Shhhh! It's Secret!

There's a popular internet community website that hosts the profiles of thousands of young Iranians living in Iran. They make friends, lovers, and enemies through those profiles- maybe not as dramatic as I make it appear, but it is a social networking site. It used to be Orkut, then it was Myspace, now it's this new one.

It's like looking through the little hourglass shape and seeing what's going on in the minds of educated, wealthy/middle-class young men and women. I sometimes see exactly the opposite of what I'm told. In fact, the more I realize that these people are so similar to adolescents in the States and elsewhere around the world the more I realize how dented the popular view of Iranian teen society is.

The other day, while I was buying something to take to my cousin, a fellow Iranian-American asked me why I don't buy something from a lower-marked-sometimes-used clothing store for them "Oh, they will LOVE it! I bet they will even pay you for things like that"...it confuses me since even the middle-class areas such as Narmak-Tehran Pars, and Karaj have items marked at 15USD or more and the store she was mentioning has prices at around 5-10USD for the same type of Tees/Pants.

Ignorance is not bliss...unfortunately.

Iranian Student Commits Suicide on Campus

It's a sad but deeply hopeless end for a young student in Iran. Unfortunately, it's told that he was under pressure from University/Authorities who were attempting to hinder his studies; If I find out more I will post it.

This is truly one of the videos I almost could not watch but did anyhow. I don't need to know what happened but the reason behind it is even more horrendous. The video doesn't go into detail about why, it's just the act and the people who try to stop him.

Occurs in Hamedan, Western Iran. Bu Ali Sina university.

What chills me and causes me to wonder are the reactions from people when they see videos like this or hear about them; Some are malicious, and downright evil in their responses. I'm not just referring to the forums and comments but to real life situations where people are glad that this may happen to someone. Is it xenophobia? Is it hate? Is it the excitement of violence in humans so high these days that we even need to express, loudly, our satisfaction with videos like these?

I hope someone finds out more about him, and what led to it. Because I think any student who is cornered by the authorities in Iran goes through the deepest feelings of loneliness (nobody to turn to, nothing to protect you)

Voters in Iran; Keep Your Clothes On and Your Mind Off

In the video, I just wanted to skip to time 3:20, with the young man in the beret and Che Guevara shirt.

Translation:
(greetings, blah blah blah)
His name is Javad Saber, he's 19 years old and from Ghaem Shahr.

Reporter: Why are you here?
Javad: I came for two reasons; one, to break Hashemi's vote, and two because Mr. Moussavi was not permitted to run I don't believe there is any other legitimate candidate in this race.

Reporter: Do you really think you can break his vote?
Javad: Yes, I think I can.

Reporter: How can you be sure?
Javad: Deep inside, with the beliefs that I have I think I can do it.

Reporter: How are you going to break his vote?
Javad: I'm going to vote for whoever I think can beat him

Reporter: Why?
Javad: Well....

Reporter: No, why?
Javad: Well....how do I say, he's not the person that I want to see leading and so I've come here to break his vote.

Javad: Eteraze
Reporter: Eteraz....[eteraz= protest in farsi I think]

Reporter: Now, do you always dress like this?
Javad: Always.

Reporter: Who's picture is on your shirt?
Javad: Che Guevara

Reporter: Che Guevara? Who is he?
Javad: Che Guevara is a Revolutionary, and there's really no consensus on whether he's from Argentine or the Latin American countries; but I think he's for the whole world.

Reporter: Why do you put his picture on your shirts?
Javad: Because I admire him, I admire his beliefs and principles; I always have something about him on me.

Reporter: Do you really think you can break Hashemi's vote dressed like that?
Javad: I think I can; I believe I can.

Reporter: Did you think of this yourself or did someone else tell you to do this?
Javad: Myself

--

The reporter's tone is so aggressive, really off-putting. I wouldn't know if he's being sarcastic, cruel, or a mix of everything. But I thought the commentary between the two was emblematic of the changing landscape there...people who have a belief in a hero (any hero) can follow in their steps, can't they?

Sell Your Body; Live

A documentary I acquired in Tehran while I was there, four years ago. The man was only willing to give it to my male friend, who helped to convince the man that I wasn't going to watch it. This was an amazing short documentary. When I say amazing, it really goes into detail and delves into the lives of Iranian women (girls and mature women) who have somehow ended up on the streets.

From a teen who was sold by her mother to rich Sheikhs in the UAE to a women in Southern Tehran plying her trade. The teen flies home with thousands of dollars to see her mother, while the poor woman struggles to get 20 dollars a day.

