Neda Is Dead. But Could This Be The Birth Of A New Iranian Revolution?

I Am Neda: Could This Be The Birth Of A New Iranian Revolution?

Posted by: Justine Fields Filed in: news
8:50AM, Monday June 22nd 2009

It’s been 10 days since the controversial election in Iran. And ever since, Iranian women have been protesting in full force for a fair election. But on Saturday night, a devastating video began circulating the internet that showed a young woman, Neda, dying after being shot in the heart at a protest in Tehran.

Warning: The video after the jump is extremely graphic and unsettling. It shows Neda falling in a big pool of blood. Another video making the rounds on the web shows her face, blood streaming out of her nose and mouth and her gaze completely blank.

Although I’ve been hearing about the violent protests in Tehran, I never once imagined violence of this nature. I’m not sure what I was picturing, but it wasn’t the bloody massacre of a twenty-something student who was just expressing her political voice. And it appears that people around the world are finding this video just as disturbing as I am. Time reports that Neda has been dubbed a martyr, a concept extremely important in Islam. And since her death, the phrase “I Am Neda” has become the new catch phrase of protesters throughout Iran. Some are even saying Neda’s death could change the course of history. [Salon]

Neda is one of 17 protestors killed this weekend in Iran. No one is exactly sure who she is. Double X reports that her name is Neda Agha-Soltan, that she born in 1982, and that she was a student at the protest with her class. USA Today says the name Neda means “the call” or “the voice” in Farsi, and could be symbolic. Whoever she is, we are certainly mourning her death. And waiting to see what kind of impact it will have. Are Iranian women going to come out in even bigger droves to protest now? Or will fear kick in? I hope the latter won’t be the case, but after seeing this video, I wonder if I’d still be brave and impassioned enough to step outside onto the streets of a country at war with itself.

For comprehensive, to-the-minute updates on the violence in Iran, visit The New York Times blog, The Lede.

comments

eightieslingo
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 08:59 am: [report]

I watched the video last night and by the end of it I was crying and in shock at the same time. Seeing someone die so horrible a death has changed my whole perspective of the violence in Iran. It’s not just another news story about protests. I want this to end now, more than I ever did before.

tweakerbell
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 09:06 am: [report]

I think my heart just broke. I am speechless.

CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 09:13 am: [report]

It still leaves me puzzled why we haven’t rioted for all of the injustices we’ve been put through. Bush stole the election in 2004, suspended habeas corpus, warrent-lessly wiretapped Americans (the NSA is still doing this) etc. We have reason to be mad at our government too. Perhaps we haven’t blatantly become a theocracy with a dictator leading the nation, but we’re still in a sad place. It really is a shame we act too much like sheep.

Riley
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 09:20 am: [report]

@Cheese, We protest; rioting is for places that aren’t allowed to peacfully protest. Comparing our “injustices” to Iran’s is misplaced. Americans aren’t told to cease all protests or face the consequences. There aren’t bands of government militia driving around on motorcyles beating protestors to death with pipes and clubs.

CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 09:23 am: [report]

@Riley: Peacefully protesting doesn’t get anything done if you don’t have numbers, ever.

Riley
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 09:30 am: [report]

@Cheese, So small-numbered riots work better? Racial equality protests started out very small in the South, being peaceful and not turning into riots gave them the momentum and numbers to finally succeed. Everything has to start somewhere.

All I am getting at is I don’t think it works to compare a couple of our issues with the Iranian’s situation.

CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 09:32 am: [report]

@Riley: The race riots were not small, nor isolated. They also got media attention to the issues at hand, that is a good thing.

CatGoesNomNom
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 09:34 am: [report]

@Riley, I respectfully disagree with you. What the Iranians are doing is not rioting, it IS peaceful protest. The violence is coming down from the government. It’s similar to what happened here during the civil rights struggle (think marchers being hosed or attacked with dogs). I’m Iranian American, and most of my family still lives there. We have some family we haven’t heard from in Tehran, and we’ve heard from our relatives in Shiraz, where my father from. One thing non Iranians don’t really know is that protesting loudly is an Iranian tradition; they view it as their God-given right, and when Iranians protest, it usually is highly effective. The 1979 revolution is a good example. CheeeeEEEEse, I agree with you in that if we Americans could summon the will to protest things like Iranians, our government would get away with much less.

I will say this: we aren’t seeing much of what’s going on. My cousins said the protesting is widespread, but we only see Tehran, the capital and more liberal city. Also, the death toll is much higher than is being reported. My cousin went to a silent protest and two people in front of him were shot. None of my family is protesting any longer, but it is definitely a dangerous time. We are super worried.

Avah
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 10:43 am: [report]

WHY have you posted this video?

Riley
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 10:50 am: [report]

@Cheese, It all started out with small groups. Sit-ins were held by groups of less than 20 people. They gained additional media attention for being non-violent protests that were met with uneccessary violence. There were movements before that met violence with violence - didn’t work very well; but Calling the Civil Rights Movement the race riots gives it a negative connotation.

@Cat, I did not mean to imply the Iranian protests were violent. I was responding to another post regarding rioting. I should have seperated the paragraphs to prevent confusion, poor editing on my part.

CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 10:59 am: [report]

@Riley: They have pictures of people carrying handfuls of rocks. Calling these protests ultimately peaceful is ridiculous. They are pissed that the election was stolen, and they want one of the few freedoms offered to them, a vote.

Riley
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 11:32 am: [report]

Hmmm, not sure we are even arguing the same point anymore. We were talking about “race riots” and now we are talking about Iran, correct?

Either way, I’d label as peaceful considering the actions of the protests as a whole.

wild-ting
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 04:50 pm: [report]

@CheeeeEEEEse: you are misinformed (or mixing up moments in U.S. history). The start of the civil rights movement was small, and peaceful. There were no race riots. There were hate-mongers and some police attacking peaceful protestors.

Also, the protestors in Iran started out peacefully but they were attacked because protesting was stated to be illegal by the government and the police. After protestors were attacked they defended themselves, fought back, and many got angry. Then there was a riot.

@Riley: These were words are very insightful “Americans aren’t told to cease all protests or face the consequences. There aren’t bands of government militia driving around on motorcyles beating protestors to death with pipes and clubs.”

CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on June 22 2009 @ 05:42 pm: [report]

@wild-ting: And this started peaceably too. And then the establishment turned up to disperse the protesters and the unarmed side got slaughtered…just like the “Race Riots”, as hence it has been named. It has happened before and will happen again. Sound familiar?

TexasRanchBuck
wrote on June 23 2009 @ 05:51 pm: [report]

She will be the straw that breaks the regime Camels back.

She was clearly shot by a well trained sniper in the neck and she died in seconds her eyes locked in a death position to the right, and her heart pumped blood into her nose and mouth. thus the blood on the face.

The Govt which is no more than a dictorship reports more votes for ‘AMAJOB” then there are registered voters.

Iran will fall and the demonstrators will rock on until the military joins in with them, then it all over for the Mulluhs.