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Hello
Poletik is recorded here, in New York City, every week.
But this week we've decided to head out of this modern Babylon.
Poletik will take you on a journey and share some stories.
This journey, like all others, begins on a rainy night.
Like all other journeys, it starts from home.
Like all other journeys you first have to put your stuff in a suitcase.
Pick up your magazines.
Wipe the steamed up mirror so you can take a better look at yourself before the trip.
Where are we going this week?
And how?
From New York we're going to a city called "Cortiva"?
Curitiba!
That's where Iran is playing.
We fly at 6pm... no, 6am...
It's 3:10 in the morning.
And we will start from here.
At 6 in the morning.
We'll get on the plane.
We'll get to Miami at 8:55
We'll take off from Miami at 10:25
And go to Curitiba!
Curitiba is a city in Brazil where the Iranian national team plays its first match against Nigeria in the World Cup.
We're almost ready to go.
I'm thinking about what unfinished book to bring along.
The joy of packing your bags and forgetting to pack the toothpaste. As usual.
Perhaps the last look at the home you love and... click!
Total darkness.
It's raining.
This journey, supposedly a memorable one, begins on a rainy night.
To tell you the truth, I love to travel. I love these suitcases.
After a while if I don't travel and change my surroundings, I feel I'm rotting. I feel empty.
The temporary nature of travel, going away from home, not belonging...
Those are wonderful feelings that brought me great joy since I emigrated from Iran.
They give my life meaning -- even at 3 in the morning, when you're tired.
I'm sleepy. I'm tired.
We're checking-in our luggage at the sidewalk.
I've never known the Persian equivalent for "check-in".
As usual, I've packed too many unnecessary things into my suitcase.
My bag is heavy too.
The good thing about traveling for work is that with your camera, laptop and all the plugs and wires
you don't mind getting a helping hand. And there's always someone there to help you.
I love airports. It's the best place in the world.
You're always a stranger.
Doesn't matter who you are. Whoever you are you're a passenger.
You're in a temporary state. You haven't gone and you haven't arrived.
You're somewhere in the middle.
In the old days we had a saying:
"If you want to fool someone, go to the airport. Passengers don't know you and will believe anything you say."
That's the feeling in an airport. You can be any person.
Knock, knock, boom!
I do that whenever I get into a plane before a flight.
That's my personal insurance protection for myself and everyone else.
If we human beings were meant to fly, I think we would certainly have wings.
Flying is against our nature. That's why you have a weird feelings.
It's unnatural.
I say these things to myself in the plane until I reach the ground once more.
I step into a tunnel and enter a new country.
A new place and immediately meeting Iranians who've come to watch the game.
You've come to see the game, right?
Three games.
You too?
Yes.
There's no better feeling like stepping into an unfamiliar foggy place for the first time.
You feel like standing there...
... and let the camera come towards you.
The wind will blow away the yellow leaves.
You close your eyes and for two minutes you imagine what this trip is going to be like.
This is Brazil.
You clearly notice something immediately when you get here.
Football is in their blood, man.
Over here everyone knows what an offside is.
They can exactly tell you what an offside is.
What's the score?
Everyone asks, "What's the score?"
We finally find our hotel.
We get held up by Brazilian bureaucracy and red tape for a while.
And then we went to get some rest so that we could explore the city at night.
The first place we discovered was the "Light and Music Festival" to celebrate the World Cup.
People were celebrating the arrival of the Iranian and Nigerian teams.
But I'm a sucker for music. Whenever I hear a couple of notes my head turns in that direction.
And sometimes a change of direction leads me to a children's playground.
I continue walking for 30 seconds until I reach a place where a bunch are watching Italy vs England.
I've always liked football.
Football has always entertained me.
I don't play that well myself.
But recently I've realized that football, despite the bravado, can also bring people closer together.
Kambiz: What do you think the score will be?
Fan: You mean Iran's game against Nigeria? Should I give an emotional response or...?
Kambiz: Give your own view.
Fan: Emotionally I'm hoping Iran will win.
Kambiz: So what's your unemotional response?
Fan: Unemotionally, technically speaking, the game might end in a draw.
Kambiz: What will the score be?
Fan: 1-1?
Kambiz: Who will score for Iran?
Fan: Qoochi (Reza Qoochan Nejad) of course.
Kambiz: What about Nigeria's goal? Will they score in the second half or...?
Fan: That's not important. They will score first then we will.
Kambiz: So you think it will end 1-1. You are here with how many friends?
Fan: We are a group of six, from all over the world.
Kambiz: Have you really had fun?
Fan: It's been great.
Kambiz: Thanks so much.
