Growing up, Mila Mincy’s warm memories with her family formed the basis of her Persian identity. But in learning more about her culture’s history, she has learned more about herself. YR Media brings her Perspective.
My understanding of my family’s Persian culture was simple as a little girl: It was pure love.
I loved every exuberant family moment, every opportunity taken for gatherings. Learning curse words in Farsi from uncles exhilarated me; my khalehs reprimanding as they stifled laughter. I hid my smiles, knowing my cheeks awaited red lipstick kisses.
When I was 10 years old, my mother placed a book on my desk with a crimson jacket — “Persepolis,” it read, an autobiography by Marjane Satrapi. The young girl on the cover wore a dark hijab – she sat, arms crossed, weary-eyed and lonely. I studied the portrayal, wondering why she looked so sullen. When I reached the end of Persepolis, I set the book back down on my desk.
The contrast between my childhood within a Persian family to Satrapi’s violently oppressed girlhood was dramatic. Her stories depicted brutality during the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the historic uprising that led to the currently ruling regime in Iran. Satrapi narrates the force of the government’s increasingly violent control, the persecution and riots just outside her home.