Pedestrian

Mohsen Aminzadeh, a leading reformist politician with the Islamic Participation Front and a deputy of the foreign ministry under Khatami, has been sentenced to six years in prison, his lawyer announced today.

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Until Sunday, February 7th, 2010

Those who have been released:

Hamid Yahyavi: PhD student at the University of Tehran who was arrested last Monday, was released on Sunday, February 7th.

Ali Gholitabar & Morteza Saremi: two members of the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution party who were arrested the day after Ashura (December 26th), were released on bail.

Arrests:

Maryam Ghanbari: lawyer and women’s rights activist was arrested at her home last Monday.

Akbar Montajebi: journalist was arrested late at night on Sunday, February 7th at 2 a.m. at his home. He has worked for a number of reformist publications [now all closed] in the past decade.

Zeynab Kazemkhah: Literary critic for ISNA [Iranian Students News Agency] was arrested early in the morning at her home.

Ehsan Mehrabi: Parliamentary reporter for the newspaper Farhikhtegan, was arrested at his home early Sunday morning.

Somayeh Momeni: reporter for the publication Nasim Bidari, former ISNA reporter and a member of the 1 Million Signatures Campaign was arrested at her home 3 a.m. in the morning Sunday.

Ali Kolayi: member of Human Rights Watch was arrested early Sunday morning at his home. Ali Kolayi is currently completing his military service and thus, his case has been handed to a military court. He was arrested two times before: November 2007 and April 2009.

Ahmad Jalali Farahani: head of civic reporting at Mehr News Agency [a state news agency] was arrested at his home on Sunday, one day after being fired from his position. During the Khatami administration, Ahmad Farahani worked at Iran [newspaper].

Siamack Nadali: former head of the Islamic Students Association at Lorestan University [Western Iran] was arrested in his hometown of Khoramabad [capital of the province of Lorestan].

Reports on the state of prisoners:

Ebrahim Yazdi was transferred to Atiyeh hospital late Friday night by prison official at Evin prison. Despite opposition from his doctors, officials took him back to prison on Saturday night.

After 216 days in jail, Feyzollah Arabsorkhi member of the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution party, appeared in court. The notorious  Judge Salavati heads this trial. The judge has announced that Arabsorkhi will be released on a one Billion Toman [$1 Million] bail, and his lawyers has stated that Arabsorkhi does not have the means to pay this amount.

Mostafa Tajzadeh appeared for his second, and final, day in court, ruled by Judge Salavati. Like the first time [December 13th, 2009], Tajzadeh refused to defend himself and did not allow his lawyers to do so on his behalf. He has been brought to trial on charges of undermining national security, offending state official and withholding “secret” documents. Tajzadeh had previously announced that until his complaint against Jannati [head of Guardian Council who last week applauded the executions in the Friday Prayer] regarding the sixth parliamentary election [in which the reformists were all disqualified by the Guardian Council] is not processed, he will not speak in court.

Mohammad Sharif, the lawyer of Ahmad Zeydabadi and Masoud Bastani, has written a letter to the Tehran prosecutor asking why his clients have been transferred to a prison in the town of Rajaie Shahr, forcing them into exile.

Letters:

Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the late Ayatollah Khomeini has written a letter to Zarghami, head of IRIB, and complained about the fact that his grandfather’s speech was censored on state TV.

Ahmad Montazeri, son of the late Ayatollah Montazeri, has written a letter to Zarghami complaining of the statements made by Ali Fallahian [notorious ex-Interior Minister under Rafasanjani and all out douchebag] against his late father on state TV.

The Islamic Iran Participation Front has released a statement asking all supporters to attend the 22 Bahman demonstrations carrying green signs.

IRGC Brig. Gen. Hossein Hamedani has asked those participating in the 22 Bahman demonstrations to “be tolerant of one another” an to stick to shouting “national/revolutionary slogans.” At the same time, he said: “We will by no means allow anything known as the ‘green movement’ to make an appearance” on the anniversary.”

[from Neday-e Sabz-e Azadi, h/t to Agh Bahman]

Photographer Amir Sadeqi was arrested yesterday. He’s the man behind the wonderful Tehran photo blog, Tehran Live.

This follows a slew of new arrests, including both sisters of blogger Agh Bahman.

I will have a list of all of last weeks arrests later today, but while there are always a number of new arrests before any event, what is noticeable this time is that the list includes a greater number of less well-known activists – those who are instrumental in mobilizing students, youth, etc, but whose name we’ve heard much less often.

