Today in Iran
According to the blog Raye Man Kojast, the people in this video are chanting “Do not be afraid, we are all together,” and “Guns, tanks, and Basijis have no effect anymore.”
But look at their faces. Clearly they are afraid. That is what I found so moving about this particular video from today. They are afraid, but they showed up. They understand the stakes, and they chose to be brave. The regime has been brutally cracking down on these protests for months… since July! Knowing how long the road was going to be, knowing that the brutality of the regime and the fear of reprisals were very real, these citizens still took to the streets in the name of freedom and human values. I don’t know that I would have as much courage as they do.
Also moving: the night-time chants continue. First arranged via Twitter, these were a nightly feature of the protests in July. I don’t know if they continue nightly, or if the organization leading up to today’s protests led to their renewal yesterday, but more than 140 days later, the streets still ring at night with citizens calling to heaven for freedom. I don’t share the religiosity which underlies the particular chant (“Allah-o Akbar”)—and of course, Mousavi and the Green Revolution are explicitly reclaiming the words, used with much different overtones in the revolution in the 70s—but the feeling and conviction that underlies the act is deeply human:
I’m frustrated by powerlessness here; not only is there little I can do, I don’t really think there’s very much the United States can do either. I am proud of the role technology and the Internet play, while I’m also quite aware that the Iranian regime has yet to crumble under the weight of green-tinted Twitter avatars. So I watch; I try to understand; I draw inspiration from the brave people of Tehran. I hope that I never live to see circumstances that require this much bravery from me—and if I do, I hope I am equal to the moment.
Posted by Dan Hallock | Filed under Politics
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