I've never seen this documentary online- and perhaps you haven't either. I hope to have it available on a server once I get the opportunity. I have to find the set again though, apparently I only have the first CD (after letting a friend borrow it)

When I saw this video it opened my eyes to women in the streets and to the plight of poor girls. Some of whom have only education to save them from a life of bondage to their husbands or fathers.

I'm moving, and suddenly found the CD hidden between my pictures from the time I spent there. It has a non-descript cover and I can't wait to show it.

Trapped in An Elevator

Someone trapped in an elevator for 40 hrs in 1999. The video was recently released.

The End: A more personalized account

I'm changing the direction of this little blog over the next few weeks. I hope that I can continue to write informatively and on-the-surface about events and issues like I've done before but I'd like to keep my writing more familiar to my own experiences as well and reach for meaning. So it's a little more like a Journal now than ever.

---

I hate to generalize individuals into groups. I often find myself concerned with the ideas that I've just come up with only because I've used thoughts that sometimes start with "Most ____ are such an such". Usually, I will come up with an addendum to my idea by adding an "Well, not really, but you get my point don't you?"

"I know, not everyone has to have that fault, but most do" But do they really? What do I REALLY assume I know?

If I'm concerned with the attitudes and the world-perspective that the people in my environment reveal, then in what way can I share my perspective of that without reducing each individual to a common ground? Can I generalize and point out an acute problem that is only held together by the fragments of each individual within a community? And, in that way, hope to understand some aspect of my world that I observe - the occasional blanket of fog making it difficult to discern the objects in my scope?

Recently, I've been overhearing the conversations of adults in the community of American-Iranians within my social circles and I often hear talk about their kids. When the conversation veered towards a young boy's future, the general consensus was that as long as "I think he's doing the right thing [I assume he meant that as long as the son wasn't doing anything the father didn't approve of] then of course he'll inherit my money[and consequently, his favor]". I saw parallels to many societies with this expression.

But, the conversation turned to a distant relatives son, who had turned to a more "liberal" approach [a black girlfriend, parties, coming home late, dressing like 'Americans'] then it was a very harsh statement. "A son like that, messed up in the head, probably in his genes too because his father was just as bad; then if that were my son of course not. I would definitely throw him out, who cares, that's not what I would want in my house"

This is strange to me. I listen and I comprehend but something is amiss. Are we super-robots? Or are we human? What is it to be human in a changing and complicated environment such as the one I live in today?
Is it THE END when it comes to a misjudged step or turn? Can't we be human enough and have the luxury to forgive and to expand our thinking then to stop and disconnect what we have? Those parents make mistakes too; this is not a black and white scene.

If anyone has ever lived in this exiled/emigre community, they might be able to relate to this strict policy-making that defines parenting for some Iranians. I'm not so sure that a 4th or 5th generation American would have experienced like this but they can understand where the clash of two different languages, two different lifestyles would eventually cause one to have to stop and morph into a new species. And make a thousand mistakes in the meanwhile.

But if you refuse, you'll break just as easily as you imagine you might. That's why Iranians[most, some, half the time, all the time, many] are paralyzed; they're afraid of judgment, afraid of punishment, afraid of the raised hand striking down on them instead of holding them and telling them that it's OK to be human. To have faults.

The fear of shame, the fear of regrets, the fear of failure.

Give Me Sweaty Feet!

Yes, a summer of sweaty feet makes you need to buy fragrant, moisture-repellent insoles for my shoes. It'll be difficult convincing myself that I won't have a tank of water sloshing in my shoes in 110 degree weather but hopefully something like this can help?

http://www.summersoles.com/

I have nothing better to write right now. Nothing that can't wait.

Canon 350D

I'm taking my camera with me, and I've realized that I'd require a "license" to take pictures while I'm there...Although, I'm not sure how that will work exactly I've gotten some kind of reassurance as to how to acquire one and without too much trouble.

I'm only going to take pictures of fish in markets, toothless old men and women, and that quintessential shoe-less boy selling gum on the streets. I wonder if I can pass on a 1 dollar bill as a 100 dollar bill? I've heard of people doing that...haha.

Explosion in Mosque, Shiraz Iran

The IRI state television announced it was a terrorist act, then changed it to being ammunition's explosions from a previous army memorial for the Iran-Iraq war.

There's clearly some confusion now as to why there were live ammunitions in a memorial and why they were inside a mosque that regularly houses 500+ religious members.

Hmmmmmm. Don't know!

Street Art Gallery in Tehran

A1one and Kolahstudio in collaboration with the first street art gallery showing in Tehran, 2007.

Spray 2007