Did you know any one who disappeared at the hands of the government?
BANIHASHEM: Yes. There was a friend that I went to school with and his father was taken one day and he came to my house by the door and told me that this had happened and that his father had died. He was dead. I kept thinking in my head, you know, if that happened to my father what would I do? Of course I never saw [my classmate] again.

And this was the Islamic faction that had taken him?
BANIHASHEM: Yes, he was involved with the Shah’s government in some way.

When you left Iran for London you left with your family. You were on holiday so you weren’t split up at any time.
BANIHASHEM: Well, actually we were. My father was in Iran when he had gone there for his work and he had a massive heart attack. And it was a time when people were not allowed out of the country. Of course he had not done anything but because of his brothers involvement with the government he also wasn’t allowed out of the country. So I did not see my father for five years from the time I was eleven. And we always talked to him over the phone. And when became sick and had his heart attack I remember crying every single day that I couldn’t see him. And when I finally did see him I think it was under four years, I think it was four years and a few months, he had lost so much weight and he had a huge smile on his face and he was wearing a beautiful brown suit and we lived in these apartments and the gentleman who was a porter there, opened the door for him and I rushed over to him and I started crying and I hadn’t seen him for so long. That was a big day for me when he came back.

There were a lot of Europeans [in London in 1980] who did not view the situation as the Americans did.

How did this affect your family?
BANIHASHEM: I think that when you asked how would that have affected our family the fact that we were separated from my father for those many years I think first of all I missed him and it affected us that way. But it made my mother become such a strong woman — more independent because she had to run everything when she was in London and I think when my father came back he felt the difference in her, she was no longer dependent on him.

Were there a considerable number of other families that left Iran and were in London as well?
BANIHASHEM: Yes.

This was during the early 80’s when England and the U.S. were allies as they are now. At the time, Prime Minister of England Margaret Thatcher was and had a close relationship with Ronald Reagan, President of the U.S. Was there an anti-Iranian atmosphere in London?
BANIHASHEM: No. There were a lot of Europeans there who did not view the situation as the Americans did.

The reason why your father could not leave was because he…
BANIHASHEM: I think initially people were not allowed out of the country at all.

This was under what government?
BANIHASHEM: I think the war between Iran and Iraq had broken out. That was during that period of time. So it was under the reign of Ayatollah Khomeini. Khomeini was in power and it was the time when the Iran/Iraq war was happening. There was a duration of time when nobody was allowed out of the country and after that I think there was an issue with him and his, my father and his brother, my uncle and the government held my dad on the pretense that perhaps maybe he would come back. And of course after that many years he was allowed to leave the country.

The U.S. branded Iran its enemy after the 1979 taking of hostages at the U.S. embassy. Your family subsequently moved to London. Did you feel the effects of discrimination in London?
BANIHASHEM: No, not at all. And I don’t know if it was because of the type of school that I went to whether the way I was, I cannot tell you why that was. However, my cousins who lived in California were very aware of discrimination. They were effected by it a on a daily basis. Accusations made about who they were and what they had done and I do remember them telling me that it was a very terrible time in their lives for them although they felt that they had done nothing and they had to live through it and of course it was fine afterwards. It didn’t continue to be that way.

So tell me why did you come to the U.S.?
BANIHASHEM: I came to the U.S. as an adult. I had a practice in London. I was teaching at the university at the time and I felt, my husband and I both felt, that going to the United States would be an interesting start for the both of us. We thought it would be like an adventure, trying something new and I’ve always wanted to experience teaching at a university here and teaching Osteopathic medicine and that is subsequently what I did. I got a position at the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine in Long Island, New York and I taught there as a professor for six years before I moved here to Pittsburgh.

So the adventure that you and your husband thought of — 
BANIHASHEM: It’s still going on. I love being in this country. I think this country… there’s a lot of comfort in this country, the cost of living, the quality of life I would say is far better than living in Europe.

How did you meet your husband?
BANIHASHEM: At a party. At his own birthday party.

His own birthday party. You ultimately were his birthday gift.
BANIHASHEM: I was his birthday gift, correct. [Laughs]