| The Iranian Earthquake 1990 SITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION |
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When the earthquake hit the northern region of Iran on the Caspian Sea, we knew it would be difficult to get our government involved. The State Department told Mr. Seraphin that he knew where he was taking his team, good luck, but don't call home. The U.S. had the embargo against Iran, the interesting part of this situation was the U.S. was negotiating with Iran to assist in the Kuwaiti War against Iraq. Three million Iranians and Iraqis died in the war they waged on each other a few years before. Mr. Seraphin with the help of Iranian Americans, raised the money for materials, shipping and the flight to Dusseldorph Germany and from there Air Iran flew us to Tehran.
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When we landed the plane was surrounded by soldiers who then loaded us in vans and drove us into Tehran to the same Hilton Hotel the hostages were held in. Bullet holes still showing on the facade and a banner over the entrance with Death To Israel - Death to America. This was during Ramadan and we were wearing red company shirts, red was the sign of the Devil, but what did we know and no one approached us about it. We were treated as guests and American working men coming to help.
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One of the first villages we were taken to was Massula, built in the 7th Century. I was amazed with how happy the people were and how young the mothers were, one was sixteen with two children. The vegetable were excellent and the tomatoes were sweet and large, as were the strawberries. Every home was home to us, they argued over who was going to have us to dinner. This is the area where irrigation runs up hill, something I read about, but had never seen before. Above this village was a boulder the size of a large bulldozer, balancing in place from the earthquake. The Germans sent in an explosive team the blew it into small stones that rained down the valley but did little damaged compared to what the boulder would have done had it started down the hill toward the village, like a bowling ball.
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Here we are with Mohammed, finishing a shelter for the storage of emergency supplies. He was with the secret police and his job was to keep us safe, "There are crazys in every country", as he said to explain his position to us. In Iran, woman must show respect by wearing at the minimum, a head scarf. We were passed by a young professional couple in a Jeep going at least 110mph and as they went by us, Mohammed saw the wife was not wearing a head scarf. The next thing we know is we are chasing them down the road to the next town, where Mohammed passed them, cut in front of them and blocked the road. He jumped out, ran up to the drivers side and an argument was under way. He showed his credentials and told them to follow him into town to the police station. When he got back in the van we were in and told us what was going on, he was in a fit of anger. I asked him why he took it so personally and he said they have insulted foreign guests with their lack of respect, what would we think of Iranian woman, who showed no respect. I laughed and told him we didn't know the difference, no one in America wears a head scarf and he seemed baffled. I explain that we felt no insult and I was sure they meant no disrespect, it was 110 degrees out. When we got to the police station he got out and went up to the husband and the next thing we saw was Mohammed hugging the man, walking around to the woman's window and giving her one of the Hershey bars we gave him. All was forgiven and we started back down the road at 100mph to the next town. Enshallah, means "God Willing", meaning never be afraid of doing 110mph around a bend with a truck coming on in your lane, what will be, will be.
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In one of the villages we met the leader of the pack and he was a tough smart cookie, who spoke three languages, Farsi, English, and French. I was shocked to learn that Iran was 15 points ahead of the U.S. in literacy and kids there were doing algebra in the fourth grade, sitting on wooden benches with no air conditioning, enough said on that subject. This young fellow was the village King Rat, he could get anything you needed within primitive demands, like strawberries, or cigarettes. He never left my side and I got to really admire his audacity, a true Capitalist at heart.
Charles Weiler spoke fluent Farsi and was the crew artist to boot, he drew a complete diary of our travels. Charles had a heart of gold and was out of candy bars by the third village. His real job is being an architect in New Jersey.
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| Massule and the boulder |
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| All You Need Is Love |
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If you look closely, you will see, "I Love You", written in perfect English. Every village we went into the people would surround us and ask us questions about America and if we knew their relative in LA or Cleveland. It was in Massule that an elder corrected me when I used the Arab in talking about Iran. This was my first trip to this part of the world and I assumed incorrectly that all were Arabs. He explained that I came from Persia and that my blue eyes were Persian and that Farsi was the bases of Latin and of course, Latin was the bases for English. "We are not Arabs, we are Persian, just like your ancestors".
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| Richard Synder, "Sarge" |
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Richard Snyder, "Sarge", was with us in Armenia and was a stable force in Iran when some of the men were fearful and wanted to go home, as if that were possible piecemeal. He kept the discipline and sense of humor going and we needed it from time to time, as we did in Armenia. I have a great respect for this Special Forces veteran, who taught us a lot abut surviving in harsh climates on K rations. He also knew a lot about jimmy rigging something together until we could get to the next town.
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I had just finish water skiing on the Caspian Sea the day before this photograph. Mohammed and two of his friends got a 1930's speed boat and dared me to try water skiing, which I did after a twenty five year hiatus from my childhood in Florida. The Caspian is hot water, full of Sturgeons, which translates into Beluga caviar and we ate a lot of it at truck stops. Caviar and pita bread is served everywhere on the Caspian, as a glass of water is in our restaurants. This photograph was on the White River and when Mohammed saw what we were about to do, he rushed down and stopped us. "You will end up in the Caspian Sea, the current just below the surface is brutal".
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| Sarge and Anthony Seraphin going swimming |
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Interior Protection – Temporary Enclosures
– Dust and Debris Barriers
High Structure Cleaning – Class 1
Environmental Containments
Shrink Wrap Buildings, Scaffolding, Roofs
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