Roxana Saberi gave her agonizing account of more than three months spent in Iran’s most notorious prison Tuesday afternoon to about 175 students, faculty members and local residents in McCormick Tribune Center Forum.
Saberi, (MSJ ’99) an Iranian-American journalist, spoke to a full audience about her book,
“Between Two Worlds: My Life and Captivity in Iran,” which tells the story of her arrest, trial and time spent in Evin prison.
“It was a wonderful talk,” Dean of Medill John Lavine said. “She really is such a perfect fusion of a real journalist who wants to find the story that needs to be told to help all of us be better informed and one who shows courage every step of the way.”
Saberi spent more than six years working in Iran as a reporter. She was planning to publish a book about the country, but was arrested on Jan. 31, 2009. Intelligence agents came to her apartment late at night, she said. They rummaged through her notes and other belongings before taking her to Evin prison.
“I thought, even if I screamed, maybe no one would come to my aid,” Saberi said.
The agents interrogated her about her book and reporting and pressured her to confess to being a spy for the U.S., she said. In prison, she was locked in a small cell with no bed and a cement floor. There was a sign on the wall that read, “prisons must be colleges for human improvement,” she said.
“It’s an amazing story,” said Bette Cerf Hill, a Chicago resident who attended the event. “I couldn’t help imagining being in her situation and how I might have reacted.”
To pass time in prison, Saberi would do jumping jacks, push-ups, sit-ups and mimic playing the piano by tapping her fingers on the wall, she said. Singing was another good pastime, she said. “Stand by Me,” “We Will Rock You” and Christmas carols were her songs of choice.
In confinement, “every minute seemed like an hour, every hour felt like a day and every day felt like an eternity,” she said.
Saberi eventually made a false confession, telling Irani officials that her book was a cover for espionage for the U.S. and she agreed to spy for Iran, as they asked her to. She immediately felt ashamed at the confession, because she wanted to be more courageous, leading her to take back the confession. She proceeded to go on a hunger strike before she went to trial and was eventually released on May 11, 2009.
“My imprisonment was the biggest challenge in my life,” Saberi said. “It turned out to be an opportunity and a responsibility.”
She said she is using her experience to speak on behalf of those who cannot be heard, and she thanked everyone who participated in petitioning for her release.The protests, marches, companion hunger strikes and petitions at NU were extremely helpful, Lavine said.
“You think that what you’re doing is 8,000 miles away and no one is listening,” he said. “She was quite clear that she was absolutely listening.”
Saberi’s speech also covered the perils of the journalism industry and called the public to action on human rights issues, Medill junior Tracy Fuad said.
“It’s something to be taken very seriously,” she said. “It’s almost a duty of journalists to report about these issues because that can help people.”
Saberi also stressed the importance of taking action.
“What you do in your own life can really have an impact,” she said. “Not only in your community, but you can also take steps to help people on the other side of the world.”[email protected]
