Letters
March 22-26, 1999 / Farrvardin 2-6,1378
Today
* Film:
- Beyond wonderful
Previous
* Book:
- Becoming familiar
* Iranian of the Year:
- Very peculiar
- Overglorification
* Politics:
- Can we compromise?
* History:
- Dead bodies... on Noruz?
* Noruz:
- One more "seen"
* Rights:
- Where were you in 1979?
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Friday,
March 26, 1999
* Beyond wonderful
I went to see "Children of Heaven" last Friday night with
my father, and again I saw it Thursday night with a friend. I cried both
times when I saw the film. "Wonderful" can not describe the film!
It had a deep insight of what life is and how we can overcome obstacles
of life without giving up. The entire cast did a superb job; I salute Mr.Majidi
["Pioneer"]
for his version and drive to tell a simple but rich story of a poor brother
and sister with such heart.
Farhad
(An Afghan)
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Thursday
March 25, 1999
* Becoming familiar
I would like to express my gratitude for your interesting articles and
also to let you know how much I have enjoyed reading the book "To See
and See Again". My husband is not Iranian. He has never been to
Iran and I have a nine-year old daughter Ariana who has seen Iran twice.I
let her read this interesting book. It makes her familiar with my culture.
I live in Charleston, SC with my family. I used to live in Washington
DC before I moved here. So I really miss my culture, because in Chalreston
there are Black and White Americans and not too many people from other
cultures. So it makes me feel homesick for Iranians. I had few Iranian
friends here, they all moved out of the area.
Farzaneh Stone
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Wednesday
March 24, 1999
* Very peculiar
I read all of the comments you have published several times ["Iranian of
the Year"]. You claim people have sent the comments in about President
Mohammad Khatami being elected Iranian
of the Year.
I find these comments to be very peculiar. There is very little variance
in writing style or content in these writings. Also, they all project a
very well known political and ideological bend!
I have noticed that both these comments, as well as the articles that
you generaly publish lack balance. They eminate from one particular ideological
perspective. I think it is highly unlikely that different people wrote
the comments you have published about President Khatami.
And I doubt that you will publish this letter for your readers.
Why can't you present a more balanced picture of Iran and Iranians?
Amir Sadri
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* Overglorification
I read the very interesting comments that people left when voting for
President Khatami as the Iranian
of the Year. I agree with most of them, but at the same time, they
have a major problem. I don't mean all, but a great many of the comments
are unneccessary praises. We have a bad habit of elevating a fellow to
the heavens, and then dropping him!
I agree with what Khatami is doing, I voted for him, and I like his
policies, but he himself said that people should not praise him. He said
don't show my picture very often in the tellie, everytime he goes for a
speech and people cry "shoars" in his supports, he always asks
them to stop, and unlike many others who pretend, he really does not like
being praised without reason, or even being elevated as a saviour or anything
of such.
So please don't call him Lech Wallesa, Gandhi, Amir Kabir, or so on.
These names just increase your expectations of him, and when he does not
achieve what you think is right in the time you think is neccessary, then
you will be disappointed, and start calling him traitor, or Gurbachev,
or Schroeder, or Major!
Khodadad Rezakhani
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Tuesday
March 24, 1999
* Can we compromise?
I think one point missing from this article ["Towards
national reconciliation"] is the particular nature of the ruling
elite in Iran and that is its religious and ideological nature. The current
regime has genuine roots amongst the population and hence has always been
closer to a Fascist model, rather than a oligarchic model such as Chile
or Argentina, where a small portion of population in the form of landowners
and comprador capitalist class, in partnership with the military ruled.
There is also a large military and para-military force trained and war
tested, who I believe in spite of the inroads that the reformists have
made, will step in and crush any serious attempt at overhauling the present
situation in Iran. And who can deny the fact that many of the present reformists,
including President Khatami, were either at the helm or approved of the
gross violations of human rights in Iran, which by the way still are going
on.
I believe that is the reason why so many of the opposition group who
have lost the most number of sympathizers in the past twenty years find
it difficult to bring themselves to embrace Iran's Gorbachov. They have
invested too much in the blood and guts of their people to now say let's
forgive and forget.
As horrendous as the past has been another cycle of violence seems hardly
the solution. Revenge is sweet in spite of what the politically correct
mantra these days seems to be, however its consequences are always more
of the same in the very bloody history of Iran. If anything, the Northern
Ireland seems to be the closest to the situation in Iran; Iran too has
been experiencing what amounts to a civil war. And a civil war as anybody
from the southern U.S. can tell you, is the most difficult form of conflict
to recover from. Still Iran needs a clear plan for its current transformation.
If Arabs and Jews can sit around the same table with their ingrained
hatreds and distrusts; if Blacks and Whites can reach a compromise with
decades of blood and hatred behind them; and if Protestants and Catholics
can set aside decades of vicious stomach churning infighting to prepare
for a better future, surely Hafez and Sa'di loving Iranians can swallow
the bitter pill of compromise. Or can they?
Iran needs its own model, and this model like the post Holocaust trials
and compromises could become the model not only for the Islamic world but
for the whole world . Good luck.
Asghar M.
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* Dead bodies... on Noruz?
It is definitely my personal taste, but I thought putting a photo of
3-4
executed men in the first issue of The Tranian Times in the
new year wasn't very enchanting! :-) even though I have great respect for
the historic value of the photo.
Majid G.
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Monday
March 22, 1999
* One more "seen"
Here is on more "seen" for your haft-seen: Satl-e-aashghaal
(trash can) ["THE
IRANIAN haft-seen"].
Houman M.
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* Where were you in 1979?
I would love to stand up for Kadivar, despite the fact that he is a
molla ["Molla
or not"]. But where were you and the rest of the Iranian nation
as people like my family were being slandered, and looted, and unjustly
tried, and murdered in and after 1979? Your silence/inactivity (and perhaps
even complicity) at that time is what has emboldened and enabled these
people to do what they are doing now without fear of accountability.
Boroumand
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