It has been a year since our colleague and friend Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was inexplicably arrested and incarcerated in Iran, as she returned with her young daughter from a holiday with her family. Over the past 12 months, as we struggle to come to terms with what has happened, all at the Foundation have felt shock, horror, anger, extreme sadness - and above all - determination to see her freed.
Today, we want to share the Nazanin we came to know and love at work – a beautiful person inside out, who won the admiration and loyalty of all who worked with her.
The word I hear from all in connection to Nazanin is ‘integrity’. Nazanin is utterly professional, committed and dedicated to her job, loyal to her colleagues, always determined to stand up for what is right, and what is not, with strength, courage and stamina.
She’d jump into new projects and embrace them wholeheartedly, happy to have a new challenge. Her organizational skills are legendary. Her drive and ambition to progress sometimes meant she’d work late into the night. But this ambitious woman would also find time to mentor new recruits, who today remember her patiently answering an avalanche of questions while juggling her own workload. Diligent, dedicated and willing to help: a good team player.
Of course Nazanin also had a very full personal life. When she became pregnant with Gabriella, she could not hide her joy. But she was also sad to be so far from her parents in Iran, especially her mother as she was becoming a parent herself. Iran was the country she loved, and she always spoke of returning to live there with her husband and children at some point in the future. She could never have imagined, of course, that she would soon be trapped there, in the most terrible circumstances, far from all she loves.
She’d often share stories of her life in Iran, of her passion for the country, for the culture, and of course for the food. She had her own Iranian recipes that she brought in the office for lunch and a few of us were happy she shared. She urged all of us to visit the country, speaking of its absolute beauty and of how welcoming Iranians are!
Not once in her four years at the Foundation did we hear her speak of Iranian politics.
This is the Nazanin we know: a woman who designed and sewed clothes for her colleagues’ children, spoke joyously of Gabriella, who was passionate about her job and passionate about her family. She was very much in love with her husband. We remember her desperately trying to convince one colleague to get married - even when he was rather young and without a girlfriend. Above all, she was just really, really happy - her generous smile showed it all – and looking forward to the future.
We miss her every day. It is so sad to think she is in jail and has long been in total isolation when she is so very social. And now she suffers from a terrible pain in her neck and arm, with a disc damaged. Her health is deteriorating and yet she is refused proper assistance.
All we hope is that she is able to keep up her spirits, even though we know that she sometimes totally loses hope. We want her back.
eC-�0