Remembering my fellow teenagers

Please help us. I want the international community and everyone to listen to us. We innocent young Iranians yearn for basic rights to live. We have lost too many young people lately and continue to lose them as I am writing this.

While most of the teenagers are choosing their favorite colleges or major, the parents of the teenagers in Iran don't even know where their kids are being detained or if they are alive.

In this post I like to remember two fellow Iranian teenagers who recently lost their lives. Sohrab Arabi, 19 years- old just died in Evin prison after he was arrested in the recent demonstrations in Iran.

Ashkan Sohrabi, was only 18 years-old and he was shot three times during the protests on the streets of Tehran.

I don't want to witness more of these tragic events. We in Iran want to be part of the international community. Please help us.

My interview with Daily Mirror Newspaper

The picture you see on the left side is not from Iran. This young lady is one of the thousands of Iranians in the U.S. and around the world who hold candle vigils to show solidarity and support with the Iranian people. I want to say thank you to everyone who are supporting us wherever they are in this world. Last week I was contacted by a journalist Victoria Kennedy in the United Kingdom who wanted to do an interview about the recent events in Iran. She found me through my blog.

Special thanks to USI NEWS Editor and Confederation of Iranian Students in Washington, DC who have helped and supported me in getting the word out.

Here is the article written by Victoria Kennedy and published in Daily Mirror Newspaper in United Kingdom.

Amazing blog of 19-year-old from Tehran

In many ways, Nazanin is like any other 19-year-old girl.
She pores over fashion websites and spends hours blogging. Yet unlike Western teens, she writes about bloodshed, fear and oppression.

Like Neda Agha Soltani - the 27-year-old shot dead at an anti-government protest in Tehran last weekend - Nazanin lives under President Ahmadinejad's hardline regime.
And as the violence continues to mount, the engineering student bravely emailed the Daily Mirror.

Here, in her own words, is her extraordinary account of what life is like for a young woman in Iran's capital.
'The situation here is very bad. It's around 12 days that all the sms lines are closed and the internet connection is very low.

They cut cellphone lines every evening so people cannot be in touch between being at home and protesting. They have blocked Facebook and YouTube and other sites where we got news. We could arrange meetings and protest locations on those sites. The city is full of police and security guards which threaten to attack and kill people.

There's no difference if you are protester or a normal person. They shoot towards you to make people scared. When you go out it's not clear if you'll come back alive.

They have killed many people, around 150 or more, but they don't let the news spread. They have also beaten and injured lots of people with knife and baton and use tear gas. They have also captured many of the young people and sent them to jail and no one is aware of their situation. They even don't answer if he or she is alive or dead.

Every night you can hear people go on the roofs and say "God is great" and "Down to dictator" and many other slogans against this dictator regime.

But no one hear our voices. We can hears shooting every night and they kill innocent people to scare the people and say 'if u say anything against us u deserves death'. Basijis [the regime's unofficial enforcers] and military and the rejim's supporters are supporting with guns but we don't have anything. We should fight with them with anything. Neda is just one of these people who had died on Saturday. She was an innocent girl coming back home with her music teacher.

She came out from the car to see the protesters and maybe support them. But she got shooted by one of those Basijis.

Her fiance said she was not Mousavi's supporter but she was supporter for freedom and always talked about freedom and said it's not important to lose her life in the freedom way and everyone should try for his obvious right even being killed in this way.

We are all women like Neda now. We could all be shot for no reason. She is in all our hearts.
But we keep our fight and every night the voices become louder. We just want our right and I think we need an outside help bcs they are more powerful but we don't calm down.
The government started the game in a wrong way with people.

Many of us are not Mousavi''s supporters but we don't want this rejim bcs we couldn't talk about change before and all of us need change.
We are tired of this dictator rejim.'

ON EDUCATION

I don't have the right to choose the major I like to study. The government decides for me based on the score I get from the overall exam for the university admission entrance.
Since there are more applicants than actual spots in the colleges, the government will determine what you will study and therefore will decide what you will become.
Everybody studies hard to get into university and then get accepted to the major of their interest.

For the young people of Iran the university is basically the only place where you have a chance to change your future. But the sad reality is that there is everything at school except a good education.

Students call it "hotel" instead of college. Most of the students only study right before the exam so they can just pass the class. You could only find a handful of students in our college who are serious about study.

Since there is no recreation in Iran, the classrooms are an escape from suppressive life. The college is the only place you can hang out without worrying about getting arrested.

ON DRUGS

In Iran, since young people have nothing to dream about it, or can't get a basic job, drugs become their refuge; at least a temporary refuge. Drugs make them numb so they can escape shattered realities of life.

ON SUICIDE

In the past eight years about 200 students have killed themselves. I guess young people can't dream about their future.

