Iranian_revolutionary_woman_giving_V-signs_while_holding_an_assault_rifle_over_the_tank_in_front_of_the_university_gate_(version_2)

REMEMBERING THE 1979 IRANIAN REVOLUTION

Enghelab Shod [Farsi for “The Revolution Happened”] is an oral history archive on memories of the 1979 Iranian revolution. This archive attempts to understand this revolution from the perspectives of those who lived through it. As a significant moment in the history of contemporary Iran, we believe that a close and intimate view of the 1979 revolution reveals much about the hopes, the fears and the aspirations of Iranian people in their more than a century-long and ongoing struggle for freedom, independence and equality. Thus, we focus on everyday experiences to understand the human and embodied aspects of life amidst a revolution.

In this archive you will find seven memories, collected and represented through recorded oral history interviews with diasporic Iranians in Canada. Each interview presents the story of the revolution from the perspective of one individual. In these memories, narrators tell us how they learnt that “the revolution happened.” Each memory is accompanied by one or a set of objects or artifacts that are associated with these memories.

This archive has no claim to presenting a final, representative, or cohesive historiography of the Iranian revolution and has no affiliation with any political party. Our aim is simply to create a forum for intergenerational and intercultural communication about what life may look like during grand historical change.

Unless otherwise stated, all photos are either part of the public domain or Creative Commons licensed.

Simin’s Memory

Simin, 27 years old in 1979, remembers animated street demonstrations, a historic television broadcast, and a cherished wristwatch lost during the last days of protests.

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Shamsi's Memory

Shamsi, 28 years old in 1979, remembers powerful oil company strikes, a tragic arson, and a car that moved her around through these turbulent years.

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Mohsen's Memory

Mohsen, 12 years old in 1979, remembers violent street demonstrations and a sense of large-scale solidarity, school children’s self-organized protests, and a popular revolutionary song.

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Maryam's Memory

Maryam, 8 years old in 1979, remembers anxious and grieving grown-ups, dilemmas of loyalty, loss of normal life, and a family forever dispersed.

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Mahboubeh's Memory

Mahboubeh, 25 years old in 1979, remembers English-language media reports, the hostage crisis, a painful sense of distance and disconnection, and a memorable magazine cover.

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Guiti's Memory

Guiti, 14 years old in 1979, remembers a historic radio broadcast, youthful revolutionary enthusiasm, walls of growing graffiti, and a book that taught her about revolutions.

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Memory #7

Forough's Memory

Forough, in her early 20s in 1979, remembers the retreat of the army, the takeover of the national television, and a frightening escape from armed forces.

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Find out more about where the 1979 Iranian Revolution memories were located

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