Iran in trouble - 2 parts

So in case you've been shut in your closet for the last two weeks, Iranians have been protesting the results of their presidential election, and things have gotten pretty bad lately. My thoughts, in two parts:

Part One

I've been following an Iranian (I assume is male, I'll call him YA) since the protests began. His tweets were usually locations of protests, calls for support, reports of nightly "Allah akbar" (God is great) chants from the rooftops, and messages of hope. But on June 19 he tweeted:

just sent a sms to my relatives saying my goodbyes in case the unthinkable happens in the rally today

Though there wasn't much in the news yet about violence, that message really struck home. Around that time as well, this blog entry circulated:

I will participate in the demonstrations tomorrow. Maybe they will turn violent. Maybe I will be one of the people who is going to get killed. I’m listening to all my favorite music. I even want to dance to a few songs. I always wanted to have very narrow eyebrows. Yes, maybe I will go to the salon before I go tomorrow! There are a few great movie scenes that I also have to see. I should drop by the library, too. It’s worth to read the poems of Forough and Shamloo again. All family pictures have to be reviewed, too. I have to call my friends as well to say goodbye. All I have are two bookshelves which I told my family who should receive them. I’m two units away from getting my bachelors degree but who cares about that. My mind is very chaotic. I wrote these random sentences for the next generation so they know we were not just emotional and under peer pressure. So they know that we did everything we could to create a better future for them. So they know that our ancestors surrendered to Arabs and Mongols but did not surrender to despotism. This note is dedicated to tomorrow’s children…” - an Iranian blogger, with more courage than most of us will ever know.

As Americans, growing up in our comfortable houses with anything we desire available to us at a moment's notice, I don't think we can begin to fathom what it's like to make that decision, to say "I'm leaving my house today to walk in the streets for something I believe, and I might not come home." Of course our soldiers make a similar decision to risk their lives for a cause, but I think it's a different thing altogether for a trained soldier who made the choice to serve. I'm sure many of us consider ourselves patriotic, but how often does the average citizen have an opportunity (or perhaps obligation?) to put their lives on the line for it.

It was three days before I received another tweet from YA. I was glad to hear he and his friends had returned, but they brought with them videos of increased violence and these messages:

We are back. the past few days were hell. so much to tell

Every time i try to sleep i think of the gunshots and wake up

I have seen things this few days that will stay with me forever. the bastards don't even let go of kids

Our bodies are tired and swollen but our spirits are very strong. Death to dictator

Part Two

Another Iranian I have followed (which appears to be a group of people, I'll name PI) has also been consistent and plentiful with information about protests as well as what's going on in the streets. Again, the messages have been hopeful and steadfast, though more violent as the days have passed. On Sat. June 20 the video of Neda's death surfaced and by Mon. and Tues. the news reports indicated violence had increased significantly. It seemed that CNN's coverage was thinning as well. (Since journalists aren't allowed to give information, the news networks have been relying on amateur video/pictures from protesters with internet access.)

On Tues. June 23 PI updated this string of tweets:

just in from Baharestan Sq - situation today is terrible - they beat the ppls like animals

I see many ppl with broken arms/legs/heads - blood everywhere - pepper gas like war

they were waiting for us - they all have guns and riot uniforms - it was like a mouse trap - ppl being shot like animals

saw 7/8 militia beating one woman with baton on ground - she had no defense nothing - #Iranelection sure that she is dead

so many ppl arrested - young & old - they take ppl away - #Iranelection - we lose our group

ppl run into alleys and militia standing there waiting - from 2 sides they attack ppl in middle of alleys

all shops was closed - nowhere to go - they follow ppls with helicopters - smoke and fire is everywhere

phone line was cut and we lost internet - #Iranelection - getting more difficult to log into net

rumour they are tracking high use of phone lines to find internet users - must move from here now

reports of street fighting in Vanak Sq, Tajrish sq, Azadi Sq - now - #Iranelection - Sea of Green - Allah Akbar

in Baharestan we saw militia with axe choping ppl like meat - blood everywhere - like butcher - Allah Akbar

they catch ppl with mobile - so many killed today - so many injured - Allah Akbar - they take one of us

Lalezar Sq is same as Baharestan - unbelevable - ppls murdered everywhere

they pull away the dead into trucks - like factory - no human can do this - we beg Allah for save us

Everybody is under arrest & cant move - Mousavi - Karroubi even rumour Khatami is in house guard

we must go - dont know when we can get internet - they take 1 of us, they will torture and get names - now we must move fast

thank you ppls 4 supporting Sea of Green - pls remember always our martyrs - Allah Akbar - Allah Akbar - Allah Akbar

Allah - you are the creator of all and all must return to you - Allah Akbar - #Iranelection Sea of Green

It's been heartbreaking reading these but it is still hard for me to grasp that this really happened and is not just words on paper. Though you do have to be wary of what people say online and who they may be, I believe these are valid since I've seen the same quotes reported on CNN blogs listed as trusted sources. But when I sat at my desk at work on Tuesday morning and read these, my mind started to discredit them, rather than accept that these things were really happening.

I think that's what the Iranians need us to do though, to continue to read and know that it is real.

Also on June 24, YA posted:

baharestan square is like a violent medieval battlefield. they show no mercy

the ambulances take the injured and bring them out of tehran and dump them into the desert

the militia is using mosques as a gathering point. khamenei, IS THIS WHAT ALLAH WANTS???

We heard the women are being beaten so badly they had to amputate their legs GOD WHERE ARE YOU!

people were angrily chanting "death to islamic republic" and "fear the day we become armed"

I have cried so much i have no tears left. I'm ready to die for my soil. my people. ALLAH o AKBAR

The Iranians have been silent since then.