Mostafa Tajzadeh is a leading Iranian reformist politician and a member of the Islamic Participation Front. He has been in prison since the June 2009 presidential election. He served as a deputy in the interior ministry under the Khatami administration.

Here you can see a video of him making a speech before the election. I’ve translated his speech below.

[clip 1] Those who are my age know this, in the days of the Shah [prior to the 1979 revolution], the people of Iran had every kind of freedom, except for political freedom. That is, when one of the slogans of the revolution became esteghlal, azadi, jomhooriyeh eslami [independence, freedom, the Islamic Republic of Iran] by “freedom” they only meant political freedom. Which other kind of freedom was it that we didn’t have? [Religious wise], you could freely practice your religion. If you were the type who wanted to go to the mosque, you could, if you wanted to go to a bar, you also could. The path was open. The freedom we did not have was political freedom. We did not have a free press, we did not have free political parties, we did not have free elections, we did not have free unions … This is where the problem was. [In the days of the revolution], this is the tyranny which the people of Iran stood against. Thus, political freedom was one of the main demands of this nation. Just like the days of the Constitutional Revolution [1906].

With what rationality did the Imam [Khomeini] put aside the constitution [the one during the Shah]? His most important reason, the brightest, most historic [reason] he put forth, was when he said: “our fathers, our mothers, in another time, thought that this constitution [the one under the shah] was the best. Today, their children are mature and wise, they recognize that they want a new constitution.” He thus acknowledged the right of every generation to govern its nation on its own.

[clip 2] It is imperative that the election be free, and if for any reason, anyone undermines this freedom, they are acting against the law. They tell us: “don’t worry” [about fraud in the election]. Well, we are worried. I personally am very distraught over what Mr. Mahsouli [Ahmadinejad's interior minister in the ninth cabinet] is doing over at the interior ministry. They are shuffling around and changing everybody these days, even the secretaries. I don’t know what they are doing in there that has become so secretive and confidential.

By now you all know that J. D. Salinger died last Wednesday (as did Howard Zinn).

But what many people don’t know is the connection Salinger has to Iran.

One of my favorite Iranian movies of all time, Pari (1995), directed by Dariush Mehrjui, was an adaption of Salinger’s work “Franny and Zooey”. In 1998, when the movie was to get its U.S. screening at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, Salinger’s lawyers, under the threat of legal action, canceled the screening.

Andrew Boose, Salinger’s lawyer said: ”we’re not looking for publicity. They simply did not seek permission from the copyright owner of the novel.”

Mehrjui claimed that he had sent a letter to the writer asking for his permission to make an adaption of  his novel, and when not hearing a response, he’d gone ahead with the project.

The director responded: ”this reaction is really quite bewildering. I don’t want to distribute the film commercially. It’s a kind of cultural exchange. I just want to let the film be seen for the critics and the people that follow my work.”

Ironically, Mehrjui continued: “‘In our country, we don’t have copyrights. We feel free to read and do whatever we want.”

See:

The Iranian Film Adaptation of Franny and Zooey That J.D. Salinger Didn’t Want You to See

The New York Times article from 1998: Iranian Film Is Canceled After Protest By Salinger

School Girls in the Islamic Republic of Iran – by Shohreh Mehran

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Daheh-Fajr (the ten day dawn) is a ten day period that begins on 12 Bahman (February 1st) and ends on 22 Bahman (February 11th) and is heavily state-celebrated in Iran as the anniversary of the revolution. The annual movie festival, along with a slew of other festivals, are held during these days. The television airs nothing but happy pop tunes (usually forbidden) and revolutionary songs and photos and videos of the revolution. It all ends with a massive demonstration on 22 Bahman.

In schools, students of all ages prepare for an annual celebration in which they sing songs and dance and act out plays. The school classrooms are decorated. Kids try to get in different preparation committees because that always means you can miss half your classes in order to meet with your groups. All sorts of committees are formed: talent competitions, singing, plays, food, etc. Sign up sheets are taking to classes and they fill up FAST because everyone is dying to spend a week out of class.

Yes, those were the days … we’d spend our time on the “organization committees” doing our homework and exchanging stickers or gossiping about teachers … Good times.

Here are a few stories from this year.

My story:

My cousin is a 16 year old high school student in Ahwaz, the province of Khuzestan, in the south of Iran.

