Let Us Comprehend!

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Whatever you shot me, it left no scar; it sprouted!

Many events are happening worldwide, but most are disheartening: millions of refugees, wars, hunger, uncertainty, and executions. However, I want to focus on the last one and have to, again, urge the world to put an end to it. It appears there is a systematic plan to eliminate the youngβ€”those full of hopes, dreams, and potential. They represent the future of Iran, brimming with creativity and energy, and they are at risk of being destroyed.

via Euronews

I don’t want to hurt my friends, but it appears that a brutal regime in the Middle East aims to massacre the youth and destroy the wealth of ancient and precious folk and their country!

Iran-hair, via Ruth Millington: β€˜For my brave Iranian sisters’ byΒ r0yart @_r0yart

The Islamic Regime searches for them on purpose to get them, jail them, and execute them. Prisons, including special facilities for political prisoners, are present in the political history of many countries. In Iran, one such prison is known as Evin. It should have been demolished after the fall of the Shah; however, the mullahs found it to be much more advantageous for their purposes.

Woman-Life-Freedom- via Amnesty International

I have often mentioned that global superpowers benefit from having a chaotic regime or a wild dog in that region, like the Mullah Regime. They maintain control over those countries through fear, hoping that the West will take action against this threat. But how long should it go until no common sense remains there? And then, Westerpower engages another favourite doll to work with?!

Azadeh’ [Ah-Z-ah-d eh] (Persian: Ψ’Ψ²Ψ§Ψ―Ω‡) β€˜Meaning: She who is Free’ byΒ Luna @lunaleonis

I believe you are as muddled as I am; what can we do?
I just shout to the world: Stop this terrifying terror against humanity and our outstanding youth!

We might only keep praying for the lives of those who want their right to live, which is their inalienable right. The right to live in freedom!

β€˜Cut it out’ byΒ Marco Melgrati @Melgratillustr

Last week, I came across this song by Joan Baez and found it so pertinent to the topic because she always sang for the people who fought for their rights. #Woman_Life_Freedom!πŸ’–βœŠπŸ™

“There But For Fortune”

Joan Baez

Show me the prison, show me the jail
Show me the prisoner whose life has gone stale
And I’ll show you a young (wo)man
With so many reasons why
And there but for fortune, go you or I…

Show me the alley, show me the train
Show me the hobo who sleeps out in the rain
And I’ll show you a young (wo)man
With so many reasons why
And there but for fortune, go you or I, mm, mm

Show me the whiskey, stains on the floor
Show me the drunkard as he stumbles out the door
And I’ll show you a young (wo)man
With so many reasons why
And there but for fortune go you or I…

Show me the country where the bombs had to fall
Show me the ruins of the buildings, once so tall
And I’ll show you a young land
With so many reasons why
And there but for fortune go you and I, you and I.

The Path to Freedom is Rough, but it is Worth Living!

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Out of the darkness, through the open window of Birth, human life comes to the earth; it dwells for a while before our eyes into the darkness, and then, through the open window of Death, it vanishes out of sight.
Annie Besant

This post may serve as a brief introduction to a significant revolution in a fledgling nation striving for its freedom and the right to lead a happy and healthy life. I decided to write this article because, in my latest post, I mentioned a short note about women and their fight for their rights in Iran, and one of my adorable friends, Petra Glimmdall, asked me to write a more extensive article about this happening.

I’ve written about this topic once or twice before! However, I’ll do my best to provide more details about one of the most widespread, laborious, and challenging struggles for freedom faced by the people of a vast country with a rich history. They have come a long way in their quest for rights but have not yet achieved their goal.

Copyright AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia

Iran has a long history of uprising, starting with the Persian Constitutional Revolution at the beginning of the twentieth century (1905-11), which could hold on but annihilated and oppressed by Reza Khan Pahlavi‘s ambition and selfishness (1925), up to the nationalize Iran’s oil industry under Dr Mossadegh‘s government (1951-53), which has been collapsed by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s coup d’Γ©tat, until 1979 the revolution against Shah’s regime which Islamic treacherous Mullahs had stolen. Now we see there is no end to this!

However, this time, the heart of the issue is women who hold the head of the rope in their hands, and these protests represent the first uprising led by women.

New Yorker Women in Iran, Illustration by Roshi Rouzbehani

The Women’s Life Freedom Movement in Iran started in September 2022 after the tragic death of Mahsa (Jina) Amini. She was a young Iranian woman who was arrested by the morality police for not wearing her hijab correctly and found dead in the hospital a few days later.

In fact, the Iranian uprising began in 2009 during the so-called Green Movement. This occurred after the presidential election that year, and the people felt deceived by the extremists in front of the regime, although it was a pretext to rebel against them.

Even then, there was a woman who fanned the flame of the Green Movement revolution: Neda Agha-Soltan, an Iranian student of philosophy, who was participating in the protests with her music teacher and was walking back to her car when she was fatally shot in the upper chest.

It took some months then after the Islamic Regime brutally suppressed the revolution by banning international media, cutting off the internet for a week and killing more than one thousand and five hundred protestors.

This time, however, it has been ongoing for about two years, and it seems to be gaining momentum because, in my opinion, it is under the banner of Women, Life, and Freedom. It is not just for the Iranian people but for all people (especially women) around the world.

Honestly, I am a pessimist, not specialized in the Iranian future, but rather in the human condition as a whole. I have some theories that some might consider conspiratorial! However, I believe that for many decades, the actions in Iran, particularly the Islamic Regime, have been under the control of great powers like the USA and other interested authorities. I’m just trying to reason: How can it be that a regime that is unpopular and hated from within and is subjected to constant sanctions from outside remains in power so calmly and shows no weakness?! The West certainly supports this.

