I will have to admit complete ignorance, HOWEVER, from mere ignorant observation, this labor uprising seems to have been present for years, and is only now gaining attention in the west, maybe b/c of the reform movement. Worker unions have been systematically crushed for the past 30 years, despite claims otherwise. For instance, at haft-tapeh, there have been a number of strikes in the past decade, so why didn’t we ever hear about them? I am certain a big number of workers voted for Ahmadinejad, and support him, again, I really don’t know numbers or percentage points.

He says: “once labor strikes get under way in the next few months” … what does that mean? We’ll have to wait and see how wrong I am, but I see no mass labor movements in the upcoming months in the current Iranian climate.

Now, I was hoping that you can tell me about what you hear in this guy’s words and about this guy. I don’t know anything about him. So maybe your suspicions are right, but the fact that he was interviewed doesn’t prove them.

Lola, that’s what I mean: if he did get here on personal connections, what would that mean for his connections with labor unions inside Iran? How connected is he really to them, and how much of his words are really relevant?

When I heard AN’s speech I wondered if the crowd was actually so quiet or if the sound had been filtered, as you stated.

I also looked at a post I wrote about 22 Bahman in 2007 and was surprised to find how I described it: http://bit.ly/9FXz1B. It offers a bit of perspective.

I was having a really interesting discussion with some friends last night about how the greens could either woo the “middle people” in Iran (government supporters who are uncomfortable with what they see from Ahmadinejad but are too loyal to the Islamic Republic all together, and believe that the greens are being funded/wooed by anti-IRI forces) … or the secular expat community outside Iran. I think the greens have been more successful at the latter thus far, and they need to change gears. These anti-khamenei, ‘jomhooriyeh irani’ slogans are beautiful and powerful and haunting, but they are only helping this disconnect between the groups the greens really need to attract inside Iran.

evildoer, I am really curios about that post. Labor organizers in Iran are very poor workers, how did this guy end up in the States?

B, your idea sounds a bit like the green balloons? Remember those? I agree, we can start playing with symbols. Too bad my blog has little readership, I have to get your ideas out through some emails

djirdjirak, I agree, we need a change in strategy, but I don’t like this “victory/defeat” dichotomy, and I think it is mostly a discourse heard in the media. I love the idea of Norouz, especially 13bedar I mentioned above … I will have a post about that soon!

On the other hand I also thought, that changing strategies is necessary. So far, the Greens were always taking the official dates (considered as safer, of course), but shouldn’t they create their own historic dates ? I think No Ruz is probably the next step. And No Ruz has THE big advantage: it’s not an islamic festivity !
And No Ruz starts with Tchahr Shanbeh Soori – also taking place outside, where you should light big fires. Do you think that will be allowed ?

But then of course I agree, we are here behind our computers, we should not give any advice to those facing this brutal reality in Iran, but I really would like to let them know my/our support.

Thank you for these interesting posts !

You have said that you need to create some of your own symbols; you have also said that participation in the movement needs to happen more regularly, but that many are scared to take to the streets even on occasions like 22 Bahman. My idea, which I hope will tackle all of these problems, is the following:

There are some symbols that can be found in ancient Iranian mythology which, if taken up by the Green Movement, would be powerful icons identifiable to them; they would also defy that the current regime represents the true culture of the people of Iran. One such symbol is the homa/huma bird. Would it be possible for people to make lots and lots (and lots more) small birds out of green paper or card? Would a paper bird, made in this way and green and small, still be recognisable as a homa bird? (I don’t know what it is meant to look like according to legend.) If so, then people could make such things in their own homes – lots and lots of them – and then throw them out of their window at set times, filling the streets with small green symbols. You could organise a time to throw them, so that they all fly out in unison; or you could just have people throw them as and when they wish.

This would be an icon that could capture people’s imagination. Because there would be so many of them, it would be hard to keep clearing them up – so lots of people would see them as they went about their lives, even if they didn’t participate in making them. And because they would (hopefully) be easy to make, and easy to discretely throw out of the window, how could state police stop them being made and thrown? People who understandably fear going on a march could take part in this activity with little fear of arrest.

The homa bird never stops flying; the Green Movement never stops fighting until the people of Iran are free. Apart from the obvious problem that they would be seen on the ground for the most part, not in the air (so not quite what the homa bird is said to do), it could be quite catchy. I also thought you could somehow make use of the legend of Kaveh the Blacksmith, but haven’t worked out how you could make use it yet.

Let me know what you think. And please accept my humble praise for the courage and vigour of your people, who fight in spite of dangers that people from my part of the world could hardly imagine.