The Daily Tar Heel

Issue date: 3/7/07 Section: City

Media Credit: DTH/Traci White Sima Fallahi, released from Mecklenberg County Jail on Tuesday afternoon, looks out her front door as she waits for Kathleen Barton to arrive. Kathleen and her fiance Bob Wright have been taking care of Sima's daughter Leila since her incarceration in November.

Sima Fallahi's house off North Greensboro Street in Carrboro has been empty for more than three months.

But Tuesday a kettle of water boiled for tea, fresh cut flowers adorned the kitchen table and ice cream chilled in the freezer.

It looks as though it was never empty, but Tuesday, the Iranian-born Fallahi unlocked the door to her home and walked in for the first time since being arrested by Chapel Hill police Nov. 29.

"It feels so good to be home," Fallahi said. "My friends have been here to clean. I think they've done a better job than I do."

Fallahi's friends are Kathleen Barton and Bob Wright, the couple who took temporary guardianship of Fallahi's 11-year-old daughter Leila while Fallahi was imprisoned, and the ice cream and flowers were among the many housewarming gifts with which they greeted her.

Fallahi, 49, was arrested when police found an outstanding deportation order after she applied for a permit to sell her art. Since Dec. 1 she has been held in Mecklenburg County Jail.

Though she was able to return Tuesday, Fallahi still must wait to see if her deportation order is canceled, and if it is, she must reapply for political asylum.

Wright and Leila drove to and from Charlotte to pick her up while Barton waited anxiously.

Her anxieties were multiplied by numerous false claims made during the past three days that Fallahi would be released.

"I still have to see her to believe it after all these times we've gotten our hopes up," Barton said Monday.

Barton and Fallahi, close friends for several years, rushed to hug as soon as they saw each other.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome home," Barton said through tears. "You made it, Sima, you made it."

Jailed, but not defeated

Fallahi spent more than three months behind bars but said she spent the time to make the most of the situation.

"Because I was at the jail, though, I was up early. But this meant I would watch the sunrise," she said. "That was a gift."

An artist, she drew pencil portraits and stationery for the other inmates. She asked them for recipes and compiled a book of their favorites, and she took classes at the jail.

"The jail really helps people," she said. "There were some good things going on."

But not everything was as easy to turn into a positive. She said dealing with the separation from her daughter was hard to handle.

When Leila visited each Sunday, Fallahi only was able to talk to her daughter through a glass partition.

The two were allowed a "contact visit" for the first time Sunday and finally were able to interact.

"I cried for the first half, and Leila cried for the second half," Fallahi said. "We talked a little, but mostly I just held her."

To deal with frustrations like this, Fallahi said she turned to art.

"I would get kind of angry at first. But then I decided … not to let it make me upset," she said. "I would draw, and it would calm me down."

It takes a village

Fallahi wouldn't be home today if it wasn't for the help of all those who rallied to her defense after her arrest, Wright said.

"It's taken a village to free Sima," he said.

Fallahi said she has been overwhelmed by support for her.

"I knew I had friends, but I didn't know how many," she said.

Fallahi will spend the next days and weeks readjusting to life at home with her daughter.

"First I have to catch up with Leila and try to make a home for her," she said. "I have to get my life organized."

Wright emphasized that Fallahi's struggle to remain in the U.S. is not finished.

"This is not the end of the story. This is just one hurdle that we've crossed," he said.

Fallahi said she will keep her experience in jail in perspective.

"I don't feel bad. You have to struggle - that's life, that means you're alive. As long as you're moving, it's fine."



Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.

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