Thursday, July 30, 2009

Neda




"I don't understand the meaning of dispatching police forces and security agents to surround those who want to mourn," said Karoubi. "Neda was an innocent girl who was not even active politically," said one mourner. "I'm relieved to see Mousavi here. He's a brave guy who has showed that he's not going to step back and is with his own people. He is our real president." - Guardian

Someone is coming,
someone is coming,
someone who in his heart is with us,
in his breathing is with us,
in his voice is with us,

someone whose coming
can't be stopped
and handcuffed and thrown in jail,
someone who's been born
under Yahya's old clothes,
and day by day
grows bigger and bigger,
someone from the rain,
from the sound of rain splashing,
from among the whispering petunias.
someone is coming from the sky
at Tupkhaneh Square
on the night of the fireworks
to spread out the table cloth
and divide up the bread
and pass out the Pepsi
and divide up Melli Park
and pass out the whooping cough syrup
and pass out the slips on registration day
and give everybody hospital
waiting room numbers
and distribute the rubber boots
and pass out Fardin movie tickets
and give away Sayyed Javad's
daughter's dresses
and give away whatever doesn't sell
and even give us our share.
I've had a dream.
- From Someone who is not like anyone by Forough Farrokhzad, trans. by Michael Hilman

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy7k4kz8Mug

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNocyz1NRjA

Amie

Roger Gathmann said...

Amie, I love that C. Gainsbourg link.

I know you suspect that I am too optimistic by far about Iran. Well, I may be. I do think the present leadership is on a collision course with reality in that country, with the paramilitary section of the ruling class now so committed to increasing its share of the spoils that they can no longer allow even the pretence of democracy. But I have no idea how much time that will take. On the other hand, they went a corpse too far with Neda - they crossed a threshhold, just as the Pahlavis crossed one in 1979 without even being aware of it.

The person who is most aware of this in the corrupt establishment is, I think, oddly enough, Ahmadinejad. Whose faked election is going to poison him.

Anonymous said...

Roger, I so hope you are right. The rulers have shown what they are, they have crossed a threshold haven't they, going so far as to keep people from mourning, sending paramilitary into cemeteries to arrest and beat people. The rulers are a scary bunch and they are scared now, which makes them even scarier.

But those men and women protesting have courage, damn they have courage.

Amie