Middle East studies in the News

My Prison, My Home: One Woman's Story of Captivity in Iran by Haleh Esfandiari (Book Review)

by Emmanuelle Smith
The Financial Times
February 8, 2010

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/ac732994-11e4-11df-b6e3-00144feab49a.html

http://www.campus-watch.org/article/id/9111

Iranian-American academic Esfandiari was in Tehran visiting her elderly mother for Christmas when she was robbed at gunpoint on the way to the airport. Her tickets and both her passports were stolen.

What she initially thought was a common, "ordinary" attack was actually part of a campaign to keep her in the country, as she found out when she applied for new papers. Following weeks of harassment and interrogations, she was imprisoned for 105 days, accused of partaking in a US conspiracy for regime change in Iran through her work at the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington.

Her harrowing prison memoir depicts the endless questioning her gaolers submit her to in the hope of extracting a confession. Esfandiari's dual nationality, along with her expertise, places her in a unique position to put in context today's situation in Iran.

Note: Articles listed under "Middle East studies in the News" provide information on current developments concerning Middle East studies on North American campuses. These reports do not necessarily reflect the views of Campus Watch and do not necessarily correspond to Campus Watch's critique.

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