Iranian woman, 96, takes oath as U.S. citizen

ATLANTA - When 96-year-old Maryam Kangani lived in the Iranian city of Shiraz in 1979, chants of ``Death to America&#39;&#39; reverberated from her native land. <br> <br> Now, Kangani is an American citizen. <br> <br> She was the guest of honor Monday at Immigration and Naturalization Service headquarters in Atlanta. She sat in a blue chair on the front row for a citizenship ceremony in which 58 immigrants from 29 countries took the oath of allegiance to the United States. <br> <br> As one woman from the Daughters of the American Revolution distributed U.S. flags to the new citizens, Kangani kissed her hand. Then, she clutched the flag to her chest and kissed it, too. <br> <br> Speaking through an interpreter, she said, ``I like America. America is nice.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> She speaks only Farsi, her native tongue. <br> <br> Under federal law, most new citizens must speak English, but there are exemptions in case of medical problems that may prevent them from learning the language. Kangani had a stroke that left her with memory-loss. <br> <br> Kangani first visited the United States in the 1970s, when her son Bahram Karimi of Duluth was a student. She moved for good in 1989 and applied for citizenship five years ago.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/2/202943