Much thanks to the amazing people at Planet Iran for this excellent essay,
Iran’s Revolution Devoured By Its Own Children
The young people born into this clerical dictatorship are on an irrevocable path to democracy and freedom.
By Saba Farzan
February 9, 2010
Source: The Wall Street Journal
“We were born during the war with Iraq, when there was not enough milk powder for us as babies; when we finished high school, the Basij, the regime’s paramilitary thugs, received preferential admission to the universities; when we graduated there were no jobs for us in this ruined economy and when we fall in love, we are not even allowed to hold each other’s hands in public.”
This is how young Iranians born into the country’s clerical dictatorship tend to recount their bitter lives. Without ever having experienced what freedom in all its facets means, the world somehow expected these young people would silently continue their suffering under this regime for the rest of their lives. Some of those so-called Iran experts actually claimed up until last summer that the Iranian people are supposedly tired of revolutions. How wrong they were.
At the dawn of tomorrow’s anniversary of the fall of the Shah, another Iranian revolution is simmering. It’s not too early to call this freedom movement a revolution. It combines all characteristics of a revolutionary process and its goal is nothing less than freedom and democracy for this Middle Eastern country.
This Green Movement is not limited to the capital Teheran or the Iranian upper class. The main forces behind this uprising are not just students and teachers but women of all social strata, as well as workers. In a country with a literacy rate of 80%, there is no such thing as an ignorant rural population. Especially as Iran is an increasingly urbanized country with numerous mega cities such as Isfahan, Shiraz, Mashhad, Kermanshah. Even in the comparatively smaller cities like Qazvin with “only” two million people there were uprisings during these last seven months.
Not just a fleeting moment of freedom. (Photo: Associated Press)
Two crucial components, though, that were key in the success of the Islamic Revolution are still missing in this revolutionary process: strikes and the so-called bazaaris, the small shop keepers and merchants.
It is, however, only a question of time before we’ll see also the first major walkouts. The regime’s economic mismanagement has made it increasingly difficult for companies to pay their employees. It’s therefore no surprise that so many workers have already joined this movement.
The bazaaris may this time stay on the sidelines. But then again, given that they have lost much of their previous power, it doesn’t really matter these days where they stand.
The bazaaris had a major influence on the revolution back in 1979 as they were closely tied to the clergy. Things have changed in Iran and ironically the bazaaris turned out to be the big losers in the Islamic Republic. As a result of the regime’s disastrous economic policy, they lost their financial and ultimately also their political power. They sure would thus have reason enough to join the resistance movement. But they are no longer a necessary social group for this revolution to succeed.
The Green Movement’s real strength and fascination comes from its diversity and the way it is strategically organized. This is a new form of revolution—not comparable to the French or Russian predecessors or other uprisings in Persian history. This revolution is organized in a horizontal structure and therefore doesn’t need a charismatic leader. Activists communicate via new technologies like Facebook and Twitter. Without even knowing each other, these people were able to organize major peaceful protests. And they will continue on this peaceful path.
Some commentators claim that the Islamic Republic has shown relative restraint so far because the mullahs haven’t crushed the peaceful demonstrations. These commentators must be blind to the truth, ignoring the hundreds of people arrested, the show trials, the rapes, the torture and executions. The Islamic Republic is now preparing for a hard crackdown on tomorrow’s expected antigovernment protests. Dictators in panic always resort to violence.
But so far the regime’s brutality has not silenced these brave Iranian protesters. Despite the beatings and killings, they have not given up on their goal to end this tyranny.
On the day of the 31st anniversary of the Islamic, anti-modern revolution, this young Iranian generation has the power to cause the disruption of this totalitarian regime—irrevocably. These young Iranians born after 1979 have learned from past failures—when their parent generation brought down one tyrant, the Shah, only to replace him with another, Ayatollah Khomeini. These brave young people want to lead Iran into a free and democratic future.
Somewhere in this crowd of millions of young democracy-loving protesters are the future leaders of this country, who will establish democratic parties and start an entirely new chapter of peaceful Iranian foreign policy. History is on their side, as no tyranny lasts forever. People around the globe following tomorrow’s historic day of protests should know that this is not about a fleeting moment of freedom. It’s about eternity.
Ms. Farzan is an Iranian-born author who lives in Berlin.
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