
hugelypopularhere.Peoplecircumventofficialfirewallsbyusingillegal
softwarethatiswidelyavailableforpurchasefromIranianwebsitesthatare
notblocked.
ThereareseveraltechcompaniesinIran,andthereisevenalocalAmazon.A
largepartofthepublicdebateheretakesplaceonline.Iranisnotasclosedoff
as,say,NorthKorea.

Q.WhenyoungIraniansthinkabouttheircountry,whatmakesthemfeel
proudestandmostoptimisticaboutthefuture?WillRaynolds,Brooklyn
A.YoungIraniansandtherearemanymostlyfindtheirpridein
education.Thecountryhasacomplicatedacceptanceprocessforthestate
universities,whichchargenotuitionandarefreetoattend.Thescreening
process,calledtheconcourse(itsborrowedfromtheFrench,spelledand
pronouncedasconcourshere),isanailbitingnationwideeventinwhich
hundredsofthousandsofboysandgirlscompetetobeoneofthetop
200,000studentstobeaccepted.Theyareranked,withonestudentearning
thecelebratedtopspot.Itsverycompetitive.
Somecandidatesaresotalentedthattheydonothavetoregisterforthe
concourse.MaryamMirzakhani,whobecamethefirstwomanandthefirst
IranianhonoredwiththeFieldsMedal,themostprestigiousawardin
mathematics,wasacceptedrightaway.ShenowlivesinCalifornia.
EducationisawayforIranianstudentstoadvanceinIranandabroad,by
winningscholarshipsfromforeignuniversities.Everyyear,150,000highly
educatedyoungpeopleleaveIrantopursuetheirstudieselsewhere,oftenin
theUnitedStates.
TherearearoundfourmillionuniversitystudentsinIran,withmost
attendingpaiduniversities.