American Dream: His Journey Began At 19 With A Daring Escape From Iran

Multi-Unit Franchisee:

When 19-year-old Atour Eyvazian fled from his native Iran in the early 1980s to escape persecution for being a Christian, he embarked on an odyssey that led through Turkey all the way to Los Angeles.

“After I left Iran I was captured in Turkey,” he says. But using money his mother had sewn into his Levi’s, the resourceful Eyvazian bribed his way out of prison. “Once I made a phone call to relatives in the U.S., my family in Iran had to leave. They were afraid for their lives. They met me in Turkey and we all went to the U.S. Embassy. We arrived in the U.S. on November 4, 1984.”

Even though he spoke only Persian, Eyvazian started looking for work immediately and landed his first job working as a janitor in a local Jack in the Box. He learned his first few words of English from his co-workers, and after a few months he found himself promoted to the fryer. Full story.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *