FARAH
DIBA PAHLAVI PUBLISHES HER MEMOIR
AN
INTERVIEW BY: MAGEL
GARCIA
English Translation: CK
sent
by: D. Kadivar
“I am certain that one day,
like a phoenix, my country will rise from the
ashes.”
Farah Pahlavi, the last empress
of Iran, has published an eventful book. On
the eve of the 25th anniversary of
the fall of the Shah of Iran, the
Shahbanou evokes the sad hours of
her country swept away by obscurantism,
but also the death in exile of the
king, the incredible story of the love
that bound them together before
the tragic destiny struck again with the
passing away of their daughter
Princess Leila. Member of the Academie des
Beaux-Arts of the Institut de
France, Farah Pahlavi granted an interview
with OH LA!
Exile forced her to lead the
life of a nomad, full of risks, away from her
children and beside her bedridden
husband. The only way to cope with her
anguish was to write, and she
began to do so in a small notebook in the
plane that left Iran about 25
years ago. Several years later, the death of
her daughter Leila pushed her to
publish her Memoirs. It was the best form
of therapy. Having read her book,
we expected to find a woman with a strong
personality but engulfed by pain.
It was an error. The last Empress of Iran
appeared suddenly in the room
where we were, alone, with no protocol. On the
eve of the 25th anniversary of the
Shah’s downfall in January 1979, Farah
Diba confided to OH LA! she is
personally convinced that her “country will
rise again like a phoenix from the
ashes.” In this exceptional book that she
wrote, the Shahbanou returns to
the tragic last hours of her country,
convinced that the Shah never
expected the religious fundamentalists to
seize power. Since then, she says,
“the Persian Gulf region which once had
known peace and stability during
the Iranian monarchy was thrown into war
and chaos, turning into the cradle
of international terrorism and
fanaticism.” A foreign member of
the Academie des beaux-arts of the Institut
de France since 1974, Farah
Pahlavi, who divides her time between Paris,
London, and New York, recounts the
“race against time and death” to find a
place of refuge while Mohammed
Reza Pahlavi suffered from cancer. A moving
account. For OHLA! the former
empress evokes also her second tragedy, the
death of her daughter.
Majesty, why did you decide to
publish your Memoirs now?
For so many reasons. Firstly because I want
everything that has happened to
me to be known, but I also did it for my compatriots, my
children, my grand
children and young Iranians. I needed time and distance
to see the events
from another viewpoint. But the tragedy of my daughter
arrived, she became
very ill, and I had to do something in order not to lose
my mind. [The
voice breaks, and the Queen shows a more human face. Her
eyes fill with
tears and she falls silent. She remains silent for
seconds that seems to be
hours, and she finally continues: “Forgive me, we can
continue…”]
When did you start writing your
journal?
I started in the plane that was taking me to exile,
and I kept it updated
from time to time, you know, this period was terribly
hard for me and I
neither had the time or the desire to write. When I did
write, I did so
really to liberate myself from the anguish that engulfed
me, and not to
record the historic moments of our lives.
Why did you decide to publish your
book on the occasion of your 65th
birthday (14 October)?
October is a marvellous month for me. It is the month
of my son Reza’s
birthday, my husband’s and mine as well. I love
autumn.
How do you spend your time these
days?
Many people must wonder what I do all day. In
reality, I am a very busy
woman. In the past three years, I have not stopped one
instant: in other
words I had to deal with numerous family problems, I am
in contact with my
compatriots to help them as much as I can. I receive
many letters and I am
in touch with everything that takes place in my country
thanks to the radio
and the internet.
Where do you actually live?
Between France and the United States. I go to America
because that is where
my children and grand children live, and it is a country
where I feel free,
for nobody can recognise me in the streets. However,
France is very close to
my heart, for it is where I studied architecture when I
was young, and I
adore the culture and the European way of life.
Despite the tragedies - the death
of the Shah and that of your daughter-,
you still consider yourself a
fortunate person?
