Dedicated Husband, Business Man and Dad

As he waits in my small room to be interviewed; Hrach Hovsepian, a 55 year old business man who loves his family is waiting patiently. Born in Tehran, Iran, Hrach had a bright future from the start but not in a good environment. Starting off with a Bachelor in Accounting and later a solder in the army for two years, he thinks to himself how lucky he and his family were to escape the repressive government in Iran. Now in life he is focused on watching his family grow and keeping his business under wraps. He came to this country to provide a better chance for his children and to escape the cruel ways of his country.

I came to this country in 1988 right after the bombings in Iran from Iraq. I was scared for my family and me. I came to give my children a better chance to succeed in this world and not to go through the things I have gone through. For a living, I got a bachelors in Accounting and soon got a job for it. But then I joined the army because I had to for two years and then finally came here in 88’.

The country of Iran was very repressive. The government controlled everything from speech to religion. The people had no rights for speech because they couldn’t speak badly against their government. They would be punished severely. For religion, you could choose your own religion but you sort of couldn’t. You couldn’t switch races from Muslim to let’s say Christian.

Pictures of Qhumani were everywhere in Iran. The people were forced to idolize him. His picture was all over public places and people hung his picture in private companies like individual ones.

The newspaper in Iran was very influenced by the government. The people would buy and read them but the editors couldn’t publish anything bad about their government. If they did they risked getting their newspaper closed down which meant no more business for them. The government had their own newspaper but the people had their own also.

Television and almost any other source of news were dictated by the government. We didn’t have any sports or news or anything like that. There was only like two channels on the TV. They broadcasted their religion and forced it onto the children to make them believe into their corrupt system. They did this by making it fun for the children to watch.

Some people got dishes illegally to view other channels and things. The government goes checking for the dishes and if you were caught with one they would penalize you a lot.

The country has gotten worse since I have left because of the more limitations imposed on the Christian Armenians. During the Shah everything was much better but now there are a lot stricter policies and things.

To become a leader in Iran, you had to be born into it but now you have to become a politician and work your way up from the congress or something like that. The voting for the presidency was never fair though. It’s always fixed for the person they want to win.

In Iran you could run your own business without the government interfering. The government taxed you way less than they do here. Unemployment was a big problem in Iran. Some people went to the university and got their degrees and still didn’t get the jobs they wanted so they waited which led to unemployment.

Women were allowed to wear anything they wanted during the Shah but after that, it became very repressed and women have to cover themselves up now. Only the eyes and mouth can be seen anymore and nothing else. And if they didn’t wear it to cover it, special police were in public and if they caught you without you wearing it, you would go to jail.

The education system in Iran was very good for me anyhow. If you were a good student, scholarships were awarded to you and you would go on to a university to study and yeah. If you misbehaved, you were beaten or given detention.

Life for Muslims during the Shah was not harder but it was harder for Christian Armenians like me. We were discriminated against and couldn’t get a high rank in the army or the military. If you were a Muslim, life in Iran would be easier because it is your country and all.

With the war and everything in the late 80’s, we were always under danger and scared for our lives. We couldn’t sleep at nights because of the noise. People were scared for their lives and left their houses for up to 2-3 days because they heard they were going to get bombed next. They bombed everything from residential to government areas. The economy went down and the price of living went up after the war.

Before 1000 tuman a month would let you live comfortably but now it is so much that 300 thousand tuman is very little to live comfortably. Before the currency exchange was 7 tuman to a dollar but now it’s something like 1000 tuman to a dollar.

The main job in Iran is probably a government job or selling things in stores and stuff. Some start their own business and stuff but mostly they are working for the government.

Everything in Iran has gone from bad to worse since I left. It is a very repressive place to live and I am glad I have given my children a better place to live now that we have moved. There is nothing there for us and we are glad to be here now.

Interview by Arby Hovsepian