The last couple of months I’ve mostly been active on Instagram. But the difficulty of writing lengthy texts on IG and the fact that this post is more directed to Iranians in the diaspora gave me reasons to return.
It’s been four years since my last blog post. WordPress looks completely different now and unfortunately so do I. I guess it’s true, that nothing is constant except change. And when it comes to Iran, this gem in western Asia, that gives me great hope.
When I created this blog I was around the same age as most of the young Iranians who have been arrested and/or killed in Iran the last couple of months for wanting freedom for their country and for their countrymen. Had I been born in Iran, I probably would have been one of them.
The last couple of months have been a living nightmare for me and so many other Iranians all over the world. And there are so many things to talk about and to write about now. To give hope, to give support, motivation, to express grief, to express anger toward European countries and their silence and passivity – I want to do all of that. But I would barely know where to begin. It’s more than I can handle right now. I’ll instead focus on recent events among (perhaps mostly) the diaspora, which took me back to some of the posts I made back in 2016.
One of the beautiful things about the ongoing revolution is, in my regard, the way it has connected us with each other (*making a heart with my hands*). Suddenly, it’s as if certain walls have been torn down, walls preventing trust and change. I find myself making new Iranian friends on a weekly basis, and I’ve even connected with complete strangers from all over the world. It’s wonderful. It’s amazing. It’s beautiful. It’s how it always should have been. And it is, I’d say, the main proof that the revolution has been successful. It has given us a united front.
That’s why I was so saddened and so disheartened by the cracks that started to show in this unity a while ago, when the [former] crown prince turned to the Iranian people to unite the Iranian opposition and lead a transition from the current theocracy to a secular rule. There were cheers from both inside and outside Iran, but it was also met with outrage, mistrust, and skepticism, mostly (it seems) from leftists and anti-monarchists who believe it’s undemocratic and would lay the foundation for perhaps yet another dictatorship, instead suggesting some sort of council consisting of a group of prominent figures representing the Iranian people with its different ethnicities, political ideologies, and educational/economic backgrounds. Some have even spread the propaganda of the regime to belittle the family and the proposal further. One of my closest friends, neither being a leftist nor anti-monarchist and even liking Reza Pahlavi, finds it undemocratic as well. It’s understandable to me, yet incomprehensible.
Now, bare with me. I do not find it undemocratic and I don’t even see the question of whether or not it’s fully “democratic” as the main issue in this context. A fully democratic council isn’t even possible. And democracy itself doesn’t equal perfection. The entire Iranian community can’t vote on such a council. This is something that goes beyond elections and perhaps even beyond democracy. I support Pahlavi as an interim leader and “face” of the country in talks with world powers. I see nothing in his character/personality indicating that he would even try to claim power to himself or have dishonest intentions. And I don’t believe that the Iranian people would ever be able to agree on a person, let alone a council, that would satisfy everyone. Someone would most likely always be ridiculed, criticised, or mistrusted. And someone would always claim it to be undemocratic. If we can’t agree on one person – how can we agree on a group or people? Heck, if Cyrus the Great would have stepped out of his tomb now with a similar proposal, would we have accepted him?
There has already been talks about how we aren’t good at/used to co-operation. I honestly don’t know what the root of that is, but I believe that the fact that we can’t agree on things or even discuss them in a civil way without accusing one another of certain things and creating the same rifts that we recently have claimed didn’t exist through statements and slogans such as “ma hame ba ham hastim!”, is a huge issue. HUGE. The process of reaching a democracy says more about what kind of country we actually are and thus our opportunity to not only achieve it but also maintain it. If we’d attain that democracy as soon as tomorrow, through a perfectly chosen council, would it remain? I doubt that. I think it would have collapsed. An thats why I think this is one of the cases in life in which one really needs to pay more attention to the journey than the destination.