For the past month, he and his schoolmates gather for school assemblies early in the morning and their dedicated, pro-Ahmadinejad principle tells them stories of growing up young during the revolution, and, at the end, the principal shouts in the mic “Down with the U.S.A.” and asks them to repeat. The students shout out: “Down with Russia” and “Down with China”. Then they all hold up their hands in V signs and walk to their class.

For the first time in the span of this man’s career as principle, he has stopped the assemblies before 22 Bahman.

Story 1 from the Divarnevis blog:

(a student in Iran): first, the vice-principal came to our class and told us to collect money from students, so we could buy decorations to decorate our class for Fajr. We refused. So she gave us a warning. We obliged and went around collecting money. We’ve now decorated our entire class green. And here is a picture:

Story 2 from the Divarnevis blog:

(another student in Iran): to all you members of the green movement, let’s decorate our classes green this year, to show that the green movement is so powerful that it can turn the entire country green. This is a start to our powerful presence on 22 Bahman.

On this blog, they’ve also posted step-by-step instructions to teach students how to make decorations for their class:

The Green Day of Freedom: 22 Bahman. (With thanks to Green Wave who sent me the work of his friends)

The Green Trail of 22 Bahman. (From facebook page of Iran’s Green movement)

(From facebook page of Iran’s Green movement)

By Kianoosh Ramezani

Jumping Over Hurdles (By Mana Neyestani)

22 Bahman is fast approaching – it is exactly a week away.

Having closely observed the Ashura protests, I think there were three factors that made the demonstrations so effective:

1. The route. Usually, two or three places are announced for the greens. The police secure these places ahead of time, and there is no way for small groups of demonstrators to gather. For Ashura, instead of limited locations, an entire path was announced (from Imam Hossein Square to Azadi Square highlighted below). The police were scattered across this path, with wide areas left open for demonstrators. The route is shown on the google map below, and the circles are where some of the violence took place (along with Hafez bridge, not indicated in the map). In more peaceful areas, you could easily see the fire and smoke coming from Enghelab (middle circle), and you could see groups of battered and bruised protesters running away, but thousands were gathered and peacefully demonstrating. It was truly humbling and those were the images IRIB never aired. Thousands and thousands of people walking peacefully with their hands in the air.

What you could also see were groups of disoriented guards moving towards Enghelab and Azadi and not having the time to brutalize people in between. However, tear gas was everywhere.

2. The numbers. Just like 22 Bahman, the government had announced days of public holiday prior to Ashura. The entire city of Tehran, especially the more affluent parts, felt empty and completely deserted. But, despite this, there was a huge turnout.

3.The Spontaneity. Number 2 actually leads to number 3. Since there had been no official calls to the protests by Karoubi or Mousavi, since the city had felt empty for days, thousands of people came not knowing if anyone would be there at all. What you saw over and over again was big groups of people cautiously walking in the streets which led to the main path, unsure, asking pedestrians if anyone was in the main streets, looking at you with inquisitive eyes that clearly asked: “are you here for this too?” Both the demonstrators and the security forces were caught by surprise. The police forces were clearly, obviously less well organized perhaps because they were just not expecting those numbers.

Number 3 is off the table for 22 Bahman as I’m sure security forces have been in training and on alert for weeks now. But the numbers will decide many things.

The blue logo on the top right of the picture above featuring MAD [Mesbah Yazdi], belongs to the Tehran daily Tehran-e Emrooz [Tehran Today] which is affiliated with Mayor Qalibaf of Tehran.

Last week, this logo raised much controversy when the Partoyeh Sokhan weekly magazine wrote an “analysis” of the logo claiming that it looked like a dancing woman. The magazine wrote: “1- the letter “reh” is written in such a way to make it look like the legs of a female. 2-The letters “veh” and “zeh” are brought together to make them look like a hand. 3- The dot for the letter “zeh” is positioned too close to the line, and is meant to be the head of the female. We ask the ministry of culture to send a warning to this newspaper and force them to change their logo.”

[If you haven't noticed, newspapers in Iran, not to mention pretty much everything in Iran, are mostly run by men suffering from sexual repression.]

Now Tehran Today has been officially banned for publishing the photo below:

The photo was taken by photographer Mehdi Ghasemi in 2007 during an Ahmadinejad visit to Ahwaz, in the South of Iran. It was then published my ISNA and a number of newspapers. Now, Tehran Today has been banned for reprinting the photo.

