"There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest." - Elie Wiesel, Nobel Lecture 1986
Neda Agha-Soltan January 23, 1983 – June 20, 2009
Three years ago today in Tehran, in the midst of the Green Revolution an agents of the Iranian regime shot and murdered Neda Agha-Soltan. She was just 26 years old and aspiring singer. Her death was captured on video and went viral across the internet providing a brutal image that brought home the reality of the violent crackdown visited on the nonviolent Green movement.
In Iran, the contested June 2009 election sparked an unprecedented wave of
state-sponsored violence and repression. Thousands of peaceful
protesters were beaten, arrested, tortured, and killed. One of them Neda
Agha-Soltan, age 27, was shot and killed on June 20, 2009 during the
protests denouncing election fraud. Her fiancé, Caspian Makan, is with
us here today, and will address the Summit tomorrow. Neda’s death was
captured on video and in those terrible moments reflected the great
crime committed by the Iranian government against the people of Iran.
Official numbers place the number of killed at 36 during the protests
but the opposition places the dead at 72. In 2009 at least 270 people
were hanged and in 2010 at least 12 so far. 4,000 have been arrested
including journalists and reformist politicians.
Three years later those responsible for this crime have yet to be brought to justice and the regime that carried out this brutal crime along with many others remains in power. It is precisely for these reasons that we must remember and continue to protest wherever and whenever possible to demand justice.
Help spread the word to those who may not know what happened and let memory and truth continue to empower the protest against this injustice. Speak out on behalf of those silenced in Iran.
Posts
Neda Soltan’s Stone
ReplyDeleteBullet scared
Your stone bears your purity
Your stone bears their hate
And I have been accused of idolatry
Praying at your martyr’s grave.
Basiji’s Bullet
Piercing so many hearts
Tearing through your flesh
Striping away the veil
Your soul’s innocents.
The bullet
Opened the wounds of my corruption
Now my soul bears the acid of their hate
So, I kneel at your martyr’s grave
Gasping at your beauty
Here is Karbala.
End 2012
Neda Soltan’s Vultures
Oh Neda,
We have gathered here for you
It is not a proper burial
It is not what you deserve
But we have this great honor.
Circling far above the fray
Our harsh cries go unheard
Long after your murderers departed
We stand your vigil
We have this great honor.
Your people do not know
Where they left you
So they visit the desert
It is our place
We have this honor.
We have seen …
This is our service
And we feed with hunger
On the blood of your sacrifice
Our honor.
We were at Karbala
And we are here for you
Hungry for your sacrifice
It is our service for you
Allah Akbar!
End 2011
Neda Soltan’s Coup D'oeil
To the cheek
a vast narrowing
a focusing
a smaller centering
stroke of [the] eye
Coup d'oeil.
For each a notch
The heroes of Persia
The Strategos of Anatolia
The charismatic of Alexandria's polis
Each dies in the valley of one breath.
An instrument
Without adornment
Reduced to its function
The man becomes something less
And another decides his purpose.
Now on the sands of Karbala,
The warrior cries for the child he has murdered.
"Oh Allah, I did not want to kill her!"
Neda, the girl in blue jeans, dies…
On the streets of Tehran.
End 2010
Neda
She fell
Into the arms
of those who loved her.
Their hands covered
Her bleeding heart
To stop the martyr's blood.
Neda,
The girl in blue jeans
Died at Karbala
In the streets of Tehran.
End 2009
Thank you for the powerful poem. We shall remember her and continue to demand justice on her behalf.
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