Modern Fairy Tale
I will never forget the expression on Richard Wiley’s face when I told him the Iranian government had hacked my website.
It was 2009, and I couldn't log into it while in my Black Mountain Institute office. That site had been very active during the Green Movement. Richard looked as though he was about to cry and hugged me. He didn't know what to do. He kept telling me “sorry” as if it was his fault.
Richard's reaction starkly illustrated the difference between American and Iranian writers. At that moment, I realized that hacking was not normal; it was illegal and had previously happened to all of my websites and blogs. However, I didn't think they could hack a website I had made and hosted in America.
I was the first established writer in Iran to utilize the Internet with all my being. I started writing on Persian blog the first night that America attacked Iraq during Operation Desert Storm. That night, in my article, I predicted that the war would continue and wouldn't end soon. The article was about Mesopotamia and the king of Assyria; it was neither easily accessible nor simple to read but I remember many readers like that. I was simultaneously shocked and excited that I could publish my writing without permission. Discovering this magical world was as strange as the many stories I had heard during childhood. It was like a fairy tale- I could write poems, opinions, and stories and post photos quickly and without fear.
After posting my first article, I couldn't sleep. Every other second I checked the Persian blog. Like a young girl longing to visit her first love, my heart pounded and I was restless. Of course, I was ridiculed by writers and intellectuals who considered the Internet to belong to non-serious people. But, what Is the meaning of being a writer when you don't have a direct connection with your readers? Moreover, was it too much to ask to get together with like-minded people in your own house without fear? The government had created a dead world for us; everyone seemed anxious and depressed, and I thought I should do something to bring it to life. In this situation, the Internet came to my aid and saved my life. Later, it became my refuge. Like my family who had built the village, it created my present world. The Internet has helped me remain independent and have direct contact with people.
I do here what I did in my native country.
However, I am now much more focused, efficient, and effective.
I don't know how many times I was hacked. The last definitive incident was in June 2021. They hacked my Instagram, which had 25,000 followers. I can confidently say that I am among the most-hacked writers in the world.
It didn’t stop last year. Initially, I forgot to save my writings. I subsequently learned to keep documents in multiple locations. After the hacks, I lost websites, blogs, and Facebook pages. I no longer have access to them, but I have to thank readers around the world who have kept my writings. So, with their help, I recovered many of my posts but not all. My Yahoo! email messages disappeared permanently.
Ultimately, I have had three beautiful and happiest moments in my life, all of which were personal turning points. The first was the day I wrote the first paragraph of my first story, the second the day my son was born, and the third was the night I discovered the Internet and started writing on a Persian blog.
Source: Substack