Ideologies tore Iranians apart a few decades ago (but let’s not get into that now). There’s been a thirst for a democracy for over 43 years. And much like a person who has never been in a relationship, who is stuck in a terrible marriage, who is being bullied by his classmates, or who is bankrupt, we (I’m now including myself) have to a great extent begun to idealise the future. The perfect romance, a school where we’re respected, a life with an abundance of money, a free, democratic Iran. The greater the despair, the greater the idealism. Obviously, there’s no way of either proving or disproving this guess, but a collective idealism concerning the future of Iran was planted as soon as the rose of democracy died and has now risen above the surface. This idealism might, I fear, constitute an obstacle to pragmatism, progress, development, and yes: unity. Because though most of us might have ideals about the future, they all look different and some might even be abstract and improbable. Ideals can be great but they’re incredibly risky. We have lost far too many people to risk preventing all of these ideals from becoming a reality by chasing them. The only way an ideal can be reached, is indirectly. Concrete steps are needed, and we need to take these steps in unison, even if our hearts don’t beat as one. If we manage this dance, if we manage getting along, co-operating, and trusting each other (including Reza Pahlavi), we’ll be able to achieve that democracy we all dream of having once we reach the finish line.
There is a strong sensitivity among Iranians for potential threats and for justice. For me that is the case in a whole lot of different settings, even in relationships or at, say, university. I don’t attribute it entirely to me being Iranian, but I think it plays a part in it. Our sensitivity to – or vigilance against – potential threats is completely understandable considering our history, since the betrayal of Rūzbeh Khoshnūdān to those in and after the Islamic Revolution. But I believe that this fear, however justified, easily can be misplaced, generalised, prevent necessary and even helpful steps and measures, and make us accuse each other of things and create rifts even though all we actually want is to be “ba ham”.
If I again were to liken our relationship to (this aspect of) the past, I’d compare it with, say, a man who has been in numerous bad relationships. In a way, the relationship that we have to our country is very similar to those we have to or with real people. Imagine that the man has been in relationships where he’s been cheated on, manipulated, mentally abused, abandoned, ridiculed, and physically abused on a regular basis. When this man finally meets the love of his life, a partner who is understanding, caring, soft, giving – he becomes fearful. Not relieved. Fearful. Something doesn’t seem right. It doesn’t feel safe. What does he do? He provokes his partner until he evokes a reaction or behaviour that can make his subconscious say: Aha! I knew it! I knew you were like this too!
Let’s not allow ourselves to be defined by our collective traumas. They are, after all, what the collective ideals are rooted in.
I really think that Iran would benefit from having Reza Pahlavi as our representative. I think he’d be taken seriously by the West as well. It wouldn’t be appropriate for him to lead the country even if he wanted to, but luckily that’s not what he wants. The Pahlavi family has done immensely for Iran. And I believe this will be the final chapter of their legacy and contribution, and the first chapter of a new, transformed, matured Iran.
Some have said that we shouldn’t have this dialogue now and just focus on demonstrating, pressuring our politicians to take action, freeing the prisoners, preventing the hangings, and working to support those in Iran. They are of course, in may ways right. 19 500+ people have been jailed, 500+ been killed, and hundreds are at risk to get hanged. I’ve been walking through life as a zombie the last couple of months, at times breathing as if I too was in line for the gallows. But I really believe that this dialogue/debate is of utmost importance among us Iranians, both those of us in Iran and those of us in the diaspora. Because if we don’t succeed with something as “simple” as this we won’t succeed with any form of democracy.
An online petition advocating for Reza Pahlavi’s leadership did, over the course of a few days, receive nearly 400 000 signatures. If no other suggestions are made for a council or if he receives most support, there’s nothing more democratic than to give him the chance to unite the opposition: https://chng.it/xkdyfbGYyx
If you visit the page, please make sure to sign some of the petitions regarding Iran, such as:
https://www.change.org/p/g7-leaders-expel-iran-s-diplomats-demand-that-political-prisoners-be-freed
https://www.change.org/p/do-not-execute-mohammad-broghani
https://www.change.org/p/stop-execution-of-iranian-protesters
All the best and big hugs to all of you. Remember to take care of yourselves during these difficult times.
Nothing is constant except change.
Mahyar
2023-01-25
Putting Iran on the Divan 