WOMEN

From prison

Clear examples of inequality

by Maryam Hosseinkhah
23-Nov-2007 (15 comments)
This is prison; the women’s ward of Evin prison. This is not my first time here; not the first time I’ve come to Evin. The first time, I came here as a journalist. Alongside the warden, I walked from cell to cell to listen to the stories of women who were here on charges of addiction, prostitution and murder. I heard only a few words from each woman, only what the presence of the warden allowed. That day all the inmates spoke highly of prison conditions in front of the officials and said they had no problems but as I was leaving they slipped a crumpled piece of paper in my pocket that read: "Help us! No one thinks about us here.”>>>

VIEW

The evil side of extremism

Signs of America's decline are all over the walls for those who only care to look

by Ali A Parsa
23-Nov-2007 (7 comments)
We should condemn extremism of all kind, right? Wrong. The purpose of this writing is to demonstrate that, extremism like a coin has two sides-good and evil. Then, why do most of us fail to observe that during the long history of our world, the extremists have been behind all important events and movements such as revolutions, dynasty replacements and other changes, from drastic to subtle? We also need to remind ourselves that only one or a handful of leaders are the engines of the movements and they determine the direction of the change-good or evil.>>>

POETRY

Embrace Me As You Did "Shams"

In honor of "Mollana"

by Shaer
23-Nov-2007 (8 comments)
O' Mollana, Begging Upon Your Feet ..
Mesmerized By The Presence of Your Spirit ..

Bereft of All Evil, Embracing You In Love ..
With The Spirit Rising, Torrents Rush For Comapny ..

The Blessing of Your "Breath", Meandering My Existence ..
The "Casualness" of Your Stare, Awash in Tranquility .. >>>

THANKS

Gift of love

The legacy of the human spirit

by Mersedeh
22-Nov-2007 (3 comments)
It was autumn of 1998 when Rumi and I became friends. I was in my first semester of junior year in college; bubbling with excitement and preparations for the following semester which I would spend in Sevilla, Spain. During Thanksgiving break at home, I received a couple of gifts from my brother who had just returned from a business conference in Minneapolis. As the baby of the family, I was accustomed to this. What I did not expect however, was to receive a gift from his friend and co-worker Don, who had also traveled with him. I opened Don’s package to find a small book with a red cover containing 2 CD inserts. The word ‘Eshgh’ (love) was written on the cover weaved-in with its English title, “A Gift of Love Deepak and Friends Present Music Inspired by the Love Poems of Rumi”>>>

VOICES

بگذار زبانها بگویند

آزادی بیان: تفسیری بر یك شعر

by Majid Naficy
22-Nov-2007

در 22 نوامبر 1988 پس از شنیدن خبر قتل داریوش و پروانه فروهر شعر زیر را نوشتم:

ای دشنه
كاش بر آن دست
شوریده بودی!...

چرا شاعر دشنه را مورد خطاب قرار داده است؟ چرا قاتل را نه؟ و از آن مهمتر چرا مقتولین را نه؟ 

>>>

VOICES

Let all tongues speak

Freedom of Expression: Commentary on a poem

by Majid Naficy
22-Nov-2007 (7 comments)

[PERSIAN TEXT] On November 22, 1998 after hearing of the murder of two Iranian dissidents Dariush and Parvaneh Foroohar, who were stabbed to death by the secret police at their home in Tehran, I wrote this poem:

O dagger
I wish you had rebelled
Against that hand!...

Why does the poet address the dagger? Why not the murderer? And more importantly, why not the murdered?

>>>

INNOCENTS

The butterfly that perished with the candle

9th anniversary of the chain murder of dissidents

by Fariba Amini
22-Nov-2007 (8 comments)
Every year, since that sad day when I went to my parents’ house and they told me the horrific news, when the twenty third of November comes along, I cannot but think of one couple—Dariush and Parvaneh Foroohar. When some time later I met their son and daughter, Arash and Parastoo, I saw the amazing resemblance. On this day I always think about them as well, that forever they will have to live with the thought of that awful autumn evening, when they lost their beloved parents.>>>

NUCLEAR

شیرین عبادی و حمایت از ظالم

عبادی نمی‌فهمد که اهمیت غنی ‌سازی برای ایران درست به اندازه‌ی اهمیت تامین آب و تلفن و نان شب مردم است

by hoder
21-Nov-2007 (124 comments)
اولین مشکل استدلال عبادی آن است که در خدمت قدرت است، نه در خدمت قربانی. یعنی درست به همان روشی که مردسالاران وقتی مثلا زنی مورد تجاوز قرار می‌گیرد بجای ملامت مرد متجاوز، زن قربانی را سرزنش می‌کنند که چرا مثلا با زن بودنش (که طبیعتا حق اوست)‌ باعث تحریک مرد متجاوز شده است، عبادی هم ایران را سرزنش می‌کند که چرا با استفاده از حق‌اش بر اساس قوانین جهانی آمریکا را به تجاوز تحریک می‌کند. >>>