ON FASHION

Many teenagers around the world constantly check out the latest fashion and shop at Gap or H& M, but we are not allowed to wear the colours we choose, or the kind of outfits we want.
Me and my friends check the online stores and are aware of all the latest fashion, yet we can't even wear bright colours such as yellow or red.

There is a something called, "Gashte Ershad" the government security officers who stop, arrest, and punish people for not wearing the right outfits according to the government.
According to rules in Iran, every woman from the age of nine needs to cover her hair and her body.

I remember before Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became the president, he said he wouldn't care what people would wear. As soon as he became the president he didn't fulfil his promise and young people kept getting arrested for the kind of clothes they were wearing. The religious author-ities decide what people can wear.

If a young person gets arrested for the second time for violating the dress code, she or he could face up to a month in jail or pay $1000.00 in fines.

ON LOVE & SEX

In my country Iran there is no such thing as a co-ed school, therefore we don't know how to interact with the opposite sex until we go to college. As you know socialising with the opposite sex is forbidden in public places. There is always a chance you could get arrested.
In our freshman year in college for the first time we experience sitting in a classroom with the opposite sex. Being a teenager is hard enough, then there isthe added element of dealing with the opposite sex. How to act, how to laugh, how to be with the opposite sex???

For guys, having a connection with a female is mostly about a sexual relationship. For the females too, since the friendship between opposite sex has not developed for 18 years, the sexualdesires are the only connection that is developed. So it becomes hard to focus on your goals without being distracted.

Imagine a girl who is raised in a suppressed society where there is nofreedom of expression, media, or religionas a result we really don't get to experience a normal social evolution.
My friends still don't understand the difference between a friendship and a relationship.

ON FREEDOM

In Iran if someone discusses politics, criticises the government, or demandsher or his rights they will end up in jail.

The only place I can communicate my thoughts freely with my friends andconnect to the outside world is through the internet. But the government can get into my yahoo messenger chat and arrest me for some made up excuse.

I hope to experience freedom in my country. Please understand that we the young Iranians love life, love people and we have the same dreams as any other young person in this world.

Link to the article:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/06/24/a-cry-of-freedom-115875-21466815/

Deciding between Bad and Worse

A lot of Iranians are planning to vote so hardliner Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would not be re elected.

But don’t get me wrong, the candidates that are running are not selected by the Iranians. Most of the Iranians don’t feel their vote will make much of a difference in their future. They are really choosing between bad and worse.

People in Iran have no say in the selection process of their presidential candidates. The candidates must be approved by the Iranian supreme leader. In another words if the supreme leader doesn’t feel a candidate should not run, the selection process is eliminated.

In our country our president doesn’t hold much power. All the mandates are dictated by the supreme leader. Former president Khatami once said, “The Iranian presidents play a role of a facilitator.”

Another point in my country is lack of legitimate election. There have been reports that government will issue fake birth certificates so they can register people and vote for their favorite candidate.

The government wants to show the world that the elections are legitimate; however we know that Iranian people had nothing to do with the selection of their candidates.

So far among the candidates, Ahmadinejad, Mir Hossein Mousvai and Karrubi are among the most known candidates.

Mousavi leans towards the left wing ideologies and based on my conversations with my friends in Iran, most of the students want to vote for him.

Young people in Iran are worried since Ahmadinejad’s message resonates with the poor and uneducated segment of the society he may have a good chance for reelection, because he keeps promising prosperity for these people.

At the end of the day we have no choice for our presidential elections but to choose between bad and worse.

I can't wear the stylish clothes in Iran or I get arrested

Many teenagers around the world constantly check out the latest fashion and normally shop at Gap, Guess, or H&M stores, but for the young people of Iran it is different. We are not allowed to wear the fashion we like, the colors we choose, or the kind of outfits we want.

There is a something called, “Gashte Ershad” the government security officers who stop, arrest, and punish people for not wearing the right outfits according to the government. Normally in other countries, people get arrested for stealing or committing a crime but in Iran you could get arrested for not wearing the right clothes.

This may seem out of the ordinary for many young people around the world but it is a reality for the young people of Iran. According to rules in Iran, every woman from the age of 9 needs to cover her hair and her body. This means that every woman must have a scarf and a long coat to cover her body and her hair. I wished covering the hair and body would be enough but it is not. The kind of pants, the color of scarf, or the style of the shoes you wear could also be a reason for a young person to get arrested in Iran.

