Event
Berkeley Arts & Letters: ROXANA SABERI / Between Two Worlds: My Life and Captivity in Iran
On the morning of January 31, 2009, Roxana Saberi, a brilliant and fearless Iranian-American journalist working in Iran, was dragged from her home by four men and secretly arrested. The intelligence agents who captured her accused her of espionage -- a charge she denied. For eleven days Saberi was cut off from the outside world, forbidden even a phone call. For weeks, neither her family, friends, nor colleagues had any knowledge of her whereabouts.
After a sham trial that made headlines around the world, the 32-year-old reporter was sentenced to eight years in Iran's notorious Evin prison. But following broad-based international pressure, she was released on appeal on May 11, 2009. Now, Saberi breaks her silence to share the full story of her ordeal.
In this compelling and inspirational true story, she writes movingly of her imprisonment, her trial, her ultimate release, and the faith that helped her through it. Her recollections are interwoven with stories of her fellow prisoners -- many of whom were women, student and labor activists, researchers, and academics --many of whom were jailed for their pursuit of human rights, including freedom of speech and religious belief. BETWEEN TWO WORLDS is also a deeply revealing account of this complex nation and the six years Saberi lived there. A citizen of the United States and Iran, Saberi sheds new light on the Iranian regimes inner political workings and the restrictions to basic freedoms that have intensified since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejads victory in 2005.
The recent uprisings in Iran -- and the astonishing outbreak of support for Iranian citizens from across the globe -- mark a critical turning point as the nation hangs on the precipice between democracy and dictatorship. From her nuanced perspective, Saberi offers a rich, dramatic, and illuminating portrait of the country as it undergoes a striking transformation.
Roxana Saberi was born in Belleville NJ, and raised in Fargo, ND. An "All-American Girl," she won the Miss North Dakota contest in 1997, and was a top 10 finalist in the 1998 Miss America pageant, winning the Scholar Award. She has a Master's Degree in Broadcast Journalism from Northwestern University, and a second master's degree from Cambridge in International Relations. She has reported for NPR, the BBC, ABC Radio, and Fox News. Saberi moved to Iran in 2003 and later began working on a book about the Iranian people. Following her imprisonment and release she returned to North Dakota, where she currently lives with her parents.
7:30 PM @ Hillside Club (2286 Cedar Street, Berkeley)
$12 advance (Brown Paper Tickets or 800-838-3006), $15 at the door
(Hillside members and student with ID half price)
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LocationHillside Club
2286 Cedar Street
Berkeley, CA 94709
United States
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