In response to “Iran, a reflection“:
Everyone knows, or I should say by now most people may have noticed, that on Saturday July 25, 2009 “in support of the Iranian people and in condemnation of the human rights abuses being committed by the Iranian government” there are rallies being organized around the world. So a question was asked, not particularly about this event but as a general concern; “Will people come by cars, planes, trains, taxis, subways and any way they can to protest when it counts the most?”
I answered the question with the following comment: “Before people come, there ought to be a sense of belonging to others. One of my brothers told me this in one of my trips to Iran, “تو متُعلق به ما هستی”. It was hard to believe that after living away in another country for almost thirty years, at that time, he still conveyed to me that I belonged to them, and to the land, to the sea, and to the people. Not just with those simple words but also with the stories he told about their lives there. About the dead in our family, and the weddings, the new born, the sorrows, the addicts, the thieves, and the laughers, and all the things that made us belong to each other.
So I believe before people come we have to tell our stories, our feelings, and what we care about, and what we don’t, and if we feel this sense of belonging, yes we will come.”
So, now I want to let you know that I’ll go to one of these rallies, I’ll go to nearest one where I live, which is in San Francisco. I’ll drive my car, then I’ll take the train, BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit), then I’ll take the bus or walk to the rally. This is the least I can do for the land, the sea, and the people that I belong to. I know we Iranians are put off by being told what to do, caused by none other than “امر به معروف و نهی از منکر ” mentality, which we have so much of it, so I don’t want to tell, but I want to appeal to the people that I belong to, please do your best to participate in one of these rallies.
Over the last month I’ve been overwhelmed with floods of emotions, from hope to disappointment, from fear, sorrow, and grief, to hope again. And all along I’m keeping that dash of hope alive, hoping things would get better soon. So, I’ll participate in the nearest rally where I live because the people who were killed recently told me with their spilled blood on the payment that I belong to them, and they belong to me. I’ll do it for my friend Mojie who was executed thirty years ago for being so young, so intelligent, and so idealistic. I’ll do it for my friend Mehrdad who died so old from being a life time addict. I’ll do it for the countless others who have given their lives for my liberty so I feel belonged. I’ll do it for the countless others who are alive and fearless. I’ll do it because I belong to them and they belong to me.