THANKSGIVING

My first few days

The smells coming from the dining area down stairs were strange

by hamidbak
21-Nov-2007 (11 comments)
November 24, 1978, yes long time ago. The Iran Air flight landed in New York's JFK, late, as usual, I'm sure, and I arrived into US. After getting my one suitcase I walked outside the double doors, right outside of Iran Air terminal. I was wearing my new leather jacket my friend had gotten me before I left Iran. It was barely warm enough for a late November night in the cold New York air. I put my hands in my pockets and took couple of deep breaths. It was cold and crisp. Less than 24 hours earlier I had left Iran. My older sister's help me pack that one suitcase with couple of suits, socks, few shirts, and some personal items. No razor, I wasn't old enough, I was only 17>>>

GLOBALIZATION

حدود جهانی شدن ما

چاره ای نداريم که هم جهانی فکر کنيم و هم در ساختن جهان امروز و فردا شرکتی فعال داشته باشيم

by shokooh.pasargad
21-Nov-2007 (5 comments)
در مسير مطرح شدن مفهومی به نام «جهانی شدن»، ما ايرانی ها نيز، چه آن ها که در داخل ايران و چه آن ها که به صورت پراکنده در سراسر جهان زندگی می کنيم، خواسته و ناخواسته به اين ميدان وارد شده ايم و، به اين ترتيب، مدتی است که، سخن گفتن از «جهانی شدن» در بين ما هم متداول شده است و به نظر می رسد که هر چه پيش می رويم بيش از پيش به بحث درباره ی اين روند و به حضور داشتن در آن تمايل پيدا می کنيم. >>>

USA

East-West bridge

Prof. Davood Rahni's perspectives on Iran-U.S. relations and Iranian-Americans

by Johanna Sterbin
21-Nov-2007 (15 comments)
I love the U.S. with its many opportunities and the can-do, pioneering and optimistic attitude to life and remain a staunch advocate for the integration of many of the good aspects of western culture with selective reformed aspects of Eastern, particularly the Iranian culture. American culture nurtures individual rights and freedoms of choice, aspiration to excellence and industry, and predictability in one’s life. In comparison, Iranian culture is family-centered, enhances one’s state of mind and spirit with its long history, esthetic literature, and a sense of belonging to one of the oldest and richest civilizations>>>

SHIRAZ

My journey

All they want is Peace; all they want is Freedom!

by Aria Fani
20-Nov-2007 (7 comments)
After another hard-working semester at Miramar College, I figured my brain can no longer function, and after all it was summer time! I decided to go on a vacation, but it was not going to be an ordinary one, I had decided to go to Iran, my home, a country that I had left at the age of seventeen. As I was counting down the days to June 18th, a nostalgic feeling grew in me, “How has the image of Iran changed?”, “What if I find myself distant and cornered from the Iranian youth in terms of life-style and values?” It seemed though that the media had done its job in terms of influencing me!>>>

BANNED

At least his whores are melancholy

Lucky for Iranians, they’re protected from stories of sad prostitutes and old men by vigilant censors

by tinoush
20-Nov-2007 (10 comments)
At least, his whores are melancholy. Ours are beaten, underpaid, overworked, anguished, and subjected to all forms of torture on a daily basis. Ours passed the melancholy state long ago. I’m referring to a book by the Colombian novelist, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, entitled “Memories of My Melancholy Whores.” It was banned in Iran, after selling out, because the censors discovered that the title was sanitized. The word “whores” was replaced with “sweethearts.” The prostitute in the book is a fourteen year old girl who is the object of a ninety year old mans lust, and then love. Iranians will not be offended by either the title or the 76 year age difference. We know of far worse. We have known far younger whores being the object of madness, for the lack of a better term, not just lust and love.>>>

PUBLISHER

In search of morning

Memoirs of founder of Iran's largest publishing house before the revolution

by sima
20-Nov-2007 (6 comments)
Last spring I read Dar Josteju-ye Sobh (“In Search of Morning”), the memoir of Abdorrahim Ja’fari, founder of Amir Kabir publishing house in Iran. It is an unforgettable book...Driven by equal measures of intellectual curiosity and enterprising spirit Ja’fari built his own version of the great Amir Kabir’s legacy. He educated the public as he educated himself. He saw the potential of the market for new works and ideas and devoted his considerable energy to building and expanding it. He helped create a reading public. By giving decent contracts and royalty to his authors and translators, the former print house worker ended up supporting a class of professional intellectuals. As businessmen go he was a rare breed; he took financial risks on the market for intellectual pursuit. And, lo and behold, Amir Kabir grew and prospered.>>>

RIGHTS

Let us back into the universe

Evading the fact that no nation or culture or state can claim to have its own hyphenated version of human rights

by Reza Bayegan
20-Nov-2007 (14 comments)
As Iranian human rights activists we are fighting to restore to our nation those rights that are universal and inalienable. These rights are founded on the incontrovertible truth that all human beings are born free and equal. The constitution of the Islamic Republic is incompatible with this omnipresent reality. It is riddled with inconsistencies and discrimination. It stands contrary to all those hard won liberties secured by human beings throughout the ages. Human rights are not a product of the West. Neither are they the inheritance of one race or culture. They are the upshot of the accumulated experience and collective enlightenment of mankind as a whole.>>>
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