The FIRES Oral History Project is a heartfelt initiative dedicated to capturing and preserving the migration stories of first-generation Zoroastrians across North America. Rooted in the powerful foundation built by the Zoroastrian Association of Houston (ZAH) and their oral history archives housed at Woodson Research Center at Rice University, this project seeks to expand and unify efforts across the diaspora to build a centralized, living archive of Zoroastrian life stories.
Alongside inspiring projects like ZAH’s Oral Histories, Zarthusti Women’s Herstories, and the ZIOH Project, FIRES strives to illuminate the journeys, struggles, and triumphs of individuals who left their homelands and laid down roots in a new world. Through recorded interviews—both video and audio—we aim to document not only the moments of arrival and adjustment, but also childhood memories, cultural identity, and the vibrant communities these pioneers helped to build.
Each interview becomes a personal archive, featuring treasured family photographs, scanned documents, and meaningful artifacts that tell a richer story. These visual and oral narratives are more than history—they are bridges for future generations to connect with the voices and experiences that shaped the Zoroastrian presence in North America.
We invite you to be part of this legacy.
Whether you are a first-generation Zoroastrian willing to share your migration journey, or someone who wishes to contribute as an interviewer, transcriber, or video editor, your involvement is vital.
To participate, please contact the FIRES co-chairs, Aban Rustomji and Sharmeen Mehri, at oralhistory@fezana.org
Rohinton Rivetna, born in 1934, and Roshan Rivetna, born in 1939 are from Bombay (Mumbai), India, and reside in Chicago, Illinois. As pioneers of the Zoroastrian community and organizations in the U.S., Rohinton and Roshan describe their childhood memories of...
Rustom Mody, born in 1953, from Poona, India, is part of the Zoroastrian community and settled in Houston, Texas. Rustom reflects on his childhood experiences growing up in a Parsi colony, describing memories of his parents and loved ones. Rustom tells us of his first...
Zubin Rusy Mory, from Mumbai, India, is part of the Zoroastrian community in Sugarland, Texas. Zubin, born in 1972, came to the US during the mid-1990s. His interview details memories of his childhood home, sharing a mental map of Mumbai and main Parsi hubs of the...