San Diego, CA – On October 16th more than 140 Iranian Americans made it to San Diego to attend PAAIA's event at the Marriot in beautiful La Jolla, CA. They had come to learn about PAAIA, meet the staff members and lend their support to PAAIA's goals. Staff included Executive Director Babak Hoghooghi, Director of Public Relations Rudi Bakhtiar, and Director of Community Relations Dr. Niaz Kasravi.
Dr. Kasravi welcomed everyone discussing how "After 9/11" she thought that "as a community [Iranian Americans] realized that we do not have a very good image with the American public at large. We don't have much influence on the policies that are implemented which impact us in this country. This is because we as Iranian Americans have not united on a national scale as a community to create that voice for ourselves."
Rudi Bakhtiar further went on to state that "We [Iranian Americans] are one of the most successful communities here in the United States. Yet that is not how we are portrayed in the media." Ms. Bakhtiar showed video clips from her acclaimed Profiles of Iranian Americans series of mini-documentaries depicting interviews of accomplished members of the Iranian American community.
"It is incumbent upon us to create an organization with an influential voice in the U.S. political process, not only for ourselves, but for our children. I am doing this not only for our community but for my own two boys as well," said Executive Director Babak Hoghooghi.
The evening concluded with Mr. Ali Mojdehi, member of PAAIA's Board of Directors and prominent San Diego attorney. Mr. Mojdehi emphasized the "urgency of now" for our community to build PAAIA for our children in order to give them a competitive advantage to succeed in the U.S.
In fact, the impact of PAAIA's work and message can be seen through the remarks of several Iranian American students who attended events and conveyed to PAAIA members the sense of urgency in community, influence and image building of Iranian Americans.
PAAIA appreciates the warm welcome received from the Iranian American community in San Diego and throughout its visit to Southern California.
This event marked the end of our first trip to the region, which began with Los Angeles on October 2nd, Orange County on October 5th, and Orange County Mehregan on October 11th and 12th. As a result of these events, over 250 people have joined PAAIA as new members and many more have been exposed to PAAIA's goals and ideology.
PAAIA looks forwards to working with all of its members, supporters, friends, and the community as a whole to build community, positive image, and effective influence for Iranian Americans