My life is not that of a normal woman: in my own way,
I am the one who
dictates my duties and my destiny. As I have said
before, my existence is
filled with difficult moments but also with happier
ones. Despite everything
that happened to me, and even if that sounds strange, I
consider myself a
privileged woman, for I was witness to key historical
moments. Even now that
I have entered anonymity, sometimes people stop me in
the street and express
their sympathies. I remember one day when I was tired,
assailed by numerous
problems which I explained in my journal, I asked my
daughter Farahnaz: “Is
everything that has happened to me because of the
choices I made or was it
my destiny?” And my daughter replied: “It is
destiny, it does not leave you
the choice.” In my life, I have always forced myself
to be proud of my
achievements. The small and large things in life I
realise them with the
same intensity. I give the best of myself and I receive
the best from
others. I am very positive and I interest myself in many
things: dance,
music, theatre, cinema, flowers. Life passes quickly and
I, have lost a lot
of things, my youth, those who were dear to me, my
country, but I have
always kept my dignity. In life everything is relative;
all lives carry
their share of misery, whether one is rich or poor. One
has to thank God for
the good and the bad things that happen. But I am not
always this positive,
and sometimes I feel defeated and depressed, and it is
at such times that I
tell myself: “Move, do something to come out of this
situation.” I also
practice meditation, exercise, or simply reflect. I
always tell myself:
“Enough feeling sorry for yourself.” I lift myself
by thinking that one day
Iran will be free, and that my family and friends will
be free – and I
ponder over the battle I have led all my life not to
fall apart, to continue
to work and, of course, to smile.
Have you ever been tempted to
remarry?
[With energy] No. In my life, I have always kept the
living memory of my
husband, and that has never crossed my mind.
Did you ever feel deceived or
betrayed?
People change. I have experienced many things, even
at the heart of my own
family, but that is part of everybody’s life. Whether
you are a queen, a
president, or a shopkeeper makes no difference: that
person who loses his
post sees people disappear around them. Fortunately, I
have kept my
childhood friends, who have not changed and who continue
to be my friends.
After the revolution many people who were close to me
changed, and that hurt
me. Other people changed as well, but since I had no
expectations from them,
it was less painful. At that epoch, I believed that I
could not allow myself
to collapse and, in fact, they made me pity them. I must
say that the place
where I found the most affection, was in the street.
Majesty, let us talk about the
Shah. What were his advice or words that
provokes the most emotions in you?
[She remains pensive for a short while.] When he was
in hospital, awaiting
his first operation, he told me: “Never let anyone
guide your destiny.”
Do you speak often to your
husband?
Yes, quite often. I ask him to aid me, to guide me,
to dictate to me what to
do and how to react.
In your Memoirs you mention that
you met the Shah during a reception, by
chance. Did you fall in love with
him that same day?
I already liked the king, but gradually I fell in
love with the man.
Forgive me for asking this,
Majesty, and your first kiss…?
[Farah Diba laughs at our question, but her eyes lit
up as she recalled the
moment.] Of course, that happened several weeks later,
during a meeting at
princess Shahnaz.
Did exile make you love the Shah
more?
Yes. I felt even more close to him because he proved
to me the kind of man
he was.
You knew the Shah’s second wife,
Soraya?
No, and I regret it. In my position it would have
been easy for me to get
close to her. For her it was probably more difficult.
Her passing away
really distressed me. I am sincere, I cried. She was
part of history, and
she was part of my family, through my husband. Two of my
children, Ali Reza
and Farahnaz, knew her and she was charming towards
them. My son met her in
Switzerland and my daughter in Paris. I was overjoyed
that my children were
happy to have known her.
What is your opinion of the
Princess Soraya?
She had a very difficult life, extremely difficult.
She was unable to have
children and from what I know she had many problems with
certain members of
the royal family who did not treat her well. My husband
because of this
refused to talk to them. She lived in solitude. Then,
finally, when she
found happiness with the man she loved, he was killed in
an air crash. I
long to meet the Shah’s first wife [Princess Fawzieh].
I would not want to
miss the opportunity as I did with the Princess Soraya.
Majesty, you have two grand
daughters; do you dream of a grandson?
The sex of the child is unimportant. The main thing
is that it be in good
health. I have some news to tell you: my daughter in law
is expecting a baby
in January, and we already know that it will be a girl.
It is the age of
women. Why not? I recall a day I spent with my grand
daughter Noor and she
asked me when a woman, in Iran, could become queen. I
told her that it would
depend on when her father would return to Iran and if
the Iranians would
restore the monarchy then her mother would become queen,
but that it was not
possible for the moment. So, she looked into my eyes and
said: “Grandma, you
are already Queen, you can change the laws!”
Do you keep some earth from your
country?
Yes, I keep it in a box, and I collect stones brought
to me from various
provinces in Iran that I label.
In your opinion is the possibility
of returning to Iran becoming a distant
dream?
My son dreams of leading his country as a
Constitutional Monarchy similar to
the Spanish model. I hope of returning one day to my
country and seeing it
run on the basis of liberty and tolerance.
Interview: MAGEL GARCIA
English Translation: CK
