Golriz Ghahraman: 'I feel such sorrow when I imagine my parents' fate'

The Iranian-born New Zealand MP describes a central heartbreak' of being a migrant child in this exclusive extract from her book Know Your Place

What I noticed and still find painful is that my dad lost his keen, well-known sense of humour. In Iran, he was known as the funny one in his circle. He would do hilarious impersonations of his self-important Dervish uncle for his cousins during late-night sessions at our house. I remember them all doubling over in laughter. He came up with witty nicknames and taglines for every situation.

The dark developments in Iranian society or politics would turn into tragicomedies, a survival tool that made him the centre of attention. These would become ongoing insider jokes in his circle. He was always hilarious for us kids, too. He joined in on our games, took on funny characters, put on funny voices and made us laugh till we had tears rolling down our faces. I was so proud of having the cool, fun dad. After we moved, he was still very funny, but, other than my mum and I, no one around him could tell. Humour doesn't translate, so he mostly stopped trying.