I guess the dancing woman will have to go back to her day job.

The headline of Ettelaa-at newspaper in 1979: “The Shah Left” … (no he didn’t).

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The complete English text of Mir Hossein Mousavi’s interview with Kalemeh is now on Khordaad88

Update1: Question II is now complete. The second half (from where I have indicated) was completed by Khordaad88. As I mentioned, I will have the full link here once the whole interview is done.

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Mousavi gave the website Kalemeh a great interview. My friends at Khordaad88 will have the full interview ready by later today (I’ll have the link once its done), but here are two of the questions he was asked and his answers (there are a total of 10 questions).

I especially love his comments about Jannati [Tehran's Friday Prayer Leader who applauded the recent executions].

…

Kalemeh: Can we say that the fall of the Pahlavi regime was inevitable?

The regime had completely lost its legitimacy. Of course, the killing of civilians on the streets [by the regime’s forces] had a lot to do with this. The murders of 17 Shahrivard [September 8th] were a defining moment. If we look back, we see that if the Pahlavi regime had not betrayed the achievements of the Constitutional Revolution [which saw the establishment of parliament], the monarchy would have survived and would have continued to rule with the role the constitution had carved out for it, and with the backing of the people’s vote. From the beginning, many warnings were given to the Pahlavis regarding this [their disregard for the constitution] and someone like the late Modarres sacrificed his life for this aim. But all these warnings and reminders were useless and within a few years of the constitutional revolution, despotic governance had taken over once more, although this time with a modern façade. The relatively long rule of the Pahlavis shows that in the constitutional revolution, the roots of despotism were not completely destroyed. And these roots continued to live on, within cultural, social and political structures. I remember that in those years, one picture which the Shah constantly used to promote himself was a photo of a farmer kissing the Shah’s feet. In his view [the Shah’s], this showed the deep love of the people for him, but of course, wise men saw much more in that photo.

Kalemeh: The elements which you say recreate despotic regimes, were they eliminated with the Islamic Revolution?

In the first years of the revolution, people were convinced that the revolution had completely destroyed all those structures through which despotism and dictatorships could be recreated. And I was one of the people who believed this. But today, I do not believe this anymore. Today, we can identify those very structures which have lead to despotism, and we can also identify the resistance people have shown against [allowing for] a return to dictatorship. This resistance is a valuable heritage of the Islamic Revolution. People’s lack of tolerance for deception, lies and corruption which we witness today clearly shows this heritage. Just as the tight control over newspapers and the media, the overflowing prisons, and the brutal killing of innocent people who are there to peacefully ask for their rights on the streets … These all show the roots of despotism which have remained. The people are after justice and freedom, and they are aware that the arrests and executions are politically motivated and are unconstitutional. They despise the monarchy but are also aware that people may be condemned to death based on frivolous accusations and without being even lawfully put to trial.

[The people know that these executions are only carried out] so that a ruthless, brutal Friday prayer leader who has constantly defended corruption, violence and deception can applaud them. For him [the Friday Prayer Leader] it couldn’t matter less that there are widespread forced confessions, and he doesn’t care that these individuals [those who were executed] have nothing to do with the election. For him, what matters is the power of the executions to create fear. He is ignorant of the power of innocent blood, he doesn’t know that it was the blood of martyrs which caused the Pahlavi regime to collapse. From the revolution onwards, people have believed in freedom, independence and the Islamic Republic. The strength and courageous resistance of the people and our soldiers in the eight year war was a sign of the very fundamental changes which had taken place in our society. We should remember that parts of our country were lost in the wars, crises and political games created during the time of the shahs [kings] and the courageous resistance of our people during the eight year war ended this vicious cycle. And now, in the courageous, resistant green lines of the people who demand their rights, we see a continuum of the very resistance we saw during the war, and the 1979 revolution. [Khordaad88]: On the other hand, when we see today that the government, national TV and their affiliated  newspapers easily lie; when our people see, that in reality the security and military forces control cases in judiciary system and the judiciary system has become an instrument of security forces, we can conclude that we were too optimistic at the beginning of the [Islamic] revolution.

