In Iran, Baxer sees a 'wonderful' people

KENT — Joe Baxer is president of the United Nations Association of Connecticut, executive director of the Intercultural Institute of Connecticut and a resident of Kent. On Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, he spoke at the Kent Memorial Library about his visit to Iran last spring with his wife, Barbara.

The Baxers made the two-week journey with a group sponsored by the United Nations Association.

The discussion at the library was entitled “Searching for the Soul of Iran.�

“It is a pure and unintentional coincidence that this discussion is happening on this day,� Baxer said of his Sept. 11 speech, adding that, “What is very interesting is that the only Islamic country in the world that has held a vigil of solidarity with the United States on 9/11 is Iran. So, maybe it’s very appropriate that today we talk about Iran and its complex situation.�

Baxer and the audience of 60 people did have a moment of silence at the end of the speech, to remember those who died on Sept. 11 and in its aftermath.

Afterward, Barbara Baxer, who sat in the back of the audience, read a poem from the 14th-century Persian poet known as Hafiz.

She was wearing a chador over her head and body, the cloak that many women in Iran wear to conform to the Islamic dress code. Her husband said that, while the dress code is no longer an enforced law in Iran, many women still wear chadors as a protest against the regime presently in control of the country.

Baxer told the audience he and his wife went to Iran because they had a desire to explore the country’s history.

“Also, we heard about Iran being a part of a supposed ‘Axis of Evil,’� Baxer said. “I am a curious individual and I wondered about this country, including what the people were like.�

He said that what he found in the country surprised him greatly.

“It began on a tough note when we arrived in the middle of the night at the airport,� Baxer said. “We sat at the airport for three hours and waited to be fingerprinted. One of the airport guards told us that the long wait was retaliation because when Iranians come to the United States, they have to wait three hours just to go through customs.�

Baxer said the incident was the last time the group experienced any hostility from the native peoples.

 â€œWe learned from our visit that Iranians like Americans,â€� Baxer said. “Everywhere we went, people would ask us where we were from. When we told them we were Americans, they would respond with ‘You are welcome here! Welcome to Iran! Enjoy our country!’ Many of them wanted us to come to their homes for tea. Never in my life have I been to a foreign country where people would constantly come up and tell us that we were welcome in their country.â€�

He added that English is the second language, after Persian.

Baxer said he determined from his visit that the political protest movements against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have either ended or gone “deeply� underground.

The protest movements began in June 2009 after Ahmadinejad was elected to a second term.

Many Iranians felt the election was rigged, and millions took to the streets to protest the results.

“I didn’t see many visible signs of protest,� Baxer said. “There is a sense that enough people have been either imprisoned, tortured or killed by the government. Our group wanted to meet with some of these [protest] organizations, but all of these scheduled meetings were canceled. Part of the reason they were canceled, we came to realize, is that someone is watching over their shoulders. As one Iranian said, despotism works.�

In speaking about America’s allies in the Middle East, Baxer said America’s best allies are Israel, Turkey and Iran.

“Israel is an obvious ally, but I think Turkey and Iran are good allies because they both have had experiences with democracy,� he said. “When I hear ‘Death to America!’ in Iran, what I really hear is ‘America, pay attention to us!’ As for President Ahmadinejad, I think he has a very narrow constituency, which is rural and populist. I think his rhetoric does not speak at all for the larger majority of people.�

Speaking about Iran’s development of a nuclear program, Baxer said Iranians take great  pride in the program’s development.

“There has been a sense of insecurity in the country because it’s been invaded so often,� Baxer said. “Also, you have nuclear weapons in the surrounding countries. So there is a sense that, to have a place among the great countries of the world, you need to have a nuclear bomb, or the capacity to make one. It’s a symbol that you have moved into the contemporary world.

“Ayatollah Ali Khamenei [who has been the Supreme Leader of Iran since 1989] has said it is against Islamic law to have a nuclear bomb. However, he has confirmed and affirmed his right to make one.�

Baxer ended the talk by encouraging the audience to speak to Iranians if they meet them.

“There are thousands of Iranians in the United States,� he said. “Open your eyes if you find them. They are wonderful people.�

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