The author’s parents were working in Iran in the late ’70s as Christian missionaries when the Iranian Revolution occurred. A look back on their experience:
The community of expats was dwindling. Every week more people left, the congregation of the church smaller every Sunday. Dave’s Jewish colleague left the university in November, telling him, “It’s only a matter of time before they come for the Jews.” The Israeli dean of the dental school dressed up as a Bedouin and escaped by bus to Turkey.
The conversations at parties had once started with “Where are you from?” The question became “Why are you still here?”