Memorable Quotes from Sarah Badel
1 quoteSeeking Freedom Together
Nicole
My name is Nicole Adjamian.
[in the American Interest Section of the Swiss Embassy]
Betty
Yes. Betty Mahmoody. This is my daughter, Mahtob.
Nicole
Please do sit.
Betty
Thank you. We're so glad to see you. I spoke with my mother in the United States and I know that the State Department is into this. We're just very happy to be here. We'll sleep anywhere for as long as it takes until you can get us out.
Nicole
What are you talking about? You cannot stay here.
[confused]
Betty
I can't go back to my husband. I want to go home to the United States.
Nicole
That may be, but you are in Iran. You are married to an Iranian?
Betty
Yes.
Nicole
Then you are an Iranian citizen.
Betty
No. No I'm not. I'm an American citizen and my daughter is an American citizen. We were born in the United States. We have American passports. I mean, we don't have them with us. My husband has them. We've never changed our citizenship.
Nicole
If you marry an Iranian man, you automatically become an Iranian citizen. The laws regarding women are very strict. You cannot travel anywhere without written permission. You have no rights to the children. They go to the man in a divorce. I'm sorry, but you will have to go back to your husband.
Betty
But we'll never get out of Iran. We're being held hostage. It was almost impossible to come here.
[on the verge of tears]
Nicole
Mrs. Mahmoody, there are many American women here in similar circumstances. May I ask you why you came to Iran?
[pauses]
Betty
I don't know. I don't know. I was afraid to come. I wanted to please him. I trusted him. I was frightened to come, but I never thought this would happen. I thought of him as an American. He's changed. Oh God, he's changed.
[pauses; sniffles]
Nicole
Look, Mrs. Mahmoody. Many came back after the Revolution feeling guilty about being away, about turning their backs on Iran and on Islam. Now Iran is an Islamic State and that's a wonderful thing for many Iranians. Well, if there is anything I can do, maybe if you need to organize telephone calls to the U.S. or if you want to write letters home, let me know.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.