I believe the martyrdom of men like Beheshti, Motahari and other martyrs of the Islamic Revolution was [due to] the extension of those very despotic roots of the previous regime that have not been fully destroyed. Therefore I don’t believe that the Islamic Revolution has achieved its goals.  The Fajr festival that is held every year is in reality,  [for people] to become vigilant and to reinforce [their] strength in order to remove the remaining roots of despotism. Today people are actively present in order to pursue justice, freedom and to rule their own destinies. We should remember that  our nation has had hundreds of thousands of martyrs in this quest.

The Islamic Revolution is the result of efforts and sacrifices of our great nation. But [even] the slightest ignorance and retreat will lead us to a darker dictatorship than [the one we had] before the revolution. Because dictatorships in the name of religion are the worst kind of dictatorships. On the contrary, knowledge and persistence over the main legacy and goals of the Islamic Revolution [which are] serious demands for freedom and justice will carry us from a dark past to a bright future. They will destroy the remaining residues of dictatorship and prepare the contexts for living in a free [society] where diversity, pluralism, freedom of speech and human dignity is respected. I believe that the interpretation of Islam which leads individuals to call people goats and dirt and dust, and works to divide people, is [actually] influenced by pre-revolution dictatorial culture. The right thing for the judiciary to do was to pay attention to these roots and [influences] instead of executing a number of young men and teenagers when there are serious, widespread rumors regarding how they were forced into confessions.

Although as I mentioned before, we have lost any hope in the judiciary. A judiciary system that imprisons an intellectual, a religious man dedicated to freedom like the son of Martyr Beheshti and other freedom lovers like him, a judiciary that places him under his father’s photo in the hallways of the court rooms, has moved far away from the ideals defined during the revolution

Today the prison cells are occupied with the most sincere and devoted sons of this nation: students, professors and others.  They [security forces] are trying to prosecute them with financial, sexual or espionage charges based on expired formulas. While the real criminals and thieves who steal public money are wandering freely outside prisons. Instead of looking for real spies, they accuse decent religious people of espionage. I should take this opportunity and express my regret that all of my advisors who are decent, honest and educated individuals have been arrested and I am not there with them. Not a single night goes by without me remembering Imam [Khomeini], Ayatollah Beheshti and other dear martyrs and thinking that what was achieved is far from what they wanted. I did not name any of my advisors to pay my respect to all political prisoners. Iran will remember their names and their sacrifices.

Remember the program, Beh Sooyeh Farda? It was launched less than two months ago in order to broadcast “debates ” between opposing political groups and did, for three weeks, air arguments by the opposition.

For the last three weeks however, in the tradition of IRIB, it has gone back to only featuring speakers from the Ahmadinejad camp.

This clip from last week’s show is just too phenomenal to miss:

This is Jafar Shojooni, the same man who I wrote about last week, after comments he made about Mashaie.

Here, he is talking about the state of prisons and quotes Asadollah Lajevardi. Lajevardi was the former head of Evin prison, notorious for his crimes against humanity and torture techniques promoted during his time there. He was assassinated while at work in Tehran’s bazaar.

The translation of Shojooni’s words in this clip: “I swear to Allah, martyr Lajevardi would tell me, during a 10 day visit I made there [to Evin] for some speeches, he told me: “come and look! We’ve made swimming pools, we’ve made jacuzzis, for these Mojahedin.” A youngster who has assassinated 48 people, is now sitting in the jacuzzi having the time of his life.”

Asghar Hashemi is P.O.W who fought in the Iran-Iraq war. He was, for quite a number of years lost without any trace and his family feared the worse, thinking he had died. He was to reemerge years later, in a prisoner swap between Iran and Iraq. His son, Sourena Hashemi is now one of the protesters imprisoned in Iran. He writes this letter to his son.

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Sourena, my son, there was a day long ago when your picture was a witness to my constant pleading eyes. We were entrenched amidst dirt and fire, but we would go on everyday, we would go on for the safety and security of our land.

You were the most precious thing to me in this land, I was there to protect you, to be your knight in shining armor, and I was not alone, we were thousands …

One day, a day as bitter as today, the skies poured rockets and bombs, and the earth became the grave of hundreds of courageous men … They went on an eternal sleep while smiling with the memory of their mothers, wives and children and they were calm knowing that no bomb or rocket could harm them again.

I too got my share with the blood that had soaked my boots and the wires that were piercing my body. I was a captive, a prisoner, but I was at once happy and content knowing of your happiness, your safety, your freedom …

We were the lost men of those years, and year after year, one after another we would die of old battle wounds, under torture … there was no sign of us anywhere. We were lost and forgotten.

