A year ago newscasts, the intertubes, twitter accounts and blogs around the world urgently and passionately showed, told and retold the story of NEDA, a beautiful young Iranian philosophy student who was shot and killed by government-hired Basij thugs on the streets of Tehran during the dissident protests over the re-election (or not) of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Because of social media, the world was watching, and we were all heart-wrenchingly impacted as she bled before our very eyes, because of a cell phone video that went viral in moments. The internet turned green in support. Everyone was Iranicon-ing their fb profile. In heartbreak and sadness. In helplessness. In wanting to pay tribute. Neda was not the only casualty. Many others were killed and beaten, thousands arrested, including journaliasts, and many are still jailed.
Today, not so much coverage. On the one year anniversary of the Green Movement, with the dissidents largely silenced, their march canceled in the interest of saving lives, perhaps we can be voices on their behalf and let them know they are not forgotten.
So, over the jump...
“It’s essential that we stand up for the unjustly imprisoned and be their voice. The prisoner’s worst nightmare is the thought of being forgotten. But knowing that your plight is in the hearts and minds of people across the world, brings you a great sense of hope.”, Maziar Bahari, the Iranian-Canadian journalist for Newsweek, released after four months detention in Iran following the election. IRAN: ONE YEAR ON CRACKDOWN ON DISSENT WIDENS WITH HUNDREDS UNJUSTLY IMPRISONED http://www.amnesty.org/...
Happy One Year Birthday, Iran Green Movement. The msm in the US has almost no coverage of the anniversary of their courageous stand, except to say Iran was mostly silent after Moussavi, probably wisely, canceled plans for a march when he could not get a permit, "in order to preserve lives." But we are not the msm.
As we all remember, Neda was not permitted to be mourned in Iran after her death, since she had become an internationally known martyr for freedom, services were broken up, her grave desecrated. Iranians cannot openly mourn her yet today, but we can remember her here, and remember those still imprisoned and disappeared...and through th magic of social media, they will know. The name Neda, in Farsi, means VOICE. Since she has lost here, let us be her VOICE.
Please allow me to share Neda’s story through a video by American Indy rock band, The Airborne Toxic Event, who are working with Amnesty International to raise awareness about continued government repression of the dissident movement. They are donating all proceeds from their song to Amnesty International's Iran Project. You can also help by making a donation to Amnesty International by following their links, or directly http://www.amnesty.org/... (full disclosure: I am related to a member of the band).
Amnesty International has written a detailed report "FROM PROTEST TO PRISON: IRAN ONE YEAR AFTER THE ELECTION" also found at http://www.amnesty.org/... that provides information about some of the political prisoners and brutal repression of the dissidents and the attempts by the Iranian government to silence them by all means possible; many, many were beaten imprisoned, raped, killed or disappeared.
They have issued numerous threatening statements and executed political prisoners to make it absolutely clear that those who express any form of dissent – whether by speaking out or writing or attending demonstrations – will face the harshest penalties.
Thousands of people – over 5,000 according to official statements, although the true figure is almost certainly higher – have been arrested during mass demonstrations which first erupted on 13 June 2009, the day after the election. Demonstrations took place steadily throughout June until mid-July 2009 in spite of the authorities’ determination to quell protests, then
continued more sporadically on days of national importance, whenever public demonstrations were permitted.
Those targeted for arrest have included political and human rights activists, journalists, women’s rights defenders and students. As time has progressed, new groups have been brought into the fold of suspicion, including clerics, academics, former political prisoners and their relatives, people with family links to banned groups, members of Iran’s ethnic and religious minorities − particularly the Baha’is, but also other minorities such as Christians, Dervishes, Azerbaijanis, Sunni Muslims (who are mostly Baluch and Kurds), and lawyers who have defended political detainees.
At times, the reality of the situation for prisoners in Iran has been on the lips of the world, such as the campaign for the release of renowned film director Ja’far Panahi which culminated in his empty chair on the jury for the Cannes Film Festival. However, his welcome release should not obscure the fact that hundreds of others remain held – for similar reasons – who have no one to speak so eloquently for them.
Donations can be made here: http://www.amnesty.org/...
Journalist Saeed Kamali Dehghan has created an HBO documentary on Neda’s life– to debut in the U.S. at 9 p.m. ET Monday, and also on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/...Last week it aired in Iran in Farsi but the authorities’ disrupted the telecast. So we can let the dissidents know we saw it, through social media. Saeed said, “She is any girl, anywhere, but this just wasn’t anywhere. I wanted to show the people who demonstrated, whatever happened, that their courage has not been forgotten.”
http://nedaspeaks.org/ is a moving global online march in support of human rights in Iran, in honor of the one-year anniversary of Neda ‘s death, showing people all over the world with signs saying, “I am Neda” ... please upload yours!
Let us be Neda's VOICE, and let the dissidents know they are not forgotten: we can Iranocon again, we can turn the tubes green for a day on June 20, the anniversary of Neda's death, we can donate to Amnesty International's Iran project, and I am sure you have ideas to share below.
On Friday, Rebecca Griffin wrote a great Kos piece of personal experience traveling in Iran I want to recommend, and her closing paragraph movingly speaks to creating peace between our peoples. http://www.dailykos.com/... and http://www.peaceactionwest.org/
My real hope for the future comes when I listen back to the hundreds of messages of peace recorded by Americans and Iranians before and during my trip last year. Speaking directly to one another, they express a profound understanding of the potential for friendship and peace more sophisticated than anything coming from our politicians and media. They reflect our shared humanity and ability to see beyond our governments’ scapegoating and demonizing. We need to share this message so more people in our countries can create a groundswell for peace, and compel our governments to catch up with the wisdom of their citizens.
Finally, an invitation for quiet prayer for peace, for Neda, for her family and friends, and for the dissident quest for freedom she represents.
May Peace Prevail.
some other info:
http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/colu... r-/1100880
http://www.cbsnews.com/...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
http://www.time.com/...
Some coverage from last year (graphc)
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/...
NOTE: I will be adapting and crossposting at Open Salon.