Earlier this week, I went to dinner with my Бабушка (grandmother, in Russian). As we were about to finish eating, I had 1/4 of the waffle I ordered left behind in my plate. She asked "Aren't you going to eat that, Emi?” "No thank you, I'm full,” I replied.
She gave me a disappointing look, which irritated me at first, then said "You know, I grew up starving in Iran.”
Shocked, I stared at her for a few seconds, then began to guiltily pick at my waffle.
I felt ashamed of myself. Being half Indian and half caucasian, I knew I had a background of struggling family members. So, I asked "How did we get here, Бабушка?" Her face brightened at the question, and she began to explain.

Extreme hunger (including cannibalism), poverty, and fear of Siberian exile, marked a few of the reasons my ancestors fled Russia. …show more content…
It was a very difficult time in their life, but it had to be done to survive, just as many refugees do today.
While in Iran, life was extremely laborious. Jobs were scarce, to the point that nearly everyone was put to work to bring in any form of money to survive. My Пра-прабабушка (great grandmother) had to wash laundry by hand while pregnant with her 10th child. My Бабушка’s older sisters, both under the age of 15, became live in housekeepers, only coming home to visit on the weekends. My Прадед (great grandfather) worked a minimum of 12 hours per day, 6 days a week, in a coal mine. He reported, almost every day, around 80 dead bodies brought up from deep in the mine.
This was before the world War 2 Era; most of the world was in turmoil. My Предки (ancestors) - my great grandparents and their parents - lived in Iran for 19 years. In 1952, my grandmother, who was about 10 years old, was able to come to the USA, along with her entire family, thanks to funding via the Baptist