Not Without My Daughter

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The next day, another strange woman showed up at the house asking for Moody. She said she was diabetic and her family didn’t believeher. Her husband was fighting the war, and she desperately needed Moody’s help. He told her he couldn’t help, but he strongly suspected she was a CIA agent. This brought another dimension to Betty’s understanding of her own sheltered experience. Had her cries for help reached as far as the States? It's difficult to read this book. Not least because the syntax and grammar, as well as the narrative, are poorly executed. However, it should be read. Not Without My Daughter does not age well. In fact, in today’s environment, it is blatantly racist and xenophobic. Its case is not helped by the co-author, William Hoffer, having authored another book with a racist bent that deeply offended the Turkish people. As soon as they had been properly welcomed, everyone gave them gifts, but Ameh Bozorg specifically ignored Betty and gave Mahtob two gold bracelets instead. A large feast followed, where Betty saw people eating on the floor for the first time. Betty struggled to sit on the floor in her skirt but somehow managed to get in position and fill a plate of food. However, she and Mahtob couldn’t eat too much as the food was extremely oily, oil being a sign of wealth in Iran. Moody denied many of the claims made by his wife in "Not Without my Daughter". He collaborated with Alexis Kouros to create a documentary, Without My Daughter, to counter the claims in Betty's book.

When she eventually got to spend time alone with Ellen, Betty learned Ellen had stayed in Iran because her parents were too old to support her and she had two children. She learned that Hormoz regularly beat her and the children. But her life depended on him, so she stayed. Betty asked Ellen if she could help her by creating excuses for her to leave the house alone. Ellen agreed, and they devised plans on how they would get Betty out by herself. Her humanitarian work and efforts to pass bills to protect children's rights in the United States are commendable, and I'd never have known about them had it not been for this book. Though dated, it made me wonder if international child abduction is still as big a problem as it was in the 80s and 90s. Fortunately for us all, he wrote his own account of events. Very balanced and that definitely was very hard. I spent in Iran 5 years, before we moved to Russia - and his description of the country is true and realistic. Moreover, he is not making an angel of himself. And he specially mentions potential multicultural barries in east-west family and certain concepts which westerners are unaware of.A further book was released in 2015, My Name is Mahtob written by Mahtob Mahmoody with the tagline "Not without my Daughter continues". She has two nephews, Joseph and John, who are 13 and nine years older than Mahtob respectively. [7] See also [ edit ] The worst stereotype of all within Not Without My Daughter and My Name is Mahtob is they keep calling the U.S. “America,” denying the rest of South and North America their valid claim over the name. The next few days passed in a fog, but Betty had the presence of mind to count the cash she had left over from their shopping trips. She counted out almost a hundred dollars in American bills and the equivalent of two thousand dollars in Iranian riyals. She hid it under the mattress at night and on her person during the day. The shopkeeper was called Hamid, and he offered to help Betty in an effort to prove Iranins are more helpful than what she had experienced. Betty had an interminable wait at the bakery for lavash and was terrified of Moody’s reaction. Moody bought the story but grew increasingly sullen and belligerent over the next few days.

MARTIN: Mahtob Mahmoody, her new book is called "My Name Is Mahtob." Thank you so much for talking with us. In 1987, American housewife Betty Mahmoody published Not Without My Daughter, which became a sensation. In the book, Betty claimed that she and Mahtob, her five-year-old daughter, had been kidnapped from the USA in 1984 and imprisoned in Tehran by her Iranian husband, Dr Sayed Mahmoody - aka ‘Moody’ - a man she vilified as a violent, sadistic monster. Not Without My Daughter claims they were led over the Zagros mountains into Turkey. Lost Without My Daughter points out the treacherous nature of those mountains. With steep drops and unfriendly climate, only one tribe dares to traverse them, and they only do so twice a year. The Bakhtiari tribe, also called People of the Wind, have been the subject of many articles and documentaries. Bakhtiari migration takes about five weeks, and it’s never during the height of winter as the book claimed. There is no chance she could have made it with a six-year-old and without extensive altitude training. According to the book, she and her husband, Sayed Bozorg Mahmoody, and daughter, Mahtob, traveled to Iran in August 1984 for what her husband said would to be a two-week visit with his family in Tehran. Once the two weeks were over, however, he refused to allow his wife and child to leave. Mahmoody became trapped in a culture hostile to Americans, a family hostile to her, and an abusive husband. According to the book, Mahmoody's husband separated her from her daughter for weeks on end. He also beat her and threatened to kill her if she tried to leave. Moody had an unsuccessful day at the passport office, and he sent Betty to accomplish the task the next day. Betty had no hope of getting it done, but to her dismay, Moody had arranged for someone to meet her there. It appeared they would be issuing her the passport that very day. Betty didn’t believe it would happen, and when it did, she ran to Amahl to seek advice. He looked over the passport and told her they had printed her country of birth as Germany.

Broeske, Pat H. (January 22, 1991). " 'Home Alone' Fends Off Yet Another 'Intruder': Box Office: Vietnam War film opens to mediocre business as comedy remains on top for 10th week. After four weeks of release, 'Godfather Part III' drops to 12th". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2012-06-03.