Adventures of Mr.Behi

From now on, NO fear

From Mrs.Behi: Every time I look at one experience that happened in my educational life, I can understand why sometimes I concern too much about the consequences of my plans so that I stop myself from moving furthers, I think the main reason for being such a conservative person in some areas is the fear of not doing things perfectly and this eventually prevents me to welcome "change"  Now I just know that the most important action to me is to minimize my fears so I can actually see my plans that have been hidden sometimes behind them. I’ve been always interested in knowing my true self but when you try to be honest with yourself as well; it’s time to smash the destructive routines.

Well, today after a kind of long break that I gave to myself, I had the story of fear to share with you; I took a little courage to confess about it, it could be the sign of  starting "my smash" ;-).

Red to my ears!

Link: BBC NEWS |Where Holocaust denial is welcomed

This is a moving report from Tehran Holocaust conference. I did not know that a KKK member was invited!! What an outrageous shame on the hosts! And they call it freedom of speech! I can not even write under my real name in this place. The government can not tolerate a single word questioning it and a KKK member can get here that easy? This is absolutely frustrating. I feel demolished as a human! ashamed, sad and angry as an Iranian! What an embarrassing news to be reported from where you live.

Tehran Holocaust Conference

There is a term in business when you want to sell an idea called :"WIIFM" or "What is in it for me?" and people try to judge business situation based on the logical answer they give or receive. Seems that when you live in Iran, you should ask "WTHIHTDWM" or "What the hell it has to do with me?" when you hear about political moves. I have been trying to answer this since I heard the news about the Holocaust conference in Tehran but still no luck!. It is very normal in Iran to see things that you do not understand and approve mainly because the politics here is mainly to impress people of other nations of the middle-east even if it kills Iranian reputation. When I was in Libya, I met many people from different countries of the Arab world and they were all so happy about this much opposition Iran puts against Israel exactly the opposite to many people in Iran who ask WTHIHTDWM?

In the streets of Tehran, I bet not many are even aware of the conference, the city is so covered by election posters for the upcoming city and expediency council elections next Friday and many people are basically more interested in the Asian games than anything else.

For us as humans, there is always a great regret of any tragic event in any human society, that is the lesson we should learn from history and if Iranian government wants to show sympathy with Palestinians, it should not let such historical lessons to be jeopardized.

I am sorry that the Iranian Holocaust is very much forgotten. By the end of WWII when the allied troops invaded Iran and used it as the bridge of victory to help Russian, hundreds of thousands of Iranians died from hunger, historic records are showing that the invading troops were intentionally buying and dumping tons of food to keep it like that. Any need for a conference on this Mr. President?

Tripoli, the real estate adventure

When I was in Tripoli, I decided to be proactive and started my search for a place to rent. I was told that I will have an allowance of around 3300 Dinars (around 3000 USD) per month as a cap for my rental fee. The search for residence was so much fun especially with the agent I had with me. Very friendly and nice with an amusing accent of English.

The houses he started with were absolute no no. I first thought he wanted to test my taste with the most unbearable ones. His approach towards my requests and questions was very interesting.

"Sir, you like the house, the owner will bring for you everything...." I heard this every and each time we were in a new property. He was also very keen to talk about the city, the good areas, shops, prices etc which was great.
Most of the expatriates of Tripoli are living in a complex of villas in the western skirt of the city. Very nice place but full and expensive. I also visited many villas far from the city and they were HUGE. I found a fantastic villa, three stories, 7 bedrooms, a terrace, back yard, two kitchens...you could play football in the living room and the design was brilliant but how many rooms do a couple need? I was amazed that most of the houses that they offered me were so big...in one occasion. I found myself in a 8 bedroom three story villa where a small company could comfortably move in...I met different sorts of land lords. Young, middle-aged and old. Some educated in the west and had a good command of English...and for others I needed my guide to interpret. I was amazed when I realised that one of the guys I met was former oil minister of Libya!

