One of these beautiful,
extraordinary people was Mr. Hüseyin. Born in 1935 into a poor family in Rasht,
a city near the Caspian Sea in Iran, he began his apprenticeship as a tailor at
a young age. His mentor was an Azeri tailor, which not only honed his tailoring
skills but also allowed him to learn Azeri.
In 1962, he married
Mrs. Mükerrem in Rasht. She insisted on being called "Muki Hanım."
Perhaps it was because she wasn't considered a stunning beauty or because, at
29, she was deemed to have missed her marital window by societal standards of the
time, that she chose to marry the humble tailor. Unlike many women of her age,
she quickly obtained her driver’s license, bought a car, and became an
indispensable partner to her non-driving husband, supporting his artistic soul
with her financial acumen.
After moving to Tehran,
Mr. Hüseyin expanded his business, hired employees, and soon became one of
Tehran's most respected tailors. He opened a three-story workshop and created
clothing for the wives of the political elite surrounding Shah Pahlavi. Despite
his success, he remained humble and kind throughout his life.
However, the Iranian
Islamic Revolution changed everything for them. What began in 1979 as a
liberation movement turned into a regime of moral policing in the 1980s. These
enforcers frequently raided Mr. Hüseyin's shop, degrading and falsely accusing
him because he tailored women’s clothing. These pressures extinguished the
light of life within a man who had never harmed anyone and was a paragon of
goodness. Eventually, he was forced to leave his homeland.
In the early years of
the revolution, he sent his son and daughter to Sweden for their education.
Later, his daughter married and moved to America, and finally, Mr. Hüseyin,
along with his wife, had to migrate to Virginia, near their daughter. Yet, the
wounds of the last twelve years in Iran remained an indelible scar in his
heart, and he even requested that his remains not be returned to Iran.
When they moved to
America in 1992, Mr. Hüseyin was 57, and Muki Hanım was 59. They fed birds on
the balcony of their small apartment in Fairfax, Virginia. Muki Hanım, who had
bought a modest car after moving to America, handled the shopping. Meanwhile, Mr.
Hüseyin turned one room of their two-room apartment into a sewing studio, where
he sewed evening gowns for the local Iranian community. In the mornings, he
worked a few hours at an Afghan tailor's shop, making minor adjustments to
garments. Life had taken them to the heights of success, only to confine them
to this humble apartment.
He wasn’t just a
tailor; he was a creative designer and a master of his craft. When his son was
about to marry, he made his future daughter-in-law's wedding dress based only
on her measurements and a photograph of the design. When he arrived in
Stockholm a few days before the wedding, the gown fit her perfectly. Yet, he
modestly attributed this success to the young woman’s perfect physique rather
than his extraordinary skill.
Later, he sewed coats,
jackets, and dresses for his daughter-in-law, presenting them as though they
were insignificant gifts, even feeling shy when thanked. The fact that his
daughter-in-law was Turkish brought him special joy. He loved her as his own daughter
and relished speaking in Azeri Turkish, which he had learned during his
apprenticeship, with her. He felt embarrassed about not knowing the exact
Turkish equivalents of some words, but his warm smile never faded.
They lived in Virginia
for 20 years. Without retirement savings, Mr. Hüseyin worked until the age of
77, never once complaining. Each morning, he would hold the medallion of Imam
Ali around his neck, offer a prayer, and then sew throughout the day. Despite
his piety, he was never dogmatic. When his grandson wanted to pierce both his
ears, Mr. Hüseyin took him to an Armenian jeweler and bought him his first
earrings.
In their final years,
life scattered this couple to opposite ends of the world. Mr. Hüseyin fell ill
and despite the disagreements he had with his son-in-law, spent his last
years in Beverly Hills with his daughter and son-in-law. Meanwhile, Muki Hanım
returned to Tehran. Their son and grandson remained in Europe. It seemed to be
the fate of good people from that country to be scattered like grains of rice
and die separated.
In September 2020, Mr.
Hüseyin passed away in Los Angeles at the age of 85. In October 2024, Muki
Hanım passed away in Tehran at the age of 90.
When Mr. Hüseyin was
laid to rest, he left behind not just his magnificent garments but also his
love, which he gave without expecting anything in return, his ever-present
smile, and his philosophy of always responding to both good and evil with
kindness.
I remember them both
with tears in my eyes and a deep longing. Reflecting on the beauty of the
Iranian people and the tragic destiny of this ancient neighboring country moves
me deeply.
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