I'm envious

Submitted by bos (United Kingdom), Apr 6, 2008 at 04:21

I love the region, I think youre very lucky to have experienced it in that era, you obviously feel a great affinity for the region and its people. I have a relative born in the region perhaps a few years after you and another who's time there came after that, perhaps towards the time you left, my own experiences there coming after that. It is clear to us that we all three experienced very different places, and not just because of our different perspectives. Among my great regrets are the fact that I may never see Iraq, or Iran without the mullah's (though I wouldnt have been much of a fan of the Shah either).

when modernisation seemed a cause celebre, socialism rather than islamism captivated angry youth, religious liberalism seemed to have rooted and people hoped the new dictators had their own peoples interests at heart, it must have seemed as though the worst extremes of the regions problems just might be becoming history. Its not at all foolish to wish that it had turned out like that, or at least retain the aspiration for it to turn out like that.

We all experience our own time in our own circle and are often surprised at what happened to the world when we thought we were paying attention.

Peace

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