BY MARCELLA FITZGERALD
TEHRAN, Iran - "This embargo is a cold war by America against Iran. America is trying to get more and more out of Iran, but the embargo will affect only the poor not the rich," said one young man from Unomieh at the recent Tehran International Book Fair. He is currently doing his military service in this city. This view reflected that of many people at the fair, which closed here May 26.
The 10-day-long event attracted close to 2 million people according to reports in the Tehran Times based on the sale of tickets. Buses came in from Tabriz, Hamadan, Kermanshah, Gilan, Zanjan, Yazd, Arak, Mashad, and many other areas.
The book fair coincided with the 13th anniversary of the liberation of the port city of Khorramshahr, a heroic victory in the war against Iraq. With the backing of Washington, Saddam Hussein invaded Iran in 1980, one year after the Iranian revolution. Flowers were scattered from the air over the book fair and the streets were decorated with banners to commemorate the battle at Khorramshahr.
Many people visiting the Pathfinder booth were interested in the broad range of revolutionary books on hand and identified themselves with the struggles of working people around the world. "Castro belongs to us, too," commented one man visiting the booth.
As the fair continued, more and more people came back to see the books at the Pathfinder table. One student who bought Thomas Sankara's Women's Liberation and the African Freedom Struggle on the first day of the fair came back on the last day with two of his friends. They plan to translate the pamphlet and give a class on it at school. When asked why this topic, he said, "There is no revolution without women being liberated."
Just before the book fair closed a young man hurriedly came to the booth. He brought back a copy of Problems of Women's Liberation, by Evelyn Reed, which he had bought as a present for his wife. She had already read many of the essays, which have been printed in different papers here. In exchange, he bought a copy of The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State by Frederick Engels for her. Two young men who purchased the Farsi version of Socialism and Man in Cuba by Che Guevara last year came back to visit the Pathfinder booth. They said that after reading the pamphlet they now realize that Cuba was different than the Soviet Union.
More than 60 copies of a Farsi translation of the New International article "Washington's Assault on Iraq: Opening Guns of World War III" were sold at the fair. Published on the eve of the fair, the article was well received. One of the volunteer translators of the book recounted the story of carrying some copies of the Farsi version to the fair. The taxi driver asked the volunteer for a copy rather than his fare. The cab fare was much higher than the cost of the book. One person who bought the book said someone saw it in his hands and asked to buy it from him.
"The fact that U.S. forces are still stationed in the Gulf and that the number of U.S. warships is currently being increased there makes this book very live and fresh," the translator said. "The U.S. embargo, which is seen as the political expansion of the military presence in the region, is adding weight to this and gives this timely book greater resonance."
There was lively interest in the Cuban stand at the fair also, although the books were for display only. Two soldiers came by looking for books on the Cuban armed forces saying they had immense respect for the Cubans and wanted information on how they organize defense of their revolution. The representative from the Cuban embassy who staffed the stand said that it was important to be at the book fair and that they would want to bring more books next year because of the interest.
Foreign publishers selling technical books and text books sold out of many titles in the first three days, as people surged into the book fair to buy books at prices subsidized by the government. Some book buyers said they were not confident that the books would be available next year.
Discussion on the higher prices at this year's fair was constant. Inflation is a burning question in Iran - and has been exacerbated by the U.S. trade sanctions. Following the introduction of a fixed exchange rate last week of 3,000 rials to the dollar aimed at trying to stabilize the currency, those found trading at "free market" rates have been subject to arrest. The Majlis (Iranian parliament) debated a bill May 23 to introduce capital punishment for those found guilty of profiteering.