Here are some of the rules,

Don’t wear close fitting clothes
Don’t wear any bright colors like yellow and red. Normally black, brown and navy are OK. Don’t wear baggy pants
You can’t wear a jacket, unless it is worn over the long loose fitting coat
Even when it snows, a woman can’t wear a hat unless it is worn over her scarf
You can’t wear boots unless they are hidden under your loose fitting pants

I remember before Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became the president, he said he wouldn’t care about what people would wear. As soon as he became the president he didn’t fulfill his promise and young people kept getting arrested for the kind of clothes they were wearing. The religious authorities decide for what people can wear.

My cousin was recently arrested by the authorities, because her coat was not long enough and her pants were baggy style. She was thrown in a van along with so many other women who each had a supposedly violation of dressing inappropriately according to the Islamic rules. These individuals are given forms to fill out and the government authorities take their pictures as if they have committed a crime. Then the families are notified and some times fined.

If a young person gets arrested for the second time for violating the dress code, she or he could get expelled from school. You could no longer work for the government; you could face up to a month in jail or pay up $1000.00 in fines.

My friends and I like to look like any other teenager around the world, and wished we could wear the colors or the style of clothing we like. It seems unfair and cruel that our basic rights are taken away from us.

A Letter From Tehran

I am a 19 year old female student in Iran. I don’t have the right to choose the major I like to study. The government decides for me based on the score I get from the overall exam for the university admission entrance.

Since there are more applicants than actual spots in the colleges, the government will determine what you will study and therefore the government will decide what you will become.
Everybody studies hard to get into the university and then get accepted to the major of their interest.

For the young people of Iran the university is basically the only place where you have a chance to change your future. But the sad reality is that there is everything at school except a good education.

Students call it hotel instead of college. Most of the students only study right before the exam so they can just pass the class. You could only find a handful of students in our college who are really serious about their study.

Since there is no recreation in Iran, the college classrooms are an escape from the reality of the suppressive life. The college is the only place where you can hang out without worrying about getting arrested.

In my country Iran there is no such a thing as a co ed school, therefore we don’t know how to interact with the opposite sex until we go to college. As you know socializing with the opposite sex is forbidden in the public places. There is always a chance that you could get arrested.

When we are in our freshman year in college for the first time we experience to sit in a classroom with the opposite sex. As you could imagine being a teenager is hard enough, the confusions of who you want to be and finding your identity, then there is the added element of dealing with the opposite sex. How to act, how to laugh, how to be with the opposite sex???

Could you imagine studying in an environment where you deal with this completely new feeling on daily basis? For guys, having a connection with a female is mostly about sexual relationship. For the females too, since the friendship between opposite sex has not developed for 18 years, the sexual desires are the only connection that is developed. So it becomes hard to focus on your goals without being distracted. Imagine a girl who is raised in a suppressed society where there is no freedom of expression, media, or religion as a result we really don’t get to experience a normal social evolution.

In my country Iran, my friends still don’t understand the difference between friendship and relationship.One will think just because you are communicating with a male that guy will become your boyfriend.

Unlike other places in the world the young people of Iran can not dream of a future because those wishes most likely will never be fulfilled.

A young person in Iran needs money to be able to do many things but there is no work. If you want to get a job any where first they require experience. There are no minimum wage jobs. Even the least complicated jobs require experience. Could some body explain to me how that is possible? How could a young person who barely graduated from High School have experience?

The young people of Iran can’t and don’t set any real goals, because they know it is almost not a reality to be able to reach that goal.

In a country where everything is based on who knows whom, what happens to a person who does not have anyone?

In Iran, since young people have nothing to dream about it, or can’t even get a basic job, drugs become their refuge; at least a temporary refuge. Drugs make them numb so they can’t escape their shattered realities of life.

The number of brain drain is outstanding. If anyone wants to really become something whether being an artist or a doctor they have to leave Iran.

In my country no body cares about me or my friends, people have lost their values. In Iran we have a high rate of suicide. I can say within the past 8 years about 200 students have killed themselves. Why? I guess young people can’t dream about their goals for the future.
In my country, me and my friends check all the online stores and are aware of all the latest fashion, yet we can’t even wear bright colors such as yellow or red.

If you show a piece of hair or if you wear tight outfits or short pants and have some make up you could get arrested. Can you imagine we get arrested for what we like to wear and the government authorities treat us like criminals? They detain you, take your pictures and start a case which then goes to the court.

In Iran if someone discusses politics, criticizes the government, or simply demands her or his rights they will end up in jail. No body can defend their rights. Even a lawyer can’t necessarily help you because as far as the government is concerned there are no such laws to defend these rights. The only place I can communicate my thoughts freely with my friends and connect to the outside world is through the internet. But not so free, the government can get into my yahoo messenger chat and arrest me for some made up excuse.

I hope to experience freedom in my country, but meanwhile for those of you reading my blog please understand that we the young Iranians love life, love people and we have the same dreams as any other young person in this world.