Thursday, August 25, 2005

Meeting with Eric Jerpe

Eric Jerpe worked as a statistician for the IMF most of his life. Now retired, he is making good time of his retirement by travelling around the world and writing books. Very enviable!
Eric has travelled extensively around Iran and is very well knowledged about our country.

I met him this week in London while he stopped to visit England on his second or third trip round the world.

Eric Jerpe has read the Gathas of Zartosht and when he talks about the Gathas, enthusiasm in his face is too apparent. He tells me
"Potkin, I have never read any sacred text so inspirational in my life. The Gathas are the true message of Zartosht, not the corrupted theocracy of the last years of the Sassanid dynasty."

I nodded at him in agreement and let him continue with his fascinating tales of his last trip to Iran.
"Iran is a land of missed opportunities. History has not been good to Iran. There is so much potential in Iran" He continues as we dine in a Persian restaurant in London.
Then he reads out some verses from Omar Khayyam and says he can not wait until he sees the new movie, The Keeper.

Eric Jerpe's book, the Return of Scheherazade, is a novelette, set in present day Iran. As the momentum builds towards catastrophe in Iran, a glimmer of hope is found in the ancient legend of a Persian princess crossing over from the spiritual realm to the material world in the hour of direst need.
Through the power of Spenta Mainyu, the Holy Spirit, Scheherazade strives to save her people from impending doom.

Don't worry however if you think the book sounds too mystical, the conclusion soon becomes more realistic, i.e. "Iranians will save Iran". Scheherazade is merely a symbol to inspire the Iranians.

As you open the book, you read it dedicated to:
"The memory of Atefeh Rajabi, a sixteen year old Iranian girl executed for the crime of Acts Incompatible with Chastity.!"

Read the Amnesty International report on Atefeh Rajabi.

It is inspiring to meet a foreigner so fond of our old country and so well informed, although it can also be embarassing when you see a non-Iranian national more intrested and concerned in the destiny of Iran than some Iranian ex-pats.

1 comment:

tempo dulu said...

I know it's a very complicated issue, but is there a link/or book which explains why Iran has embraced religious theocracy? Do most people in Iran prefer it that why, or would they prefer “democracy”?