"In the past here is farm....you know farm?ha? ya lot of orange juice!  You know orange juice?"

and I realised my guide meant that the area used to be an orange garden before. I was enjoying a lot the way he wanted to confirm many of the words he used. During our searches, I leaned about the place where Tripoli gangs were living, where the black market was located, where the most expensive shops were also had a chance to know about the nice restaurants, etc. He even pointed to a long wall and said "Hospital for crazy people".

Finally we found the one, a nice and new apartment with three bedrooms and two nice balconies looking westward with the view of a diplomatic garden and the sea, very close to my future office and in a very clean area. That is where Mr and Mrs.Behi will live when they move in.

My guide generously offered me dinner that night, we went to a place in the eastern suburbs of Tripoli, where they call "the hole" or in Arabic "Hofrah". Again the same sort of question from my guide :" Sir, here they sell fish, you know fish?" :-) It was a complex of five or six restaurants but looked more like a fish market in the first glance with the variety of fish displayed nicely in the front. You should choose one and then enter the restaurant. They will barbecue the fish and bring it for you. The place does not have a five star look but it is nice, the fish was fantastic maybe because our table was also by the sea. In future, I will be able to blog about beautiful Mediterranean sunsets from my balcony...We have a new window to a new era...

Your step by step guide to look like a fool as a nation!

Ingredients:

1) You. The good nation. You need to say to yourself everyday that you are a good nation. That you are free and nice. You need to digest the rest of the ingredients to be considered the “GOOD” nation otherwise the following items will generate a serious indigestion!

2) A good looking leader. Make sure you give him the ability to appoint who he likes for: Army chiefs, head of judiciary, head of broadcasting services, six members of council of guardians (see item three) and anything else that has power.

3) A strong Council of guardians: Twelve members. Six appointed by item 2, other six suggested by head of judiciary (selected by item 2) and approved by the parliament (item 4)

4) A good calm parliament: You as nation should vote for these guys but you need to accept that item 3 will check first if all who run agree with item 2 and those who pass the filter will be there for you to vote. Smile when you do that!

5) A very good looking president: You again should vote for this fellow. You normally may have many choices but yet again, item 3 will decide who you can choose. Smile more as your nation will be very close to look like a fool if you choose like what you recently did!

Mr.Behi; Turned two and is moving

Without me realising, Adventures of Mr.Behi passed its second birthday. Two years blogging, moments, thoughts, imagination and so many wonderful people I got to know. Blogging is a fantastic thing to do and the joy of reading old posts are not less than writing new ones.

I became heavily engaged in the final days of November in Tripoli that I just remembered that I missed the birthday when I was in the plain heading for Dubai. That flight seemed like endless and I was travelling in a formal suite and shoes (did not find time to change after my final presentation in a forum and headed straight to the airport). I also had to wait seven hours in Dubai transit hall. I always end up in the book and computer section of the duty free shop where I found this book...Imagine me reading with my coffee getting cold beside me and my head falling on my shoulders every now and them (no sleep in around 48 hours).

Oh, before I forget, Flying from Tripoli airport was a fun for itself...This airport that used to be deserted during UN embargo times, is as busy as it gets with many flights heading to Europe and elsewhere but it is still very analogue in all aspects. There were a couple of company VIPs with me in the flight hence our personnel department kindly took the burden of standing in the passport control line and through someone there who apparently knew one of ours, we got all of our passports stamped but there were more...one person to check your passport before the first x-ray machine, then one person tears your boarding pass and the other next to him ticks your name off the list. Just before stepping into the plane, there are another two checking the passports...not enough Indians indeed for this many chiefs!

Anyway, my time in Tripoli was fantastic, Q4 of 2006 will be remembered well in my life as I got my promotion, got this trip to Libya and now I am officially moved there...my company is moving me to work in Libya and I guess I will be there till no less that two years. That is an  exciting news, I will be close to many places I have never been and business in Libya is booming for my company and it is good to be there. I had so much fun finding a place to live and am so busy now back in Iran trying to sort out my stuff.