Today’s main theme: depression. It was inevitable. A week of unusual levels of stress and insecurity, insomnia, paralysis in an upside-down life and uncertainty about its future, topped with violence and its terrible ramifications, usually does that to the human mind. The only good news I’ve received is that everyone around is okay. Calls started coming in late last night from the missing members of our group reporting no major damage, given the circumstances. Three people had been hit by teargas, one was beaten in the back and legs (not severely), one had a dislocated joint (located now), four were unscathed, and all of them managed to run away, were feeling fine and staying at home or with friends. Tohid had indeed turned into a war zone. Did I say Tohid? Sorry I meant Tehran. I won’t get into the details. I’m sure you’re getting your news elsewhere. I’ll just mention that unfortunately and naturally, most of the images that get out depict what goes on in the country at daytime, but we have a nightlife too. Some of last night’s battles had gone on for quite a length, into the early hours of morning.
It is impossible to say how many lost their lives last night, how many were injured and how many arrested. Given the media blackout, the numbers reported up to now by foreign outlets are those announced by the official Iranian media, which are ten dead according to one, thirteen according to another, and around one hundred injured. If you want my advice, to get the accurate data, multiply those numbers by any number you like.
Luckily, I wasn’t the only one who was down this morning. It was my neighbors too, and their neighbors, passers-by, drivers, friends, co-workers, store owners, family, bank clerks, delivery boys, telephone operators, and I’m sure I must be missing a few. It may have just been my desire for everyone to be depressed, projected on their faces, but no, wait a minute…I talked to them too. Heavy depression in the morning went to mild in the afternoon and light at night, and by the time the “Allah-o-Akbar” session was over I was back to normal. I think we may have found a solution to depression, thanks to the Iranian elections. Perhaps this is what the government meant by saying that their plan was best for the country: they have been looking for a cure for depression. So toss out the Zolofts and Prozacs. The solution is very simple too: put a depressed person among a few million others and soon a sense of solidarity emerges in them, gives them solace, and within sixteen hours the depression is gone. Repeat if necessary.
There were reports of rallies and scuffles breaking out here and there today, but if they existed they must have been scattered and short-lived. Most of what we did was to scout the hot-spots and watch legions of riot police and equipment mobilizing in empty streets. One of the scouts received a kick in the belly for wearing black. The rest of the evening was about sitting and waiting, thinking and going nuts.
I’m every bit afraid of history repeating itself in this case. Iranians have gone through many uprisings and overhauls in their history, and unfortunately in most of them we haven’t had a clear idea of what we want and how to plan for it. We’re good at knowing what we don’t want, which is not enough, and every time, the masses risk losing momentum to behind-the-scenes power politics, until a group emerges and molds the system to its own liking. All this comes at a heavy cost to the people. I’m not in a position to draw a map of what is going on behind the curtains of power; who is backstabbing who and who is teaming up with whom. Maybe this coup was about thwarting another coup, but we now find ourselves in a perilous situation, with a government calling its own people terrorists, beating them into submission, killing them en masse, silencing lead opposition figures, blaming the unrest on foreign governments and the MEK, while we have no idea what is really going on. Does this sound familiar to anyone?
The opposition camp’s actions have been smart until now. But most of what has been done so far was for gaining momentum. They’ve taken Imam Hossein, Allah-o-Akbar, the color black, and now martyrdom from the conservatives, but it is time to produce results. The trouble is that with a forceful government and the recent violence, the dynamics of the game have changed and many may now start to think about what they are fighting for. Changing tactics, such as going underground and setting up strikes, which we have been hearing today, is an important factor now, but with scattered leadership and a crippled organization, it will be ineffective.
I’m tired and rambling. One more thing: Many are now waiting for a jolt from the single most important entity whose support has played a decisive role in the success or failure of many movements: The Bazar.