Nasser Dayzadeh knows what it’s like to lose everything – and how through hard work to rebuild.
Dayzadeh family
In 1979, the U.S.S.R. invaded Afghanistan. The U.K. suffered historic labor strife, followed by the election of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister. And Michael Jackson released a career-changing album, Off the Wall.
That year signified a beginning to the Iranian Revolution, as well. After nearly 15 years in exile, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to power, following the forced departure of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In addition to forcing all foreigners – including 1,000 U.S. State Department workers – to leave the country, Khomeini supported the country’s return to the principles of Islam, barring outside interference and Westernization. But, for many Iranians, the start of the Revolution also marked the beginning of a new struggle for their freedom.
A shooting star
For Nasser Dayzadeh, president of California-based Bergman Supply, Inc., prior to the Revolution, Iran had been a country of opportunity. “If we went about our business, we were fine,” he recalls. Indeed, after a college and graduate school education in mining engineering in Germany, followed by a yearlong stint with a coal mine in Germany, he returned to Iran where he began a successful career. “I worked for two years in a lead and copper mine in the Sahara Desert,” he explains. “I married my wife, Fery, in 1967 and soon afterward was hired by the Industrial and Mining Development Bank of Iran where I was in charge of mining projects and also worked on the industrial project evaluation for loans.”
Dayzadeh stayed with the bank for 15 years, assuming more and more responsibility. “I was transferred to the loan supervision department, and then became a trouble shooter,” he recalls. “The bank sent me to Switzerland to complete a deputy management course, similar to receiving an MBA,” he says. “It was a very focused course and considered very prestigious.” Within a couple of years, he was promoted to deputy general manager.
Upon returning to Iran, he continued as deputy general manager, as well as headed the bank’s investment department. Within a couple of years, he was also assigned as general manager for one of the bank’s largest investors – a paper manufacturing company. During this time, he would travel to the southern part of the country for work during the week, and return home to his family in Tehran on weekends. “I worked with the paper manufacturing company for five years,” he says. “It was a huge company, with about 2,650 employees. During this time, I hired people from all over the world.” In spite of his long work hours and time away from family, he enjoyed his responsibility. Yet, the growing political unrest in Iran made him increasingly wary.
A turn of events
Indeed, all was not well in Iran. “The Shah had organized the Savak, a political organization much like a secret police, which had branches all over the country,” Dayzadeh recalls. “One day, in 1978, just one year before the Revolution, I was in my office when an employee came to me crying. He told me he had been tortured at the local Savak office that weekend. I asked him if he knew who gave his name to the Savak, and it turned out to be another employee.” Dayzadeh immediately fired the untrustworthy employee – a decision that impacted the next six years of his life.
“This man was angry,” he explains, and the fact that Dayzadeh is Jewish did not help the matter. “From that point on, he began sending letters [besmirching Dayzadeh’s reputation] to the Secretary of Industry, the newspaper and the bank, where I worked. At first, no one paid attention. People knew me to be honest.” But, his former employee persisted, and in 1979, following the Revolution, he joined the new Islamic government, which gave him much more power to take his revenge. “One weekend, I was returning to the paper factory after visiting my family in Tehran. Because it was becoming dangerous to fly, I had started taking the train.” A prudent move on his part, he adds. “I later learned that this man had organized a group with guns to come after me at the airport!”
It was becoming clear to Dayzadeh that moving his family to the United States was essential, and five months after the Revolution, he sent his wife, Fery, and children – an 8-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old son – to join relatives in the United States. “My mother-in-law moved to the United States a few months after my family,” he explains. “She had connections there and was able to help my family.” In addition, Fery had attended Brandeis University and she, as well as their children, spoke fluent English. “Although we had no plans to move to America before the Iranian Revolution, we wanted our children to learn English,” Dayzadeh says. Fery’s degree in psychology from an American university helped her obtain a pre-school teaching position, and the children quickly assimilated into their new school. With relatives in the area, including Dayzadeh’s niece and nephew, a brother-in-law and a brother (a general surgeon in New York City who moved to California to be near family), Fery and the children fared well. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Dayzadeh at home in Iran.
