One of the enduring images from the protests in Iran (photo: faramarz)

There’s an old story from The Arabian Nights that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. It tells the story of an ox and a donkey and is one of the stories that comes from the original texts, unlike other stories (like Aladdin and Sinbad) which were added later. It’s told by the vizier to his daughter, Shahrazad, to warn her not to marry the King, but it’s really a warning about what manipulation can cost you in the end.

Once there was a wealthy merchant who lived with his wife and children in the countryside and tended to a farm. He had many servants and workers who helped to make the farm prosperous and Allah had given the merchant a great gift: knowledge of the language of animals, although no one else could know of his gift under punishment of death. And so one day the merchant sat with his wife and children and heard an ox and donkey talking while they fed.

The ox, tired from his hours of ploughing the fields and bleeding from where the ploughman’s whip had split his side, said how he envied the comfort of the donkey, resting all day and feeding from a full, clean trough. The donkey, who thought himself clever and wise, turned to the ox and said that he should not exhaust himself for others; instead he told the ox to feign being sick and refuse his beans until they took pity on him. Life would be kinder to him afterward.

The ox thought this was good advice and thanked the donkey profusely. And so the next morning, when the ploughman led him away to the fields, the ox stumbled. His legs would not carry him; no matter how many times the ploughman tried to urge him on, the ox kept falling and lagging behind. That night when the ox was tied to his trough, he slept without eating. And in the morning when the ploughman returned, he found the ox lying on his back with all four legs raised in the air. He pitied the animal and immediately told his master. The merchant, knowing what had happened, told him to take the donkey to plough the fields instead. So it was that the ploughman took the donkey and put him to work, driving him with the fierce crack of the whip until his side bled and his neck was flayed and his ears drooped in exhaustion. Meanwhile the ox rested and ate, giving thanks for the donkey’s advice.

Finally, at nightfall, the donkey returned from the fields. The ox rose to thank the donkey for taking his place but the donkey ignored him, he was so angry. ‘All this happened to me because of my miscalculation,’ the donkey thought to himself. ‘I would be sitting pretty if not for my curiosity. If I don’t find a way to return the ox to his former station, I will perish.’ He went to lie down, scheming, while the ox continued to thank him and Allah for his good fortune.

Thousands gather in Isfahan in a rally to support Mousavi (photo: faramarz)

Like everyone I’ve been following the events in Iran closely this past week and I suppose it’s because I’ve always liked allegories that that story has stuck in my mind. It’s not hard to see the protesters as the ox, desperate for change, and the Iranian authorities as the donkey, more concerned with their own self-interests. It’s probably also because I’ve always interpreted this story a little differently than other people; where most people see the donkey as trying to help the ox (at least at first), I think he was just trying to show how clever he was, believing he was more important than all of the other animals. That was the donkey’s miscalculation; he overreached and lost his position. That’s true of Iran as well; the authorities are still clinging to the old ways, even when for many people the old ways are gone.

I think that’s why the protesters are so angry, that unwillingness to adapt when society is moving forward, and I admire what the protesters are doing. It’s believed that more than two-thirds of Iran’s population is under the age of 30; these are people my age, standing up for a cause they believe in, and challenging not just their government and supreme leader but their very social system. For that they are being shot at, beaten, arrested, killed; and still they manage to get news out to the world; still the cries of Allahu Akbar ring out each night. I can only imagine the courage they’re showing; to go from being afraid to hold hands in public to openly defying Ayatollah Khamenei, just a few weeks ago it would have been unthinkable. But the crackdown is getting much more violent and I fear it will only get worse again in the coming days.

What is happening now in Iran is inexcusable. Whether the election was stolen or not (and we may never know for certain, although there is mounting evidence, as the Washington Post alleged), no government should turn its forces on its own people, let alone on unarmed innocents involved in a peaceful protest. Suppressing ideas doesn’t make them go away; they are only forced underground to spread in different ways. The use of force only shows the true colours of the Iranian government and what little respect it has for its own people. The world is watching events unfold and while that may mean little to the authorities, their actions won’t soon be forgotten.

Much of what’s happening reminds me of Tiananmen Square. Not just the scale of the protests and the demand for change but the students and intellectuals forming the core of the rallies, the role of new media in spreading news as it breaks – with faxes and mobile phones in Tiananmen, with the Internet and social networking in Iran. It’s becoming a similar standoff that neither side seems willing to budge from; but no matter what happens with the crackdown, you get the feeling that culturally Iran has passed a point of no return, whether the authorities admit it or not.

