Iran Awakening

When I was in Iran two years ago I was entranced by

Shiraz in May

The parks of Isfahan

And the snow covered peaks of the Alborz Mountains north of Tehran.

These are sights that Neda Agha-Soltan will never see again.

Gunned down in the prime of life, the 26 year old woman has become the symbol of the pro-democracy uprising in Iran. Her picture will haunt me for a long time.

As I traveled through Iran, I was told that “This regime has totalitarian tendencies” and “It needs to change, but we will do it. We don’t need your help”. The young, post revolution, generation is proud of Iran's long history of human rights, dating to Hammurabi, and democracy, dating to the early 20th century. They are resentful of the US over-throw of their Mossedegh led democratic government and support of the autocratic Shah. They are determined to make change happen. Convinced that they had changed the government and that the change has been stolen from them, they have risen up to demand the change.

The movement has been driven by the women, who have issues beyond the headscarf; issues of inheritance, divorce, testimony in courts and child custody that are real world issues. The women of Iran are strong and determined. As my guide said “These young girls are the regime’s worst nightmare.” The political leaders are running to get in front of a popular movement of the young and not so young urban elite and middle class.

All of this is exposing the fault lines in the ruling class. Some support the opposition and some support the conservative rural population and urban poor. Who will “win” is unclear. It will probably end with a compromise, unsatisfactory to everybody. What is clear is that Iran will be changed forever. The bond of trust between the people and their government has been broken. No longer will they do something just because the government says so. It won’t happen quickly. As Iran scholar Gary Sick said “This is not a sprint. It is a marathon.”

It is, however, an issue for the Iranians themselves to decide. President Obama is absolutely right to keep a low profile. Remember “We will do it. We don’t need your help.” The best thing that America can do is to keep this proud people, determined to make change, in our prayers.

If you want daily blow by blow of what is happening, including the “tweets” translated from Farsi, here is a good place. I don’t know when they sleep.