Hamid Pakdel’s Story
Pakdel Jewelry
We had the honor of talking with Hamid Pakdel for our first Refugee Story Project spotlight. It was enlightening to hear his story from his life of being a successful business owner in Iran to leaving everything behind to become a refugee in Turkey and later be placed in the U.S.A. His story is one of many, and we are privileged to be able to share it here.
Hamid was born and raised in Mashhad, Iran. He was raised in a family of 6 children, and started working as a goldsmith when he was a teenager. He would attend school during the day, and work during the night. Hamid was always first in class in anything he took on, and was recognized and won prizes for his school work. After high school he completed his mandatory 2 years of service with the army, but due to the Iran-Iraq war, the universities closed and so he instead focused on starting his own goldsmith business. In just two months, Hamid’s business was taking off and he soon expanded to working with jewelry. A favorite item of Hamid’s and his clients is to create jewelry of old Persian empire symbols, and Hamid found pride in representing these to his clients.
Hamid later married Sousan and had two beautiful daughters, Rouhafza and Ghazaleh. Fifteen years after finishing highschool, he went back to school and studied Physics while he was running his business and having a family. He worked as a successful goldsmith and jewelry designer operating out of a storefront in his city, as well as opening multiple other businesses. Hamid epitomized being a successful entrepreneur, and had built a good life for him and his family.
About 17 years ago, while managing multiple successful businesses and two teenage daughters Hamid and his family made the decision to convert to Christianity. This put him and his family on a trajectory that would change the life they knew forever. Within 3 years they were faced with persecution from family and the government, which led to Hamid and Sousan’s imprisonment for their beliefs. Once released they tried to go back to normal life for the next three years, but the persecution kept on increasing and soon their only option was to flee the country as refugees. They sought refuge in Turkey, leaving behind their home, family, friends, businesses and the life they knew.
In Turkey, they experienced four years of life as a refugee. At that time, refugees were not allowed to work and the Pakdels had to rely solely on the limited savings they were able to bring with them from Iran. During their time as a refugee, they were assigned to one city and had to report to the police of that city every week to ensure that they did not leave that city during their time there. They were able to rent a small apartment with three bedrooms, and they used it as a home for incoming refugees until they found a place to stay as well as a house church for fellow refugees. The language barriers, cultural differences, and even the lack of familiar everyday comforts like food, groceries, etc added to the stress and difficulties of their time in Turkey. Being labeled as a refugee also brought a social stigma with it, and as time continued on they had more and more limited financial resources. After being in Turkey for 3 years, Hamid and his family ran out of savings but as Hamid stated: “God would open unexpected doors miraculously”, and Hamid and his wife continued to serve the Lord.
They were chosen to be resettled in the U.S.A, with Ghazaleh being the first to go over and Hamid and Sousan following a little over a year later. Ghazaleh was able to stay in the midwest with friends and Hamid and Sousan were resettled in one of the low income neighborhoods in Sacramento in 2015. Rouhafza and her husband have still not been resettled and have remained in Turkey.
Hamid, Sousan, and Ghazaleh decided to move to Southern California together to rent an apartment and once again start life over. Hamid went from owning multiple businesses and having a very successful life in Iran to resettling in the USA with nothing and needing to get an entry level job to make ends meet. With the encouragement of his family and friends, he started his work as a goldsmith and jewelry designer after two years of living in the USA. A friend gave him a small investment to be able to make some pieces as samples to show and sell and build up his business here. And as Hamid said, “Currently, most of my time is spent on making jewelry and, praise the Lord, slowly I have gained clients and it has allowed me to have more work through my jewelry business. My hope is to slowly stop working an entry level service job, and to be in a place where I can work more [with my jewelry business]. I ask you to pray for me and my business and my faith. And to help spread the word. My goal is to never ask for money but to be able to continue working through receiving more orders!”
When we asked Hamid about what differences he has experienced from life in Iran to life in the USA, he mentioned that communication, lifestyle, law and many other things are different from Iran. It is a challenge starting life over in a new country where they do not speak your native language and the word “refugee” has a negative connotation to so many people. But Hamid is also grateful for the opportunities he has here. In his own words: “In my new home and new country, I am glad I have freedom here and that regardless of my beliefs, there is no danger to me. I am also a member of a church here, but one of my main communities is via online platforms around the world. In Iran any kind of Christian community gathering was prohibited. In regards to culture, many things are different here. They are more developed and modern. The other thing is the respect towards each other and the help from individuals and the community is visible, and I am glad to be part of it.” Hamid and his wife, Sousan, have continued serving at their local church and through online platforms since their arrival in the USA.
Hamid’s story is one of success, talent, change, persecution, hardship, new beginnings, perseverance, and growth. He is still fighting to make his way in the USA, and to grow his passion for goldsmithing and jewelry design into a sustainable business again. We are honored to have shared some of his story, and for his willingness to provide insight into what life was like before and after becoming a refugee. To see more of Hamid’s work and to encourage him along his journey please visit his business links below:
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/pakdel
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PakdelJewelry
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pakdel.jewelry/