While it had been his plan to join his family in California, his former employee eventually did manage to catch the ear of government officials, and the post-revolution Iranian government was in no hurry to permit Dayzadeh to leave the country. Ironically, because his employee had turned in so many people under the Shah’s regime, the new government arrested and jailed him. He was responsible for many people being tortured before the Revolution, notes Dayzadeh. “He had many against him.” But, prison and self-made enemies were not enough to inhibit this villain.
“While in jail, he continued to make accusations against me,” says Dayzadeh. “He reported that I was connected with Mossad (the Israeli counterpart to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency). Upon his release from prison, he persisted with his letter writing, eventually convincing the new government that Dayzadeh was an enemy of Iran. For the next five years, Dayzadeh would not be permitted to leave the country nor continue at his job.
A struggle for freedom
From that point forward, two things mattered to Dayzadeh: clearing his name and joining his family in the States. It was his word against that of his accuser, and no matter how many times he was questioned – and no matter that none of the accusations panned out – the Iranian government refused to lift its travel ban.
In addition to being accused of working with Mossad, Dayzadeh was believed to have Zionist ties. His former employee claimed that one of the paper manufacturer’s contracts with a Finnish company was actually a front for his Zionist activity, he explains. Then came the accusations that he had traveled to Israel for suspect reasons. “My former employee knew I had traveled there to accompany my wife for surgery. She wanted to have her surgery in Israel because they are known to have better doctors there. I was questioned over and over about this and [repeatedly] told them, ‘Israel has good doctors.’
“I was also accused of spending the paper manufacturer’s money unwisely,” he continues, noting his years of employment at the bank and paper manufacturer were scrutinized. “In Iran, it was very common for supervisors to give heads of departments a small gift to celebrate the New Year,” he says. Even that, they used against him, he says.
“It took me six years to prove all of this was nonsense,” says Dayzadeh. “But, during those six years, I was at peace knowing my family was safe and that I had done nothing wrong. I never misused a penny while working for the bank and the paper manufacturer. I never could have predicted that my own government would turn on me.” And, it cost him dearly. “I missed out on my children growing up,” he points out. “That will always be the greatest loss in my life.”
A new beginning
There’s much to be said about the American Dream, but it doesn’t always come easy. “When I finally came to America in 1985, I had nothing to do,” says Dayzadeh. He studied contract law and took a minimum wage job ($3.25/hour) “just to get out” while he determined his course. Then, one morning in 1987, while reading the newspaper, it came to him what he could do. “AIDS had become an epidemic, and the U.S. government was asking doctors and dentists to wear latex gloves,” he recalls. “While reading about this in the paper, it dawned on me that I could bring latex gloves to America.”
However, latex gloves were not easy to come by during that time. “Supplies were booked,” he says. “Nothing was available. Then a Korean company I reached out to put me in touch with a glove company in Los Angeles, and I began to distribute gloves locally. I established my company, Bergman Dental and Medical Supply, out of my home. My garage was my warehouse, and my living room was my office. I would take orders every day until 2 p.m., when my wife would come home from teaching school. Then, Fery would handle the phone calls and orders, and I would make my deliveries.” Within a year, his customers began asking for other products, such as masks and gowns. “I would find out where to purchase these supplies and add them to my business.” In 1992, he joined IMCO, giving him greater access to more medical suppliers. “My association with IMCO boosted sales of my medical products,” he says.
“My experiences had taught me how to work with people,” says Dayzadeh. “I knew how to be persistent. I was honest. And, I knew how to work hard.” And, so marked the start of a distributorship that has thrived for nearly three decades. “I have always been very thankful to the U.S. government for welcoming my family,” he says. “I am very thankful for the freedom we have in America. I have traveled all over the world, and no country offers the same opportunity that this country does.”
Indeed, perspective is everything, and Dayzadeh is not one to mourn lost opportunities. He takes pride in his family’s success. “I am happy that my son is a successful immigration attorney and my daughter is a CPA with a beautiful family,” he says. “Although I missed out on my children growing up, we now have two grandsons and a young granddaughter who looks much like my daughter when she was that age.” He makes it a point to see his grandchildren every other day – an opportunity to experience the years he lost with his own children, he adds.