White Balloon

Daily Journal of Mahaan, an Iranian-American student residing in USA.

Friday, June 24, 2005

The End (Beginning)

It's over. Ahmadnejad is the winner (!) and the president.

I guess many of us Iranians were scared of seeing this dark day. But now we're literally living in it. We all created it one way or the other. So let's face it and learn from it.

Election?!

1.This is not an election. It's clearly a power fight. Apparently the vote of people is a secondary factor and practically the one with bigger financial and military muscles is going to rule.

2. No voting in LA today. Last week the anti-regime protesters close down the vote station and apparently they have called off the vote in LA for this week.

To vote or not to vote?!

Whatever choice I pick in this runoff election (bastard, Less bastard, boycott), I'm aligning myself with some groups that one week ago were totally out of my mindset and I could never see myself in aliance with them.

It's midnight here in LA and the voting has already started in Iran. And I'm confused which of the three shits I should align myself with!

What a dark week!

Sunday, June 19, 2005

Rafsanjani Strikes back!

I hate to be a conspiracy theorist, but as the time passes and I see the flow of events, I'm getting quite suspicious about the rise of Ahmadinejad. Isn't this a plot to destroy the independet voice of reform and bring back everyone to support Hashemi Rafsanjani? I see a very strange sets of emotional reactions from the ellite circles and political activist circles that are competing with each other to support Hashemi with no reservation! What's this guys? I wish this runoff election was at least 2 weeks later that these naive guyes would have thought a little bit more about their reactions, negotiations and what we are going through. From the trends of these events, it seems to me that the regime is using Ahmadinejad and his military gang as a beast to scare people and insure its control with a high support for Hashemi. Apparently we, the people of Iran are bunch of hostages that should stick to Hashemi, scared from bunch of militarist beasts like Ahmadnejad. This is a terrible period in the history of my country.

Saturday, June 18, 2005

That Scary Sound!

Confused! Disappointed and Angry!
The election boycott killed the reform in Iran.
I'm worried about future days of my country. I hear the sounds of military boots!

Friday, June 17, 2005

Election day

Still in work, haven't voted yet. Tought to get anything done today. I'm going to face some of the anti-regime demonstrators in the polling station in LA. Some Iranian colleagues say that 4 years ago, some of the demonstrators physically attacked voters! At the end, they had to close the polling station, because the hotel that was being used as the polling place, was literally loosing business. What's this type of behaviour? Fight for democracy in Iran?

From what I have read on some of the Iranian blogs, the turnout is fairly good (about %60). The surprise is in the performance of Ahmadi Jejad who is the mayor of Tehran and is known as the most radical right wing candidate, belonging to the basiji militias... apparently he's standing in the third place after Moin and Hashemi.

Most of the blogs say Dr. Moin seems to be leading the polls, but none of these seems very reliable to met yet.

If you can read Farsi, Shargh Newspaper of Tehran and also Gooya News have a good coverage on the latest news.

Presidential Election in Iran (6)

Today is the day. Definitely an important day. Tough to know where does it stand in our long struggle for justice and equality in our country! As usual, it's difficult to predict our people. Like our football, we are a nation of 90th minute.

I'll vote today. Despite my frustrations and disappointments about the political structure of my country! I vote, because I have inheritted a revolution, a political battlefield after it and 8 years of war and millions of dead bodies. I vote because I inherited a country that lost thousands of smart women and men who fled after each phase of those battles. A country which has historically lost its intellectual and financial capitals because of emtional political develoments.
In the past 8 years I have learned that developments do not come easily in my country and my region. Therefore I don't dream about the outcome of this election and my favorite reformist government.
I vote today because I love my country, but I also believe that most of those who don't vote today love Iran as much as me, simply with a different perspective about it politics.

Let's see if we can win against our history this time and be patient with a terribly slow, but progressive political development in our country.

PS: I wrote this post, when around me it was crowded. Probably it's quit messy.

Friday, June 10, 2005

Presidential Election in Iran (5)

One week till the election. The question that keeps blinking in my mind: Should I vote for Dr. Moin or should I boycott this election and give up with the current reform move in Iran?
Me, an Iranian living far from home! Definitely with different dilemas, expectations and opportunities. But certainly an Iranian who have been given the right to vote. Ironically in LA!

For making up my mind, I have to look back. I have to think where we were and where we are and where we like to be. I look at the years that have past. I look back to the enthusiasm of 1997 when we were extremely optimist about Khatami. I look back to the hopes of 2001 when I convinced some friends that reform is the single chance that we have for our country. So much is changed, both inside Iran and outside. Failure of political developments at home, September 11th, Invasion of Iraq and the sad story of continuous violence. And the continous distorted story of democracy! Oh, I want to puke this word: democracy these days. How the information sphere is so distorted. In this distortion of discourse, how can I judge properly about what's going in my country and what's the right choice.

One thing is clear, that the election is crucial this time, as it was 8 years. With George W in white house, we're going to face though times, no matter who wins this election. What I hear from those who advocate boycott is mainly frustration, but not really any solution.
I don't know Dr. Moin that much, but I know him enough to look at hime with a bit of respect. In this political madness of Iran, he is some how brave to walk into a competition where each branch of mafia has one representative. He was brave to come and talk to a truly frustrated population about reform and patience. About a movement with an ex termly slow pace. This is a population who has been trashing Khatami over the past 1-2 years.

To be honest with you, I don't see that much of difference between Khatami and Moin. So we're practically choosing between Khatami's idea of reform vs. boycotting the regime and believing that reform is in its dead end in this regime! But what does that mean? What does the boycotting mean here? Am I pushing for another revolution? Does our society have the capacity of a peaceful revolution? Is there any small evidence that things won't be similar to the shit that we went through after 1979? If mullah's killed any non-islamic political activist based on fabricated court proceedings, how can I be sure that tomorrow the same thing does not happen to all the islamist? Can we truly afford another departure of billions of dollars (like the last revolution). Frankly, I see the internal social tensions of my countrymen more than what it was like in 1979.

I look around me and look at the potentials that I see in the wide range of Iranian political organizations that are active somewhere around the globe. How many of them even have serious understanding about our people, their dreams and their wounds. Which one of this groups can act truly democratically if it has the power? Mujahedin? Pahlavis? radical leftist groups in Europe? I don't have any hope about the political groups outside iran... Then I go back to Iran! What do I have there? Is that what I really want? or should I simply settle for the less, simply because that's the rule of the third world?

The question keeps blinking in my mind! Maybe I should look more to where we were, are and want to be...

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Football :)

OK, for the first time I feel Iranian football is showing some sort of a logical (vs. emotional) performance. Iran qualified to the world cup today. Unlike last time that all the good things came together in the last minute, the team did a smooth job from the start.

Among other developments in this football match was the intelligent move of the women who went to the staidum today and finally got their way in to the staidum. Apparently the taboo (of women presense in men's game) is breaking. Check out their photos.

The fairly open preelection atmosphere of the country allows some quality street celebrations. Check out the photos: 1, 2, 3, 4.
Isn't the young population amazing?!

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

We Iranians ...

"We Iranian are people who always know what we don't want. But we usually don't know what we want!"

Elaheh Koulai, The spokewoman for Dr. Moin's presidential campaign.

Friday, June 03, 2005

one more night!

Still alive but extremely tired and busy!
 
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