I had not really been following the news in Iran. I was informed enough to know there are major protests going on there because of an election. Yet the details escaped me.
A few nights ago I was sitting in my building dining room having Italian Risotto (made by an Italian) with some friends. A Iranian young woman who lives in my foyer was asked about her family. She shared with us that her family is safe in Tehran, however the people that are protesting are not. The police are attacking anyone that is on the streets. Interestingly, the opposition leaders that "lost" the election a few days ago urged people not to come out and protest for their own safety. She shared that the police had invaded a student dormitory in the middle of the night to beat people. She had seen videos on YouTube. She had heard about it through Facebook - even though the Iranian government is working hard to suppress access to the internet.
I listened to her tell this story of what her friends were doing. I listened to her tell about the activities going on there. I listened as she told that she would not go home as planned because of safety. I listened to her story.
Often in my work at the International level I do not have "time" to listen to people. I have to write a proposal and find statistics and tell everyone how great my program is. I wish I had more opportunities to listen to people tell their own stories and the stories of their families and friends. I cannot have the experience of being an Iranian woman living through this time, but I can attempt to understand what that feels like by listening. Simply listening.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
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listening to someone in a safe country (switzerland) can be a very different experience from listening to that exact same person in a dangerous country (iran). Because when someone speaks in a dangerous country, they are aware that there may be more than one listener who has not made their presence known, and that affects what gets said.
ReplyDeletethe incumbent iranian guy - ahmadinejad - has said all sorts of wild things in the past, as in israel should be "wiped off the map". he has questioned whether the holocaust ever took place. he even questioned whether 9/11 "actually happened".
when he says those things, i wonder if he actually believes them, or if he is saying them because he is calculating who his audience is - who is "listening" - and changing his speech accordingly, for ulterior motives. its hard to tell. many people didn't believe hitler when he laid out his plans in "mein kampf" to enslave the slavs and wipe out the jews - they figured he was just calculating who his audience was and was saying things for ulterior motives. but it turns out he was actually saying (writing) what he was thinking.
just some thoughts...