Yesterday 3.30am I got my first fare. He was a fellow cabby and was going home after a 14 hour shift. I'd never seen him before.
He seemed middle -eastern to me, and I asked him where he was from.
He was from Iran, and had been in Australia (in Brisbane) for 2 years. I asked if he had family - 3 teenaged sons. He said he drove 7 days/week 'cause teenage boys need money to live (cabbies do not make much money at all!)
I said he must be finding it hard coming to a new country, new way of life, language, culture, lack of social support etc.
He said being here was just so good. He said he was used to moving - that for 15 years he had never lived in any place in Iran for more than 12 months, and had spent most of that time in jails.
I asked him why he'd been in jail - religion. He was not a Muslim (I think he said he was Ba'hai). He told me in Iran he lived in constant dread. He told me that the ringing of a bell there was a frightening thing since it preceded an announcement of who was to be hanged (I think he was talking about bells in jail). He told me each night in jail 'they' would ring a bell and then announce the names of 90 - 100 people who would be hanged in the morning.
He told me of being arrested (because of his religion) along with his father and 30 of his friends. He told me that his father and 27 of those friends were hanged in that jail on the next day. He told me he and his remaining 3 friends were released through the efforts of the UNO, and that was how he came to be in Australia.
I asked him how his teenage sons were finding it here/settling in. He said they, like he, loved it. They loved the lack of fear. He said they say he used to be their "aquarium father" - he was smiling and said they always used to see him behind the glass wall when he was in the jails.
When we got to his place, he apologised to me for talking too much! I told him how much I'd appreciated him talking to me. I thanked him. I shook his hand. I drove away.
