Press Release -- Word on the street was that the date commemorating Khomeini's death would also mark the beginning of the second revolution. It didn't matter whether the rumors were true or not, what matterred was that they even were there. People seemed to be fed up with the restrictions imposed on them by the Islamist regime. Now, they said, it was time to turn the tables. Students in Tahran were on the streets demonstrating against the spiritual leader, Khameini, and closing down of the liberal newspapers. Down South in Shiraz 13 people, mostly Iranian Jews, were being prosecuted for espionage. "It is about time things changed," people were whispering on the streets of Tahran. In Esfahan when pastars stopped people and criticized their garb, it was not intimidated looks they received anymore, they were being scolded, at the very least frowned upon fearlessly. Winds of change in Iran this time seemed stronger than ever. Would the tables turn? What would it take? What did freedom mean for Iranians? Was there any of it left in this much shunned country? How strong was Khameini? How determined were Khatami's reforms? It was these questions and many others I was seeking answers for when I first travelled to Iran in May 2000. I found some of the answers, yes, but what more I found was color, cultural diversity and the human spirit.
Bikem Ekberzade. |
