A sip of tea, an earful of music

Nothing brings back the sense of being in Iran as much as drinking a glass of tea. Not with just an ordinary tea bag, but tea that Haide brews in a teapot over the heat of a Samovar. When drinking tea, she holds a piece of home in her palms. Haide made an effort to make her new house reflect her recollections of life in Iran. She and Fardin spent months searching for a coal-burning Samovar and an ancient radio that looked similar to the one they previously owned. No Kurdish kitchen is complete without a Samovar, a metal urn used to boil water and brew tea. Many things may have given them a sense of belonging, but these two were particularly dear to their hearts. It had been a long time since she had heard Kurdish music fill the air as they sat alongside the Samovar, sipping tea. A memory of the homeland.

Haide is now cleared of her charges in Iran and is free to visit her daughter. However, the fear persists. Nothing would ever be able to erase the remnants of horror she felt as a young girl in Iran. If she goes back, there's no assurance those horrors won't happen again. She has friends here whom she adores and who have assisted her in starting the life she describes so joyfully. Haide delights in living in Leiden. The city center, the Hooglandse Kerk, and the Vlietland park are her favorite spots here. The Netherlands is an image of beauty for Haide, particularly the environment, the rain, and all of its beautiful towns. Today, she has made Leiden her home and cannot imagine living anywhere else.

'Without question, I have had instances when people made me feel like I don't belong here,' Haide stated the day we were enjoying coffee with Ans, and I remember her saying, 'Yet I will not let it get in the way. Because I believe that the world belongs to all of us, everyone! I feel I have the right to live happily with my family and friends in Leiden.'