Dear Reza Pahlavi,
Please accept my condolences on the death of your brother Alireza Pahlavi. I’m a 27-year-old Iranian and I have not been so much interested in Iranian politics until recent years. When my father was a little younger than my age he protested against the regime of the shah hoping for a better future. At that time he was very convinced by his ideology which he later regretted. Today many Iranians are in his position. These are people living in the west with scars from the past, somehow regretting what they have done but also trying to support “the green wave”. However some still live in doubt.
The hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of people that are in my father’s position, both outside but also inside of Iran, tend to listen to different intellectuals providing thoughts and discussions about the current situation in Iran. They are also, like me, interested in different strategies that must be implied in order to introduce democracy in a split country.
It is natural, and also required that a democratic party or organisation has its own leader. Obviously a democratic party or organisation would be crushed if it would exist in Iran, however there isn’t a reason why there can’t be such an entity outside of Iran. What I personally would like to see is if you could travel to different countries in Europe, e.g. Sweden, and arrange conferences, meetings and public speeches. The issue could e.g. focus on what you, together with us (me, my father’s generation, students, politicians and so on), could do in order to build a democratic platform in Iran. I know that there is a lot of information on your website and you do this in the USA, but I strongly believe in face-to-face meetings, e.g. on a public square, especially in Europe for historical reasons. Also, since you together with the rest of the Iranians are against the Islamic republic of Iran, I strongly advise you to deliver your message directly to their ministers and leaders who visit western countries each year. You can hold debates with them on different issues, e.g. economy, human rights and so on. Why not invite a minister that is responsible for “social welfare” and point out the flaws? The critic would be aimed against the regime, and not on the individual.
There are a lot of intellectuals outside of Iran, especially in Europe, who probably have some prejudice left from the shah era which they perhaps can associate with you. By holding these forums you not only challenge their thoughts, but also unify them since they also believe in democracy. By holding these events in different countries and by emphasizing the democratic message, the people outside of Iran can unify under a strong image (your image). If people outside of Iran can forget their differences and learn how to forgive and understand that people are different and that people can change, then there is hope for change in Iran as well.
Many Iranians outside of Iran are unified under the “green wave”, however there is no strong leadership behind this message. In my opinion you have demonstrated what needs to be done in each and every one of us, namely, a change. If we can not change ourselves, we can not change the future. That is why, in my opinion, you should not be titled HIM, you are an exile Iranian like us, however you are a leader, which many of us are not. So let us not only spread the democratic message as individuals, but also through you to all Iranians and politicians around the world…
“Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven’t planted.” — David Bly
Sincerly
An Iranian