All I could do during those years was to pray from the bottom of my heart to see you free. With my fellow soldiers I prayed that you would not see any harm.

But the deep bitterness of today is leagues beyond what I experienced before … you are a captive now, you are in prison, you do not smile … Over a month has passed and I see no signs of you but your captivity …

I am ashamed. What if you have inherited captivity from me?

Why am I alone today? Where are the soldiers along whom I fought? What will I do if they are the ones harming you? What if they do not know? What if they do not know that you have been fighting by my side since you were two? What if they do not know of bullets you endured for me?

I am alone …

My dear Sourena, I have not forgotten the events at the University of Zanjan:

Those who raped the children of this land can not be the ones who were at my side during battle!

Those who scream and shout in violence are not the soldiers who were by my side in battle!

Those who have imprisoned you, have robbed you of the opportunity to attend school, they are not the soldiers who fought with me in battle!

I know those soldiers very well!

Let me believe that these violent men of today are not those soldiers! These men of today are intruders who know nothing of this land or its people.

Let me believe that every last soldier was martyred in that war and I was kept alive to suffer today …

Once long ago, I gave everything I had for your freedom … Now that you are not free, I give everything I have for your safety …

And for the opportunity to see you once more …

~Asghar Hasemi

After avoiding him for months, Hassan Khomeini (the grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini) finally met with Ahmadinejad at Imam Khomeini’s Mausoleum. Ayandenews reports that he was absent during the Ahmadinejad speech and went to his room (!). The same news agency writes that after this meeting, Hassan Khomeini went to the home of Alireza Beheshti.

After Mousavi’s relatively mild statement, and Khatami’s rumored letter and speech, this is the third acknowledgment of the Ahmadinejad government. Everyone will wait for 22 Bahman to see how this will translate out on the streets.

The third picture is interesting. They are sitting on chairs but have left “signs” of having eaten on the floor. This is typical for informal state gatherings.

Something came up the other day which took me back home … It made me want to post this again.

A long flight of very steep stairs made of hard rock. A dark hallway that opens to a cave.

I may have spent many a summer nights on the roof, but during the day, this is where I lived.

The shavadoon.

The province of Khuzestan in the south of Iran is exposed to some of the hottest summer climates in Iran – and simultaneously nurtures some of its most fertile soil. But long  before electricity and air conditioning, the people stayed cool (and alive) by crafting living rooms deep underground. These basements would be, in older houses, all connected to one another creating a long, dark tunnel that spanned the entirety of the city.

Come it summer time, most households would cater a second home under these grounds. They would take in furniture, stoves and lamps to battle the long, gruesome heatwaves ahead.

Many homes did have air conditioning throughout. But except for the one in the main living room, none were ever used.

They didn’t need to be.

It should have been immensely humid under ground, but the humble, unknown architects of the past had found a way around that as well. Craftsmen digged vertical, tunnels know as Dariza and horizontal tunnels known as Taal. The dariza was constructed from the depth of ground to the central courtyard level or rooftop. These vertical tunnels would bring enough daylight to the depths of the Shavadoon as well as reduce moisture.

I vividly remember the excitement of making the long journey to my homeland every summer from the crowded streets of Tehran; of having the entire family residing there. Of us kids running up and down those horrendous stairs and into the burning water of the pool – and running back down again.

Dozens and dozens of times everyday we’d jump into the water, burning our skin, screaming of the scalding heat, only so we could run to the cold, crisp air of the basement. Then, when our wet bodies began feeling too cold, we’d repeat the entire procedure all over again.

Noon times when the family was to depart on a long, abysmal nap, running around would be forbidden. So we would spend the time “excavating” the tunnels and paths underground. We’d take in goggles and flash lights and find rocks and pebbles and feel like topnotch miners or excavators. Occasionally, if luck was on our side that day, a grownup would decide to read to us in a another hallway.

As time passes, nostalgia and longing amplify the beauty of these memories; they have slowly forgotten the scorching heat or the dampness of the caves. They have forgotten the grueling accidents caused by running such steep stairs or the painful sunburns.

And yet, I let them do what they do. I marvel them; devour them; sip them slowly as one would a glass of archaic, sumptuous wine.

I fear that I belong to a last generation of kids who experienced the comfort of the shavadoon; of the rooftop; of a humongous family coming together despite war, conflict, work and chaos.