A fire burns in the streets of Tehran after a rally to support Mousavi (photo: faramarz)

What’s been interesting about the protests is how the demands of the protesters have evolved as the situation has deepened. There was an interesting commentary by William Pfaff last week, during the start of the mass rallies, which offered a good analysis of what the protests were about at that time. It was what I felt as well. Watching the protests and following the tweets from Iran, it didn’t feel like the movement was a threat to the Islamic Republic itself; some figures in the government (like Ahmadinejad and others allied with the Revolutionary Guard) were under threat but what was being challenged by Mousavi and his supporters was more the form the system had taken in the last decade than the system itself.

It stated as more of a revolt about the role the Islamic system should have in modern society, and the main issues for the protesters were the legitimacy of the election and the points the opposition had contested the election on – mainly democratic freedom, for young people to be able to enjoy more individual and personal freedom without fear of reprisal. The debate was as much about reform within the system as democracy.

But as the crackdown has escalated and the bloodshed and outrage have spread, the demands have intensified. Now the protesters want justice for the dead as well as democratic freedom and they are defiant, resurrecting the chants from the 1979 revolution and even calling for the death of Ayatollah Khamenei, a man who has been untouchable in Iran for 20 years.

Likewise there are signs of cracks appearing in the system as some of the senior clerics are divided. Today Grand Ayatollah Montazeri warned that the continued suppression of the protesters would create frustrations which could lead to the overthrow of the government and endanger the Islamic Republic. Though a critic of Khamenei, Montazeri is considered the highest authority of Shi’ite Islam in Iran and his word carries considerable weight.

That the protests have evolved this far in such a short time is remarkable. I still don’t think another revolution in Iran is likely – I’ve yet to see the protests reach the kind of critical mass amongst the rest of Iran’s populace for that to be possible and given the reliance upon state-run media, it’s unlikely that will happen – but that it even seems like it could be possible, after so many years of repression, is more than anyone could have predicted. The supreme leader and the government have been challenged in a way that has severely damaged their authority and, regardless of what happens, Iran won’t be the same.

A man bleeding after the violent crackdown on protesters (photo: faramarz)

How much longer the government will allow that divide to be visible, though, is unknown. The crackdown is already taking a toll on the opposition movement and it’s feasible that a further push by security forces could seriously damage it; there were reports of smaller crowds recently but of particularly brutal clashes near parliament, while others who have been arrested have reportedly recanted after being threatened and one former presidential candidate has also withdrawn complaints he made about the electoral process. Some people, like the New York Times’ Roger Cohen, are calling it the end of the first phase of the uprising and given the overwhelming forces the protesters are now facing, you’d have to think he’s right.

I think whatever happens the opposition movement will survive in some form and the culture in Iran will gradually begin to shift (as I said, you can’t suppress an idea when it has spread to so many people), but in the short term the protesters will have to change their tactics. Their only option now is a more cautious approach and to remain unified; they have to clearly distinguish between what they and the authorities stand for and they need to be prepared for a war of attrition. That may mean calling for national strikes, overwhelming the bazaars, and abandoning many of the symbols that have come to be associated with the protest to become less identifiable.

In the end the only way for a movement to have any success against an oppressive regime is to fully commit to a prolonged campaign of non-violence, to not engage the regime on their terms. That means knowingly placing themselves and their families in danger day after day and finding new ways to protest, and that takes immense courage and perseverance. But some in the opposition, like former President Khatami, seem to have recognised that if they’re to continue then that has to be the next phase. Facing overwhelming force, it’s either that or back down.

Riot police watch over a group of protesters in Tehran (photo: faramarz)

I think that’s why it’s important that the rest of the world continues to show its support as well. The gestures of solidarity, particularly on Twitter and Facebook, have been overwhelming during the last week and have also been helping to keep people informed. Some people have been deriding that as largely meaningless but I don’t agree. While I agree it’s a simple thing to change an avatar or post a comment, for most people the gesture means something more; it shows people standing together and saying that you’re not alone, that your rights matter as much as ours.

But it will become even more important if the protests wear on. No protest, no matter how significant, can produce real social change in 12 days; the civil rights movement didn’t change attitudes in days, nor did South Africa overcome apartheid in weeks. Real change takes time and there will be times when the protesters will need to know the world hasn’t forgotten them. It’s important that we don’t. While the world is watching Iran, there’s still some hope for a resolution and an end to the violence.

It’s also important, though, that we are responsible and don’t lose our judgement. I’ve seen people on blogs and Twitter blaming Islam for what’s happening in Iran, which is totally unacceptable and reminds me of the ignorant reaction after 9/11. I’ve also seen people demonising those who disagree with them. We need to remember that while what the authorities are doing is terrible and there are serious questions about the legitimacy of the election, there will still have been millions of people who voted legitimately for Ahmadinejad. If this is a truly democratic movement, those people also deserve to have a voice and don’t deserve to be shouted down by Westerners. Likewise we (both individuals and governments) need to be careful not to directly interfere in the democratic process that’s taking place; we can support the protesters and condemn the violence, certainly, but the future is in the hands of the Iranian people; we’re just observers.

And if we truly care about democracy, we also need to remember that there are other injustices in the world as well. I wonder how many people are also aware of Liu Xiaobo’s arrest in China or know the full details about the protests in Peru which are also happening at the moment? At least 50 people have been killed and over 100 injured so far, although the death toll could be far higher. The indigenous people of the Amazon are one of the oldest civilisations of the Americas and they have been exploited throughout history. It’s hard to believe it’s happening again. But it barely makes news.

A young woman flashes a green victory sign (photo: faramarz)

I’m not sure what will happen next in Iran. I still hope it may reach a more peaceful resolution, with either a new election or a compromise, but after the violence has escalated I’m not at all optimistic. I also think the one thing that is making it difficult for the Iranian government to put down the protest is the world’s attention and I’m concerned that our interest will wane over time, as it has with other issues. If that happens then the situation really might become another Tiananmen.

For what it’s worth, though, I want to add my voice to those supporting the protesters and condemning the violence. I’m just one person, one voice, but I believe that democracy and freedom are universal rights and I’ll always stand with people to defend them.

I am also planning to write to the Australian government to urge them to accept protesters and their families into the Australian embassy in Tehran. There were reports during the bloody June 20 protest that the Australian embassy gave aid to protesters but there’s been no confirmation from our government. Personally I think it’s the least we can do.

Click on an image to download from Flickr

If anyone would like to show their support as well, I’ve made some badges which you can put on your blog. I wanted something which I could use more long-term than the Twitter avatars.

There is also a petition at Avaaz if you want to do something more practical, and several sources from within Iran are asking people to write to the United Nations to request a new election for Iran. Amnesty International is also urging people to write to the Iranian Ambassador in their own countries.

There is also a Bloggers Unite event planned next week, to help raise awareness about the situation and offer support for a free Iran. I’ll be taking part in it (I’ll most likely be writing a poem) and have done a couple of these before. If you’d like to take part, it’s a great way to show your support.

Bloggers Unite for a Free Iran: Monday June 29th

I thought I’d finish with one of my favourite videos from YouTube. It’s a cover of Stand By Me by singers from many different countries and is part of a multimedia project called Playing for Change, which promotes peace and understanding around the world through music.

I think it’s something we could all use at the moment.

If there’s one good thing about having insomnia it’s that when something happens in the world, you get to see it at the same time as everyone else. Early yesterday morning, while most Australians were still fast asleep, I experienced a moment in history I’ll never forget.

To see an African American in the White House is an amazing thing; it’s not just what it represents for the civil rights movement and how far America has come but also for disadvantaged people around the world. It’s no less than the power to dream, for a child to believe they can grow up to be anything they want to be. It’s a day I was not sure I would see and I’m happy I have.

What struck me watching the scenes from Washington was how joyous they were. When Obama won the election there was an outpouring of emotion, like all the emotions that had been restrained for so long were suddenly bursting forth. But this was different. This was like a celebration and perhaps nothing showed that better than seeing two million people huddled together in the freezing cold, waiting in anticipation. It was an amazing sight.

I’ve never seen crowds like that. The conditions must have been awful and the lines looked like they stretched back for kilometres but they weren’t ideologues or the Democratic faithful; they were just ordinary people who had been touched by Obama’s message and wanted to be a part of history. That’s what was so moving, particularly during Obama’s speech.

The other thing that was interesting was seeing the surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen from World War II. For so long they had fought against the discrimination that had held them back, trying to prove they could fly as well as any other man, and to see them there, with the pilot of the plane that crashed into the Hudson River, for me highlighted what this moment meant. Seeing two different eras of pilots who once would have been separated by so many divisions being honoured together shows how far America has come.

Of course Obama’s election is at best a stepping stone. It doesn’t end racism; it doesn’t fulfil the dream of Martin Luther King so many years ago. Racism might never be something we can truly be free of, only marginalise. What this moment represents instead is another step forward, another step towards tolerance. And the example it sets for the rest of the world and the hope it gives to minorities is something words cannot describe. For myself, it gives me the belief that I can be more than I am, and gives me hope that one day we will have moved past some of the divisions in Australia as well.

Personally I am hopeful that Obama will be a good president. The world needs stable leadership right now and he seems to be making the right signs but he faces a difficult task with the economy and two wars. But I was impressed by his speech; I thought he struck the right balance between responsibility and optimism. I hope he will be able to bring people together and end some of the division and from an Australian point of view, I hope our relationship continues to grow. Israel & Palestine remain in my thoughts as well.

For me, though, it isn’t about that right now. It’s about this moment in time and I think it transcends your race, political persuasion or where you live in the world. There were over two billion people watching Obama’s inauguration worldwide and watching the crowds and celebrations in Washington, it again reminded me of the moon landing and the fall of the Berlin Wall, events which united all of us together as one. Right now I don’t feel like an Australian but a citizen of the world and I’m glad I was able to watch it live.

I thought I’d post a video to mark the occasion as well. During the civil rights movement We Shall Overcome became a key anthem played at rallies and festivals. I can’t think of a more appropriate song to mark the moment. This is Bruce Springsteen’s version, a tribute to Pete Seeger.

Congratulations to President Obama. Now the hard work begins.

I was five years old when the Berlin Wall fell. I have few memories of it happening but I do remember some of the scenes; the crowds flooding the checkpoints, the sections finally coming down. I’ve often wondered what it must have felt like at the time, to watch history unfold.

Now I think I know.

Seeing Barack Obama win yesterday is something I will always remember. If you had asked me a year ago if I thought Obama could be elected President of the United States, I would have said no. There were too many divisions; too many obstacles to overcome. And then it happened; Obama won.

I know the election of one man changes little; there is still racism and bigotry in the world and perhaps there always will be. But it’s a step forward and what it means for African Americans and minorities around the world is something words cannot truly describe… it’s the culmination of a dream and just like the Berlin Wall, it’s a moment that will live forever.

For Australia it brings the promise that perhaps things can change here as well. I have long hoped that one day we will have come far enough to have an Aboriginal Prime Minister, that immigrants and minorities will be more readily accepted and the divisions that caused the Cronulla Riots will be healed.

Today that hope doesn’t seem as far away.

I don’t know what kind of president Obama will be but I know this moment is one I will always remember; the scenes in Chicago, the tears at rallies and on the streets. It’s a piece of history. I feel privileged to have watched it unfold.

Don’t you love a good quote? I know I do. I have several books of quotations and I’m always reading them. I use quotes with my writing and whenever I need inspiration, there’s always a gem waiting to be found.

With the US election and the state of the economy, I thought it seemed like a good time to post some of my favourite quotes. Somehow I think we’ll learn more by looking at history than by listening to Joe the Plumber.

Hope you enjoy them. Do you have a favourite quote to share?

* * * * * *

It is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be.
~ Isaac Asimov

I have no romantic feelings about age. Either you are interesting at any age or you are not. There is nothing particularly interesting about being old — or being young, for that matter.
~ Katharine Hepburn

Economic growth without social progress lets the great majority of people remain in poverty, while a privileged few reap the benefits of rising abundance.
~ John F. Kennedy

You know what I like best about looking at the stars? Not the stars themselves, but all those empty spaces between the stars… that’s where I can imagine infinity.
~ T.A. Barron

The personal life deeply lived always expands into truths beyond itself.
~ Anaïs Nin

One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach. One can collect only a few, and they are more beautiful if they are few.
~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh

The highest use of capital is not to make more money, but to make money do more for the betterment of life.
~ Henry Ford

The library is the temple of learning, and learning has liberated more people than all the wars in history.
~ Carl Rowan

Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow; Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead; Walk beside me, and just be my friend.
~ Albert Camus

Where they make a desert, they call it peace.
~ Tacitus

I’ve been watching a lot of the Olympic coverage from Beijing this week. To be honest I’m not sure what to make of it all. So far the Games themselves have been good; the events have been much closer than in recent years and Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt have been outstanding. It’s a moment of great national pride for China and seeing their citizens happy and excited before the opening ceremony is something I’ll remember, even if some of it felt forced.

Yet I still feel uncomfortable about it. I was opposed to China hosting the Games when it was announced; I felt awarding the Games to China with its human rights record sent the wrong message. 7 years on I still feel the same way and there have been few signs of change, despite China’s assurances. What surprises me, though, is that many of the stadiums seem half-empty. Perhaps that’s the ticket prices or the security, I’m not sure, but with such excitement about the Games empty seats are the last thing I expected.

The security in particular bothers me and it just doesn’t feel like the Olympic Games… but perhaps I’m being unfair. I still remember the Sydney Games so well and it’s not a fair comparison. Sydney’s were the last innocent Games, before 9/11. The security in China is harsh but it’s a different world now. With the exception of allowing protests I’m not sure Sydney would be all that different if we were hosting the Games in 2008, not after APEC.

But the Games themselves have been excellent and they’ve brought back a lot of memories from Sydney. What I remember best about the Sydney Games is the feeling that surrounded them. The Games felt like our moment to shine, to show what hosting a truly global event meant to us. The torch relay was an example of that. It passed through many small countries first and when it finally reached Sydney, it was amazing! It passed right outside our street; the roads were five deep with people cheering and waving flags. It was an amazing moment and something I’ll always cherish.

When I think back to the Sydney Games it’s really a few moments I remember best; they went by so quickly that everything else is something of a blur. Like the opening ceremony. I remember a lot of dancing and horses and Cathy Freeman lit the cauldron at the end, which was spectacular, but if you asked me what it was about, I couldn’t say. I remember it was quite a strange feeling, though, watching the Games begin. We’d spent seven years waiting for them and watching them begin felt more like a dream than reality.

The Games were wonderful and I had my sixteenth birthday during them. We had pavlova and watched Susie O’Neill win a silver medal. Not a bad day at all! The moment we all remember is when Cathy Freeman won gold in the 400 m. Everyone was cheering for her and when she won, it was like a moment of healing. After all our history with indigenous Australians, Cathy helped to bring us together and when she carried both the Australian and Aboriginal flags, it was a wonderful moment. Earlier this year our PM gave the first apology to indigenous Australians; it would not have happened without Cathy Freeman.

There are other moments I remember fondly too but what really sticks in my mind is Eric Moussambani’s race. Eric came from Equatorial Guinea; he had never even seen an Olympic-sized pool before and could barely swim. But just as the race was about to begin, his competitors were disqualified and Eric was left to swim the whole race by himself! He was cheered on by 17,000 people and was given a bigger cheer at the end than any of the medallists. If that’s not what the Olympics are all about, what is?

Seeing Michael Johnson defend the 400 m and watching Kieren Perkins in his last race were also highlights. But finally the Games came to an end and it was a bittersweet feeling. We felt very proud but we had spent so long preparing for the Games and they had become such an industry (creating jobs, stimulating the economy) that it was strange to think they were over. But it was a great celebration as well. When Samaranch said that the Games were the “best ever”, it felt like this huge validation; like it had all been worth it in the end.

Looking back now I think we had this idea that the Olympics were going to change how we were perceived overseas, that they’d show the “real” Australia people never saw. But hosting the Games actually changed very little; they didn’t even make a profit, they were so expensive to run. What they did instead was to give us a new confidence. For two weeks the world had seen how proud we were of our country and the legacy of the Games is not that they were successful but that they helped to pave the way for the Australia we want to become. That’s something you can’t put a price on.

So I think I understand what the Chinese people must be feeling right now. The Games are almost over and it must be a proud moment for them, but also a sad one as it’s coming to an end. So far the Games have been good and they should be proud of that… but I still can’t help but feel that it’s come at a cost. I mean, just yesterday I read about a story where two women in their late 70s were sentenced to “re-education through labor” for seeking permission to protest in the zones China had set up for the Games. How are two elderly women a threat to the Chinese authorities?

While I don’t believe the Games are the right place to make a protest and that should be respected, I think the IOC’s silence on this is remarkable and that’s what I’m getting at. It awarded the Games to China with assurances from the authorities that they would improve human rights and that simply has not happened. The IOC’s silence is emboldening them. If the IOC goes on to name these the best games ever as is customary, it’ll be a farce.

Maybe I’m in the minority; maybe the Olympics are sacrosanct. But I think some things are more important than sport. What I want to take away from these Games are memories of a stunning opening ceremony; of Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt, Rafael Nadal and Leisel Jones; of the best athletes coming together in unity… instead what I will remember is an Olympics overshadowed by issues far greater than sport. I find that very sad.

I wonder what you think about all this? I’d be interested to find out.

Update: Just saw the closing ceremony. Jacques Rogge called the Games “truly exceptional”. I suppose they were. But they’ll still be remembered for different reasons than the athletes on display, whether the IOC admits it or not. At least seeing Jimmy Page was fun.