If you live in Washington DC you may have heard about Sharbat Cafe, a sensational Azerbaijani bakery that opened during the pandemic. It's owner, Ilhama Safarova, is struggling with stage 4 gastric cancer and needs support. gofundme.com/f/w9f8hw-donat… For me this is intensely personal, because although I met her just 4 years ago and I've never been to #Azerbaijan, Ilhama is family to me.

January 17 is an important day for me. 6 years ago today I was freed, after being held hostage in Iran for 544 days. I was taken from prison, boarded a flight leaving Tehran and reunited with my family. It was a day of celebration and relief. My hostage ordeal has a happy ending, in large part because I had the benefit of a supportive family, employer and a large community of caring colleagues of friends, some of them very influential, all invested in my well being.

5 years ago today I was freed from Evin prison in #Iran. @YeganehSalehi and I boarded a plane for a new life we couldn’t imagine. Isolated from most human contact and information for 544 days, I knew almost nothing about efforts to bring me home. That began to change when we landed in Geneva. Waiting for us on the tarmac was @brett_mcgurk who, over 14 months, secretly negotiated our release. It almost fell through right at the end. He told us “someday I’ll tell you about the last 24 hours.”