By Dr. Farzad Farahmand:

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Published in the March 2014 issue of the Calabasas Times Magazine:

 

On January 22nd, 2014, the well respected Iranian author, journalist, news writer and film maker, Mr. Parviz Nazerian was honored at the Iranian American Jewish Federation.  The ceremony was held following the book signing of his latest work “A Passage through Time”.  The book features a few hundred articles written by Mr. Nazerian, which were published in numerous Persian magazines and quarterlies in the last 5 decades in Iran and abroad.  Present at the event were several renowned personalities in the Persian community, including people in the media and popular musicians.

                                                                                                                   

The speakers at the event in addition to acknowledging Mr. Nazerian’s achievements and his years of service as a news writer at various Persian television and radio stations, described him as a humanitarian with a passion to share his knowledge and love with the world.  All the speakers seemed to share the same opinion about Mr. Nazerian’s ideologies and perspectives on life. 

 

He is a strong advocate of equal rights for women and considers women as having a more gentle personality compared to that of men who are rougher by nature.  He says, “We have experienced too many tragedies in human history.  If we look back at these events we will see that men have been the source of these tragic decisions, and wars have been their choice of solving the political and economical problems”.  He believes that if women were put in the same situation, they would rarely choose war in order to solve problems and conflicts, as they are the ones who carry their unborn children for 9 months and later nourish and take care of them.  His other ideologies include recognizing God, respecting human rights and love for children.

 

He believes politics and geographic boundaries to be factors that serve to separate us from one another.  Specific religions make no difference for him as long as they remain divine and respect human rights.  He believes that everyone should be free to choose their religion as opposed to being forced to believe in ideas that were imposed upon them.  He says, “I believe that the fanatic religious leaders are even more dangerous than dictators”.  Most of the religious fanatics use God’s name to justify their actions of discriminating and suffocating their own people. 

 

Among the speakers at the honoring was the distinguished Psychoogist, Dr. Farhang Holakouee.  Dr. Holakouee began by emphasizing the importance of media and its role in shaping the ideology and perspective of a community.  He then described the true value of Mr. Nazerian, the role that he has played and the responsibility that he has assumed to continuously influence the minds and lives of the people in the Persian community. 

 

He continued by saying that since the time Mr. Nazerian completed his studies in Persian Literature at Tehran University, he’s been considered as a reporter and a journalist in its true sense of the word.  From theatrical and film production and managing magazines and newspapers to writing books on topics such as literature, he has done it all.  And without a doubt, his abilities are extraordinary.  First and foremost he is a very neutral person and yet not indifferent.  It is extremely difficult for a human being to be neutral.  It’s not in our nature to be neutral. I have personally been a witness to his work at television and radio stations for the past 15 years and have often engaged in intriguing conversations with him.  I always could not only notice the depth of his knowledge of what  is happening in the world, but also his natural talent of prioritizing and choosing a few selected news, out of hundreds and hundreds of news that take place by the minute and are fed by several different sources all at once. 

 

Among his very best friends was Mr. Nooreddin Sabet Imani, God Bless his soul!  He was, still is and will always be known as the man of news in Iran.  He was the one that with his eternal voice read Mr. Nazerian’s writings and broadcasted the news. 

 

Dr. Holakouee closed by saying that for over 5 decades this man, Mr. Nazerian has been writing, and writing is not an easy task.  We all appreciate his work and the years of quality nonstop service that he’s been providing for us.  First and foremost, we wish you health and peace of mind and as I know, none of these achievements and services would be possible without the help of your wife and family who accepted the fact that you had to leave the house in the early morning hours every day and stay awake until late at night, so that you can inform all of us with accurate news.  Once again, I’d like to thank you for inviting me and I am especially glad that us Iranians are both grateful and appreciative to you and all your achievements.

 

Well known Psychologist and writer, Dr. Azita Sayan gave an amazing speech to the audience in English.  She began by reciting a quote.  “Then said a rich man, speak to us of giving and he said, you give but little, when you give of your possessions.  It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.  There are those who give little of the much which they have, and they give it for recognition, and their hidden gifts make their gifts unwholesome.  And there are those who have little, but give it all.  There are those who give with joy and that joy is their reward.  Parviz Nazerian is such a person.

 

I myself had the pleasure to spend a few moments and enjoy a conversation with Mr. Parviz Nazerian.  It was a great honor for me to be at the presence of such a distinguished man, and it is a privilege to have the opportunity to write about him, his services and  long lasting achievements that have been influencing and will continue to influence our lives for long times to come.

 

Special thanks to Mrs. Shahlah Javedan, the director of the Iranian American Jewish Federation, and all those involved in making the night an unforgettable evening.

 

Special thanks to the MC of the evening Mrs. Zohreh Lalezari, and all the musicians:  Sadegh Nojooki, Maryam Najm, Iraj Taheri, Mohammad Reza Ghavami and Shifteh.

 

And to Mr. Kamran Khavarani for his art work of Mr. Nazerian’s portrait on the cover of his book, “A Passage through Time”.