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Word on the streets of Tehran
Bellow is a direct word by word translation from eye witness acounts of the protest in Behest-e-Zahra, marking the tradition of 40th day of mourning, for those who have lost their lives in the past protests.
slogans:
“We are Neda, we are Sohrab, we are all one voice”
“Our Neda is not dead, it’s the government that is dead”
“Our shorab is not dead, its justice that is dead”
it was midnight and I wanted to write about what I had witnessed today. Its warm and the windows are open. Before I even begin to pick up my pen, I hear the voice of a man roaming the streets, singing: “Tonight, my mind is exhilarating ... tonight I have a light in my heart .... Tonight I am again soaring in the sky ... “ (Traditional oldies folk song)
I don’t know if this singer is trying to communicate a message to those slumbering at midnight or not. Maybe he was in Behesht-e-Zahra today and has placed a red rose on Neda’s tomb, and has expressed his anger through some slogans. Maybe like thousands others like him, agitated and excited, he has traveled from the cemetery to the main squares of the city, as he had been blinking away the burning of his eyes, had lit fires; had yelled “Down with Dictator”, our Neda is not dead, it’s the government that is dead”. Maybe he has tens of questions from witnessing all the happenings of today. Maybe he is experiencing a mix of revolutionary emotions along with worry and anxiety over the direction this wave is going to take.
I don’t know. But it seems to me I know the singer who now sings: “Tonight I am soaring the sky.” As if today like thousands others he has been by my side.
IRNA estimated the number of gatherers in Behesht-e-Zahra to be 2000 people. The non-Iranian media like Rouiter estimated the numbers to be several thousand. But what I saw was far above and beyond any of these counts.
Behesht-e-Zahra – 4 in the afternoon
There [are] waves of people, bringing along masses of roses, Tuberose and gladiolas. People have come to renew their vows with dear Neda and others who have scarified their lives for this uprising. They want to tell Neda that her blood has not been spilled in vein and they wont allow it to go to waste. In the massive plains of Behesht-e-Zahra thousands of young boys and girls have come alive. They shout slogans, they yell and they get into scuffles. It seems those in the upper management of the government have warned the riot police to be more cautious today. But when caution finally gives way, they attack women even more. They beat them and arrest them and the women fight back bravely. A young woman asks: “why are they attacking women so much?!”, a middle age woman answers: “ they are women haters.”
Mirhoussein (Mousavi, Ahmaidnejad’s rival) arrives with Zahra Rahnavard (his wife), surrounded by their body guards and the riot police who wont let them join the people. They leave soon after.
Karoubi (another Ahmadinejad rival) arrives. Waves a little to the people and asks them how they are. Departs soon.
They leave and the people stay. And so much so for the better.
A whisper is heard: “look at that one, that’s Hadi Ghafari !”
Some praise him openly. An fuming woman re-visits his actions: “what are you thinking? Why are you being influenced by the propaganda? Do you know who Hadi Ghaffari is? He was the leader of all the tugs and murderers of this government. He would gouge out the eyes of all the revolutionaries by his bare hands. You have risen up, you have had people murdered so that these criminals may come to power instead of Ahmadinejad?” For a little white there is only silence.
All the lines are completely disorganized. All kinds of slogans can be heard. When the riot police attack mostly you can hear Allah-o-Akbar, which has no influence on how violent the riot police acts out. When people feel a little safer, they call out “Death to Dictator” more. Or they shout out: “may you die Mojtaba (son of supreme leader of Iran, Khamenei) before you gain the leadership.” From here or there every once in a while the slogan “death to supreme leader” can be heard that those chanting Allah-o-Akbar try to drown it out.
The slogan “Tyrant Mahmoud, may you be roaming aimlessly” can also be heard again and again. The foreign media has translated this slogan as “Tyrant Mahmoud, may you be homeless” which had caused a lot of laughter among the youth, since “roaming aimlessly” is not the same as “being homeless” [writers note: my assumption is that this is a reference to how former Shah of Iran had to travel for many months from country to country when he left Iran after 1979 revolution as no country accepted him).
When the Riot police would attack and fire tear gas, the slogan: “ I will kill, I will kill the one who has killed my brother” can be heard very often. A woman commented: “this Slogan needs to be fixed and should not have a gender reference, Neda or Taraneh, were not men.”
Another woman said: “women in larger demonstrations should take off their head scarves. If they attacked us and asked us why we are doing that, we should tell them this is actually the reason we are coming into the streets.”
