Iranian journalist, Nazila Fathi
When Nazila Fathi saw the men outside her house in Tehran, watching day after day, she decided it was time to take her family and get out of Iran. They left quickly, in the dark of night when the men had gone away. They packed very little and flew to Toronto. ...
When Nazila Fathi saw the men outside her house in Tehran, watching day after day, she decided it was time to take her family and get out of Iran. They left quickly, in the dark of night when the men had gone away. They packed very little and flew to Toronto.
Four years later, Fathi is still abroad, still waiting for a sign of positive change in Iran. Iran's new president may prove to be that sign.
As the correspondent for The New York Times in Iran, Fathi covered the 2009 presidential election that returned Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power. There were accusations of vote-rigging, followed by the eruption of mass street protests and deadly clashes with security forces. The historic moment - what was called Iran's "green revolution" - was short-lived.
Fathi continued to follow the repressive regime in Iran and confrontations with the West over the its nuclear ambitions, from abroad. But then came an unexpected result in last month's presidential elections. A cleric, styling himself as a reformer, won. Hassan Rouhani has been speaking in more conciliatory tones to Iranians and the outside world.
To some, Rouhani's victory is a sign of hope. To others - he is nothing more than a wolf-in-sheep's-clothing.
Nazila Fathi spent twenty years writing about her country - for the New York Times and other international media. She knows Iran deeply.
She is a former Nieman fellow, and Belfer Center fellow at Harvard University. She is currently writing a memoir.
Nazila Fathi spoke to Laura Lynch from Harvard University's studios in Cambridge, Massachussets.