Then They Came for Me

Then They Came for Me

Author	Maziar Bahari
Language	English
Subject	Family Memoir, Imprisonment, Iran
Genre	Biography
Publisher	Random House
Publication date	2011
Publication place	United States
Pages	384
ISBN	978-1-4000-6946-0

Then They Came for Me, A Family's Story of Love, Captivity and Survival is a memoir by Iranian Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari with Aimee Molloy, that chronicles Bahari's family history, as well as his arrest and imprisonment following controversial 2009 Iran presidential election. It was published by Random House in 2011.

Synopsis

Then They Came for Me chronicles the 118 days (June 21, 2009 – October 17, 2009) Maziar Bahari was held in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison. The Bahari family was no stranger to the volatility that marked the region’s politics, as the Shah imprisoned Bahari’s father in the 1950s, and his sister faced a similar fate under Ayatollah Khomeini in the 1980s. Nonetheless, it was a surprise when Bahari found himself wrongly accused of espionage.

The book provides an account of the days leading up to the fiercely contested election and the clashes between Iranian citizens and government police that followed. It describes Iran’s modern history from the rule of the Shahs, through the Khomeini era, to the current regime under Supreme Leader Ali Khameini. In the Epilogue, Bahari describes the recent turmoil in the Middle East and the possibility of a democratic, independent government in Iran.

The book is also the tale of Bahari's family, in particular his father and sister, from whom Bahari derived the inner strength to survive his confinement, his mother, who endured the imprisonment of not only her husband but two children, and Bahari’s fiancée’s tireless campaign for him and the unborn child who inspired in him a hope for freedom.

During his ordeal Bahari recited the songs of Leonard Cohen and called the songs his secret weapon against his interrogators:

"Oh the sisters of mercy, they are not departed or gone. They were waiting for me when I thought that I just can’t go on. And they brought me their comfort and later they brought me this song.

I don’t know how long the dream lasted, but I didn’t want it to end. I knew what emotions awaited me when I woke up—the fear, the shame, the hatred—and I wanted this feeling to last forever. I felt better. I felt safe. And, though only in my dream, I once again felt free.” Maziar Bahari (August 2009 in Evin prison)

Reception

Jon Stewart of The Daily Show commented on the book, "Your ability to connect the story to your family, and the nuances you pick up, even from your captor, is incredible."

“Mr. Bahari’s ordeal, which he has chronicled in his moving and, at times, very funny book Then They Came for Me, is more than just a random event in Iran’s spiral from authoritarianism into totalitarianism. His arrest in June of 2009 was one of the first organized government responses to a wave of grassroots protest movements that would soon sweep across most of the Middle East and North Africa. Because of Mr. Bahari’s superb personal knowledge of Iran’s government, he was able to produce an account of exactly how, and why, he was tormented, and the larger context of a fast-changing regime. It offers a number of lessons about the way Middle Eastern politics work.” Doug Saunders, The Globe and Mail.

"Bahari’s account of his 118-day incarceration, “Then They Came For Me,” turns a lens not only on Iran’s surreal justice system but on the history and culture that helped produce it... Bahari’s book is a damning account of a nation run by paranoid, sexually frustrated conspiracy theorists." –Tara Bahrampour, Washington Post.

“Then They Came for Me is a gripping story that weaves his family’s history of incarceration by Iranian rulers with his own.” –Leslie Scrivener, The Toronto Star.

“While Bahari's vivid descriptions make for a good read, perhaps the most compelling aspect of Then They Came for Me is Bahari's ability to capture the frustration that many Iranians, at home and abroad, feel toward Iran's current government. Then They Came for Me is not only a fascinating, human exploration into Bahari's personal experience but it also provides insight into the shared experience of those affected by repressive governments everywhere.” –Hamed Aleaziz, Mother Jones.

“Then They Came for Me is engaging and informative — a gripping tribute to human dedication and a cogent indictment of a corrupt regime.” –Andrew Imbrie Dayton, The Washington Independent Review of Books.

“This harrowing memoir provides an illuminating glimpse into the security apparatus of one of the world’s most repressive countries…. Especially timely given recent events throughout the Middle East, this book is recommended for anyone wishing to better understand the workings of a police state.” –Kirkus Reviews.