Fan: My pleasure.
It doesn't matter what your beliefs might be. Football can bring you closer to fellow human beings.
I was thinking about these philosophical things about football until we heard the sound of Samba.
We went towards it and mixed in with the crowd.
Samba with its African roots, is considered the national dance of Brazil.
And this place was the best place for it.
You should have been there.
The people were cool. Happy. Without grudges.
What else can I tell you about attractions here?
Wall paintings in the streets.
Graffiti.
Finally the time has arrived.
We are going from the hotel to see the matach between Iran and Nigeria.
It starts in about 2 hours Ithink.
In the past week, the Western media have depicted the Iranian team as...
[By the way, the man who has fallen asleep next to me is our Brazilian guide.]
[He doesn't understand Persian. He's showing us how to get to the stadium. That's why he's sleeping.]
... The Western media have belittled the Iranian team. They don't give any weight to our players.
So our boys have to show that they are inspired. They are inspired.
They will fight like warriors in this game.
Like champions.
They will play in such a way that won't hurt Iranian national pride. That's my opinion.
[Sound of Iranian presenter when Iran qualified for the World Cup in Brazil.]
This is a great moment.
There's nothing better than seeing freinds and acquaintances among the Iranian crowd.
The stadium was brand new.
I think it was one of the first times that a game was being played here.
We found our way very easily.
[Music: "What goal is the result of love and hope? Iran's goal!"
We also saw some cool people.
Beautiful women.
Wonderful Iranians.
And finally the match gets started.
The crowd loved the Mexican Wave.
We got lucky here.
[Presenter: The ball is crossed into the penalty area and our players kick it away. What a dangerous Nigerian attack!"
[Qoochan Nejad himself goes for it with a cutting kick!]
Sometimes I become like this.
[Khosrow Heydari lobs a ball over the goal from the right and the Nigerian keeper takes control of the ball.]
We almost had a slight heart attack here.
What is this guy screaming about?
[Sends a ball towards the goal... A chance for Iran!]
[Ehsan Haj Safi makes a good move...]
This was painful to watch.
And this one was handled by Sadeghi, our handsome star goalie.
[The game is over. Iran ties with Nigera, the African continent's powerful team.]
Yes. Iran equalizes with Nigeria, the African continent's powerful team.
To be honest, I was happy we didn't lose.
And the crowd there did not seem to be upset that we equalized with Nigeria.
Everyone is saying how great it was that we didn't lose.
Even this guy.
I take pictures and post them on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and so on.
And ultimately sitting alone in the stadium, checking what people are saying about the game online.
When we were coming out of the stadium, I noticed that the people were really calm.
Why wasn't anybody shouting obscenities.
There were so many women in the stadium. And there were no problems for anybody.
We should celebrate.
We should celebrate that we didn't lose.
If you don't lose, you should celebrate.
My prediction was right. We should celebrate.
One by one everybody went away to have fun and celebrate.
And we went back to the hotel. Back to work.
And an honest piece of bread.
Hello! I'm Kambiz Hosseini. This is "Panj e Asr" which is aired every week at 5pm Tehran Time from Radio Farda.
This is a production of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.
We are recording this program in Brazil.
I'm sitting here in... what's the name of the city?
Curitiba.
Curitiba! I am in Curitiba only a few streets away from where Iranian players are sitting or perhaps resting in their hotel.
We present to you this week's "Panj e Asr", people!
I have done a lot of shows in my professional life.
But this moment...
this very moment, is one of the most memorable.
Producing a show right here in this city.
What's it called?
Why has he sent them separately?
We couldn't leave this city without being among Brazilians and watching Brazil play.
Believe me! I have not seen a people so in love with football.
It was as if it was a religious ceremony for them.
Everyone believed what they wanted from their team.
And their team would try everything they could to meet the expectations of these people.
Here in Curitiba, every open door led to a church.
And in every church a group of people were busy praying for the success of their national football team.
This city reminded me of Rasht a lot in some ways. [Kambiz's hometown in northern Iran.]
Some areas were more like Bandar Anzali [near Rasht].
And sometimes like Ramsar.
Other places were like Nowshahr.
And there were some images that also reminded me of Chaloos.
As a whole it was like this was northern Iran.
That's how I can describe it to you.
It was an interesting experience for me going to the World Cup for the first time.
I have to gradually return to the hotel.
We have to sit around with the Poletik team and tell you our story.
The story that began on that rainy night in New York
and ends on top of these stairs.
Poletik is recorded every week here in New York City.
But this week we have decided to head out of this modern Babylon.
Poletik is going on a journey to tell you a story.
This story, like all others, begins on a rainy night.