Significant changes will occur in the Near and Middle East when the time comes. When is this time? It is when weapons factories achieve good sales, when Putin’s regime becomes weak (though Putin shouldn’t go away!), and when peace is restored. At that point, it will be time for a regime change in Iran. These are my predictions!

Do you smile like the Rose at loss and gain? For the Rose, though its petals may be torn and asunder, it still smiles on, and it is never cast down.
Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi

Finally, to help you understand the core of this uprising, I’m showing you an example named Nika, Nika Shakarami. She is one of many victims of this injustice and brutalityβ€”a girl, as you can see in this short video, with lots of dreams, full of hopes and a joyful heart and soul. She was one of the first victims of the Mahsa (Jina) revolution, possibly because of their optimism in believing the uprise would soon win.

Here is a new report of her brutal death, which BBC broadcasted:

I have added two more videos about the history of the Iranian uprising to provide you with additional fundamental information.

I believe I have mentioned this before, but I want to reiterate that I understand everyone faces different challenges in life, and nothing is easy. While I value every thought and acknowledgement, I would appreciate your sympathy and empathy, my dear friends. May the justice win at last! πŸ™πŸ’–πŸ™βœŠ

From the Ancient Times to the Modern Era: What Lesson Remains to Learn?

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I am sharing an article with you at an unusual time for two reasons. First, today marks the beginning of Spring (around 6.26 am, CET), also celebrated as the ancient Persian New Year. Second, I’ll be travelling to Southern Germany for a few days over the weekend into the next, so I thought it would be an opportunity to write a few words.

This is a joyful celebration to leave behind dark and cold times and welcome brightness and warmth; the only difference to Easter is that this fiesta marks the start of a new year. It all sounds friendly and happy, though, as you might know, there is no happiness left to celebrate in Iran. Of course, the brave Iranians do celebrate it nonetheless, even though it coincides with the mourning Islamic month of Ramadan!

It looks like a never-ending battle between ancient traditional Persian ceremonies and the imposed Arabic religion. I don’t want to shout out like some lofty patriotic people who still try to prove a trampled and destroyed glory that might have been perfectly installed by Cirus the Great during his reign, who had built an enormous empire based on human rights but slowly was destroyed not only by the Arabs but even before that by the latest dynasties and their avaricious religious monks.

One of the most significant mistakes humans can make is relying on who or what they were in the past rather than who or what they are now. This happened in Iran many years ago and continues to happen now, as people keep talking about their glorious history. It seems that Iranian monarchists are attempting to use the pride of ancient Persia to promote their cause, much like how Mussolini tried to do the same with Rome for Italy. However, I struggle to understand these sentiments from my Persian friends here in Germany, who constantly talk about the greatness of Persia and its past strength. But where is that glory now? I believe that traditions can be beneficial if used consciously. A sense of pride can serve as a foundation for creating a better world for all humans.

Anyway, I wish all the people of Iran, every ethnicity or folk, a happy Nowruz with great hope for casting freedom, equality and prosperity all over the country. This will happen because the leaders are women! #Woman_Life_Freedom

Illustration by Marina Terauds 

I’m finishing this post with a short piece by an Iranian artist, Parisa Alipour. Be safe and well, everybody.πŸ™πŸ’–πŸŒŸβœŒπŸ€—

At the top: Photo by Cory Grace / Freer and Sackler Galleries, Smithsonian Institution

Hope dies last!
Which of the most lasting gifts you can give yourself is that
Live your life this way*
To enjoy the moment
Don’t be someone’s lame…

✍ #Parisa_Zabli_Pour πŸ“š @audiobo0ok

Yalda: A Persian Winter Solstice!

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Actually, I attended to share an extensive article today. Still, as I found out yesterday that I had to undertake a marathon with my grandchildren until midday today, I grabbed an hour yesterday afternoon when my wife took them to get some flour from the store to bake cookies to write these words. I usually turn out all connections to the world when I have the kid with me. I hope I can utter my mind comprehended enough.

As I look back into my posts, I see two posts I have written about this Persian’s traditional old ceremony. The first one, proudly to inform my friends about one of the oldest Persian festivals, and the second one, a painful hint to this elderly celebration which has been smeared with blood and suffering. Although with the hope that it would be a peaceful one this year, what a false assumption! Someone once said: If we look at this deeply, we see the differences between the old Persian rituals & festivals and all the celebrations in Islamic Iran after the Arabs occupied Persia. In ancient Persian the rituals and feasts, contrary to the Arabs, adorn love, light, and cosiness.

However, on every Yalda night, the Iranian winter solstice tradition, observers gather with family in a warm, cosy room and read or take an omen of fortune from FAL-E HAFEZ (Omens of Hafez) by Hafez Shirazi’s sonnets and quatrains (Ghazals). As I remember from my childhood, it was a nut and nutcracker, and the oldest woman in the family told beautiful fairytales to greet the returning sun. I am sure that this tradition will continue indefinitely under any circumstances; as I noticed on the web, they have even this year celebrated with grief and pride for their loss but with great hope to conquer evil.

Illustration byΒ Mahdis Nikou @mahdisnikou via Inger Nordvik

It becomes clear that this fight for their right will be a war of attrition, even though it will come at the cost of bloodshed, but the secret to success is in synergy and solidarity. Together, we stand; divided, we fall!

Anyway, with my heartfelt regards, I send my best wishes to all of you, dear friend. Have a blessed Yule, Merry Christmas, and have a lovely time with your loved ones.πŸ™πŸ’–πŸŒΉπŸŽ…

The image at the top: via HiPersia