As far as countries go and their complications, Iran's a perfect example, set in the cross roads of the world since ancient times it has been on the route from east to west. It has seen many an event in its long history, including invasions, wars, prosperous times and all that a country's history could wish for. Today she is on the brink of a new era, but just what that era is one is not sure of. My cousin sent me a perfect example of why I nor anyone else can predict what Iran is on the brink of experiencing. A piece written by Seyed Ebrahim Nabavi called Iranian Internationalism says a lot. I have also translated it into English below to give more context, but have not included the full piece for copyright reasons.
This fascinating writer sums up today's dilemma for Iranians:
Following a recent news piece announcing
so far 6500 Iranian businesses have been established in Dubai, an Iranian said:
"Us Iranians wake up in Tehran in the mornings. Our business and shopping
area is in Dubai. Our talent is discovered in Tehran, but our genius blossoms
in Europe. We go to France or London to study, but as we do not like to work
in Europe, we work in the USA. Any time we lose our job, we go to Central Europe
to claim unemployment benefit.
Our television programmes are broadcast from Los Angeles and watched in Khorram
Abad. We make our films in Iran's deserts, but we show them in Venice, Paris
and Berlin and win awards for them there.
In Cologne we support a republic and in Tehran monarchy; our most important
political articles are written in Evin, but read in Paris. From Washington we
become an election candidate, but we are not accepted in Tehran, so we boycott
elections in Berlin and in London we decide to have a referendum. In Holland
we become member of parliament and in Israel a president. In Tehran we disagree
with the government, in Iraq we fight with the government, but in Lebanon we
defend the government.
In Tehran we hold a rock concert, but our classical concert is loved by German
audiences in Frankfurt; in Ankara we go to Persian pop music concerts, but we
dance in Anatalya. In Canada we win the beauty competition. Our women's rights
are abused in Mashad, but we defend women's rights in Sweden.
Our crown prince lives in USA, our queen lives in a French town, our ex-president
lives in Paris, the head of our justice system was born in Iraq; in return Iraq's
Prime Minister lived many years in Iran and Israel's president was born in Iran.
We live in Iran, have fun in Turkey, make money in the USA and return to Iran
to die."
This is the story of how a nation has evolved and changed rapidly in the last 27 years. Iranians pioneered Islamic Revolutions and Islamic Republics, as well as taking extremism a level higher and into government. Partisan movements they made into organised armies with funding and training whilst they fought a bloody war against their fellow Muslims and Shias to gain nothing in the end. Nobody knows what they will offer the world next, the first country whose Messiah truly returns to earth, the first country to drive itself back the stone age or the first country in the region to welcome an American-led invasion. Everything is uncertain, the president who today defies Mr Bush may tomorrow stroll up and pat him on the back, yet he could have a knife in his hand at the same time! What is for sure however is that recent decades have completely changed the face of Iran, the Iranian faces and the faces that look at Iranians.
Whatever may be decided in the next few days and weeks regarding Iran's nuclear question is just one of the big issues the country faces. Yet, maybe finally it is time that at least some matters will be tackled and sorted out. Let us see, as we are all, Iranians, half-Iranians, friends of Iranians and non-Iranians all of us watching her keenly.
MaYa 11/03/06
Some notes on the above:
Khorram Abad - a city in Iran
Evin - Notorious Tehran prison, which holds many a criminal and most famously prisoners of conscience