The shavadoon is a dying concept in the city.

Too many people were killed in those basements during the bombings of the war. There had been too many accidents and too many fatalities.

A daughter, home for the week from school, had fallen head first from the first few stairs when their house had been hit by an Iraqi bomb.

She has been confined to her wheelchair, paralyzed neck down ever since.

Yes, people died in their homes as well. But to most people, the thought of death seems more comfortable at ground level.

This refuge of centuries past had become, during the long, brutal war, a cave of death for many.

But that wasn’t what caused this constant degradation of the underground basements.

Over time, arrived Samsung and LG and cheap air conditioning for all. There was a necessity to rebuild the city as fast as possible after the war, which left little time to dig deep beneath. Neighbors were no longer comfortable with the thought of paths that led to each other’s doorstep. The elders’ knees suddenly became too timid for the long climb; the youngsters had more intriguing, shiny merriment indoors. Slowly, the shavadoon withered and died.

As did the spirit of an entire people and an ancient city.

Today, with the gruesomely high price of energy, and with the fatal need throughout the word to indulge and strive for conservation, as I look through out Iran, I marvel oat how some of the earth’s most “under developed” inhabitants had indeed developed some of the most highly feasible solutions we could hope to someday achieve.

I see a day, years from now when we realize we should not have closed the doors of the shavadoon, but helped to open more. When we will realize that we should not have disintegrated that particular brand of family, but helped to nurture and grow it. I fear that we will realize this at a time when it will be too little, too late.

But for now, the memories are not that distant and not that vague. They do not belong to a long, forgotten past but an eventful yesteryear: noticing an oddly familiar face amongst the masses; a warm wave that washes over you in a tender embrace. They are magnificent fairies flourishing with life; fused with passion and dancing vividly in the landscapes of my memories.

The comfort of the cave devours me, and I take refuge there for hours.

One of the most famous poems/songs of the revolution was “rahbareh mahboobeh ma az safar ayad … deev cho biroon ravad, fereshteh darayad” meaning “our dear leader shall come [home] from his journey … this is when the monster shall leave and the angel will arrive”.

The generation who was born after the revolution, kids like me, grew up hearing this over and over and over again on their TV screens,  with images of Ayatollah Khomeini getting off the plane (like the one below, although he seems to have been flying the magic carpet instead), or with images of him surrounded by cartoonish flowers and fauna in the background. But really, technically speaking, how can he fall down from the clouds like that?!

But I never “got” it. It seems to me the monster … and the angel … never left the room to start with. They were right here all along. I am grateful to the green movement in Iran – and I hesitate to call them a coherent “movement”, but I shall here for the sake of simplicity – for the fact that it has thus far at least, produced no “angels” of this kind. Because with new angels come new demons, and we’ve been down that road far too many times.

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note: please keep your comments considerate. As I mentioned before, I go by the same guidelines as bloggers in Iran. I will be featuring “green” artwork in the next few days for 22 Bahman, the anniversary of the revolution, so today I thought I’d show you a glimpse of the artwork in state news agencies.

Amidst much fanfare, the government finally released the yearly budget to parliament a month late this week.

AyandeNews has an interesting report on the 58 nongovernmental organizations in this budget which are seeking millions of dollars of aid from the government (as you may know, by reading accounts of people like the Alaie brothers, NGOs which are actually doing some sort of useful job are banned, threatened and harassed, so it’s very surprising to see those numbers in the budget this year.)

… Surprising until you see the names behind the institutions. One such NGO, Ayandeyeh Roshan (Bright Future) is registered under Rahim Mashaie’s name and will be granted 1,200,000,000 Tomans (~$1,200,000). Imam Khomeini Educational Institution of Qom (overseen by MAD – Mesbah Yazdi) is tapped to be presented 10,000,000,000 Tomans ($10,000,000).

Below is a list of some of these organizations.

Zarifbafi is an ancient art in Iran and goes back to the time of the Achaemenid empire. It is form of cloth weaving with golden threads and silk. The oldest of such art that remains in Iran today belongs to the time of the Safavid Dynasty (16th century).

Traditionally, many parts of Iran engaged in this art form, but today, very few workshops remain. In the city of Esfahan for instance, only one artist, a man by the name of Mehdi Shamsali still has a workshop where he weaves the ancient threads.

Mehrnews features him and his student, Fariba Davari, in an article today.

Master Shamsali can even be an Achaemenid soldier: