Sadly, my time in Europe is coming to an end.
I feel that I am leaving Marburg with a stronger sense of self, an appreciation for other cultures and a new found sense of pride in my home country. Of course, I am taking new friendships, memories and experiences from my time abroad home with me too.
Over the next week I will be finishing my German literature course, packing up my room and saying my goodbyes. I do not plan to blog more until I am back in the states.
Check out my pictures from Marburg at http://picasaweb.google.com/nemecse/Marburg#.
S.N.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Iran
On Tuesday, June 23, a candlelight vigil organized to show support for and raise awareness of the opposition in Iran. Many of my peers joined me, supporting our friend Fatemeh and her husband Hossein, whose friends and family currently live in Tehran and take part in the peaceful demonstrations which are often being met by police brutality and violence.
About thirty people met together in the town square for the vigil. The majority of those that attended were Iranian themselves. Many wore black in mourning for those who have died and green to show support for the opposition.
About thirty people met together in the town square for the vigil. The majority of those that attended were Iranian themselves. Many wore black in mourning for those who have died and green to show support for the opposition.
We sat around the fountain steps in the square, which was decorated with candles in red canisters, the type that are commonly used in memorials and church services. Gusts of wind kept blowing them out and people constantly tended them as they talked together quietly and sang songs in Persian. Posters in the shape of tombstones stood behind the flickering candles displaying the bloodied faces of Iranian protest victims.
After about two hours, the posters, candles and information booth were taken down. The permit had only allowed them to demonstrate for a certain amount of time. Some left but many stayed an in somber silence.
As I departed, a young Iranian women came up to my friends and I and gave us the white roses that had been surrounding a photo of Neda, a young Iranian woman whose death has become a symbol for the opposition movement. She thanked us for coming in English and went back to sit amongst the crowd.
I was touched by the kindness of her gesture, yet left feeling more helpless than ever. What could be done for these poor people? What could I do?
The following Saturday, I attended a protest rally outside the courthouse in Frankfurt. Thousands of people gathered around a stage in a sea of green, holding signs and chanting slogans in both German and Persian. Somehow among them we found Fatemeh and Hossein and they tied green steamers around our wrists and pinned green ribbons to our shirts. Many politicians spoke, songs were song in both English and Persian and an overwhelming feeling of solidarity was present throughout the afternoon.
I left Frankfurt that day full of a new appreciation for my country and sense of privilege for the freedoms that I have always known in the USA. The accounts of the injustices that the Iranian people have suffered seem so foreign and unreal to me. I can hardly fathom the existence of regime that feeds on the oppression of its own people.
As for the feelings of helplessness, they are something that I will have to come to terms with. As someone outside Iran, I can only keep myself educated on the situation and offer comfort to my Iranian friends until they too know the freedom that so many of us in the west take for granted.
S.N.
After the moment of silence, a police car drove up and asked if we had a permit for a public demonstration. After reading the documents, he drove away. How fortunate we are to live in such societies! Had a vigil such as this one been attempted in Iran, the attendees would face violence and imprisonment. This looped over and over in my head as I sat on the stone steps of the fountain, shielding my dripping candle.
After about two hours, the posters, candles and information booth were taken down. The permit had only allowed them to demonstrate for a certain amount of time. Some left but many stayed an in somber silence.
As I departed, a young Iranian women came up to my friends and I and gave us the white roses that had been surrounding a photo of Neda, a young Iranian woman whose death has become a symbol for the opposition movement. She thanked us for coming in English and went back to sit amongst the crowd.
I was touched by the kindness of her gesture, yet left feeling more helpless than ever. What could be done for these poor people? What could I do?
The following Saturday, I attended a protest rally outside the courthouse in Frankfurt. Thousands of people gathered around a stage in a sea of green, holding signs and chanting slogans in both German and Persian. Somehow among them we found Fatemeh and Hossein and they tied green steamers around our wrists and pinned green ribbons to our shirts. Many politicians spoke, songs were song in both English and Persian and an overwhelming feeling of solidarity was present throughout the afternoon.
I left Frankfurt that day full of a new appreciation for my country and sense of privilege for the freedoms that I have always known in the USA. The accounts of the injustices that the Iranian people have suffered seem so foreign and unreal to me. I can hardly fathom the existence of regime that feeds on the oppression of its own people.
As for the feelings of helplessness, they are something that I will have to come to terms with. As someone outside Iran, I can only keep myself educated on the situation and offer comfort to my Iranian friends until they too know the freedom that so many of us in the west take for granted.
S.N.
First image: The vigil in Marburg
Second image: "Freedom for Iran"
Third image: Protesters in Frankfurt
Fourth image: Fatemeh and I at the rally in Frankfurt
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