Another asked: “Do you know how many young people have been killed and are still hidden away? Now that one with connections to themselves has been killed (referring to Mohsen Roholamini ) they are exposing a bit of the news. Even between the sacrificed victims there are those who are preferred and non-preferred. “
From around 5 PM, people start leaving the graveyard and heading towards Mosallah (the designated mosque where the plan was for everybody to gather and commemorate the 40th day of all the killed victims’ passing. It was extremely busy in the metro station. The loud speaker announces again and again: “because of the extra ordinary number of people, obtain your tickets as soon as possible.” The distance between the two destinations (from Behesht-e-Zahra to Mossallah) is about 50 minutes by metro. Metro is under the control of the protestors. They yell slogans, sing revolutionary songs and everybody is in a discussion. Some slogans can be heard more than others:
“Death to dictator”
“Political prisoner should be released”
“We are Neda, we are Sohrab, we are all one voice”
“Our Neda is not dead, it’s the government that is dead”
“Tyrant Mahmoud, may you be roaming aimlessly”
“Ya Houssein, Mir Houssein” (comparing Hossein Moussavi’s first name to that of the revered third Imam of Shiat Islamic tradition in Iran)
Some shout: “ Not Gaza, not Lebanon, my life for my Iran”.
Someone says: “I didn’t even vote and I still go to all the events to support and strengthen the opposition movement.”
Someone else speaks up:” for now we should employ the tactic that we support Moussavi, till they are toppled over and then we can figure out what to do with all of them.”
Another answers:” That’s a dangerous tactic that will leave us as the biggest losers. Why don’t we just make it clear what we think of them and not use slogans that are against the whole government?”
Someone in the crowd begins to talk about those who have been sacrificed in the recent uprising. A voice calls up from a corner: “no one has been killed!” This causes instant rage and all with one voice yell: “death to those paid by the government!” and they pass along the pictures of some of the victims.
Metro lingers in the in between stops too long. People start to get angry and say: “ they don’t want us to get to Mosallah.” Someone yells:” pound on the doors! Stomp your feet! We have to reach the streets!” Every body does that and shouts slogans: “ Metro! Metro! Move! Down with dictator.” Then it becomes clear that metro is not planning on stopping at the Mosallah station. Everyone is discussion where people should get off.
We get off on a station and decide to go to “Valiasr square. In Karimkhan Street we see several groups of youth that with covered eyes were shouting slogans and running and fighting. In “Valiasr Street” we go north and join the mass of people who have specifically gathred at “Fatemi” and “Valiasr”. The street is covered in fire and smoke. There is heavy traffic and the honking horns from cars are reaching the sky.
Plain clothed tugs with covered faces and batons are walking around cars and as pretend to act as traffic police whenever they can, they break the cars’ windows. A group shouts: “the blood that runs in our veins, is a gift to our people, “ and “what happened to the oil revenue? It was spent on the basijis.”
From the entrance to “Yushef abad”, groups of plain clothed government agents and those riding motorcycles launch a heavy attack on the protestors. People suddenly vanish like water disappearing in the cracked soil of desert. Houses along the streets have given refuge to the people. After a few minutes again people gather.
We enter another street, “Takhte Tavous”. From far we can see massive flames. Several garbage cans are burning in the middle of the street. Someone says: “look, its like Hell! “ and another says: “its feels more like Heaven than Hell!”
People exchange information and news about other parts of the city. One says, I was in Mosallah and this and that happened. Another says I have come from “Yousef abad” and this and that happened. Everyone is smiling and happy. No one is frightened. More than the days before, people look straight into the agent’s eyes and tell them off. Late into the night again we head for “Karimkhan.” There is still a lot of anxiety in the air, even though there are now less people around. But its like everyone is waiting for something to happen, or as if all wait for a leader to tell them where to go and what to do. Cars full of government agents are moving one after another in long lines. The faces of their passengers are tired and drained. People ask each other: “where are they going?” someone laughs and says: “perhaps there is a big commotion somewhere. We should follow them so they will show us the way themselves.”
So today, the gathering that was meant to be silent and just about remembering and prayer turns into a big political rally full of tension and unrest.
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A collection of videos as they relate to the translated text above.
March in Behesht-e-Zahra 1 (Slogans: Iranian will die, will not accept humiliation, also: Ya Hossein, mir Hossein - refering to Hossein Mousavi)
March in Behesht-e-Zahra 2 (Slogans: with reliance on God we will be victorious, Down with this government that fools the people, also: coup government, resign, resign)
Karoubi makes a appearance at Behesht-e-Zahra
Hadi Ghafari appears in Behesht-e-Zahra (Slogans: Viva Ghafari, also: Today is the day of mourning, the Iranian that cares is mourning"
On the metro - trip from Behesht-e-Zahra to Mosallah
On the way from and to Metro, Tehran (shouting: Death to dictator)
After Bahesht-e-Zahara, when people move into the streets (ValiAsr street, police shoots into the people)
People shout slogans: "Today is the day of mourning, the Iranian that cares is mourning"
Tugs on motorbikes moving through streets near Mosallah