From Persia to Puerto Rico is the story of a boy torn apart by poor economic conditions coupled with confusion about Islam and Judaism; who leaves Iran with the hope of a better future.
His dreams of America are sidetracked as fate leads him to Israel, Colombia and Puerto Rico and his life is shaped by social and political turmoil in each land which combine to foster a sense of displacement.
Yigal Yomtov is a Jewish boy growing up under the Shah’s regime in Iran. Leaving behind a protective and fundamentalist Jewish environment, he enters a Muslim high school and develops a deeper, wider understanding and respect of what was a previously unknown religion. Yigal then seeks to bring an end to his state of poverty and dreams of reaching America. A story of prejudice and inequality against his religion and a story of hope for peace in the Middle East.
From Persia to Puerto Rico explores how Great Britain and Russia devastated Iran to gain oil and profit and takes a closer look at the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the search for a better future, Yigal’s story spans his lifetime, and the globe, and he encounters both goodness and hypocrisy in all walks of life along the way. It is the story of a boy, and a man, who lived in the country of the ‘1000 families’ watching people selling their bloods to feed their families while the Shah remained unmoved as an American puppet.
From Persia to Puerto Rico Saga of an Iranian Boy by Yigal Yomtov (published by New Generation, London RRP £7.99) will be available online at most retailers including Amazon and as an eBook, priced at £4.99.
