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Universal
Iranian Demonstration
Amil
Imani
I read somewhere that "the whole story of the progress of human
liberty shows that concessions yet made...have been born of earnest
struggle... If there is no struggle, there is no progress."
I believe all human beings deserve to have liberty. Prejudiced,
medieval-like actions must and should be eliminated in this 21st
Century. This pinnacle of cruelty must and should be obliterated in our
new era.
Human beings are deserving of a brighter and more enlightening future
and are obliged to work hard to bring prosperity, not only to this
generation, but also to the generations to come. This applies to all the
sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, not just to a particular rich
industrial section of this global village.
There are many nations in this global village of ours that have been
struggling, in many ways, for centuries, to reach the prosperity that
most have enjoyed in Western nations. This divisive gap between the very
rich and the very poor has never been clearer, to the entire world, than
it is today. With the advent of the Internet, we have more accurate
information on this calamity, this reality that we all live with, on a
daily basis.
When many immigrants arrive at the port of New York, the first thing
they want to see is the Statue of Liberty, and it is something
beautiful. It is something extraordinary in the eyes of people who have
dreamed all their lives, of seeing this symbol of liberty. It represents
what America must be and ought to be. It represents America, the land of
the free, and the land of opportunity.
America was founded on aspirations of liberty and justice for all. She
is now a proud country with a very rich constitution that protects, not
only its own citizens, but whomever makes it to her shores. For that, we
must all be grateful and thankful and struggle to keep it that way.
What inspired me to write this article was the mere fact that all forms
of life start with struggle. We all know that the city of Rome was not
built in one day. Similarly, people's liberty and freedom were not given
to them simply because some ruler felt sorry for the masses. They were
secured with many bloody revolutions, an inch at the time. That's how
most countries have achieved their liberty and freedom.
Iran is a land of beauty and love, but also a land of turmoil. At this
critical crossroads in her history, this old nation, perhaps, the mother
of all nations, needs you. This very rich culture which has given the
world many great scientists, in all areas, unparalleled poets, such as
Rumi, Ferdowsi and Hafez needs you.
Iran has the youngest and brightest and the most educated population of
any country at this time in history. Iranians, like many other
nationalities, have been struggling to achieve the liberty and justice
and freedom that are being enjoyed, mostly, in the western countries.
Walter Lippmann in his essay " A preface to Morals said: " The
thinker dies, but his thoughts are beyond the reach of destruction. Men
are mortal, but ideas are immortal. Justice William O. Douglas said,
" Ideas are indeed the most dangerous weapons in the world. Our
ideas of freedom are the most powerful political weapons man has ever
forged."
Martin Luther King envisioned the very same idea. His idea about a very
large demonstration came at a time when America was burning with racial
fever. King said, "We are on a breakthrough...We need a mass
protest to validate our efforts." On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther
King, Jr., on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.,
stood tall and brave. He gave his most memorable speech, "I Have a
Dream," which has become one of the best known public addresses of
20th century America and remains one of the great moments of modern
oratory. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered on that day to let the
world hear the voice and aspirations of black America for a free and
equal America. His idea of a peaceful, mass demonstration forever
registered him in history books as an idealist with a passion for
justice, liberty, and freedom for all Americans. ?
My fellow freedom loving compatriots abroad, our fellow Iranian brothers
and sisters in Iran are struggling, at this very moment, for their
simple and basic human rights. They are being held in the same manner
that black-America was being held hostage, in a land where they were
born and labored. Justice and liberty are what should excite and inspire
us to do the right thing.
The last year's mass demonstration on July 9, 2003, (18 Tir) in support
of freedom movements in most cities in Iran and in more than ninety-five
countries worldwide, showed that Iranians are capable of such universal,
simultaneous gatherings and organizations and thirsty to liberate their
country. It also showed us that we are still at the beginning of our
learning process of coming together and uniting our forces. We,
Iranians, are known among ourselves for being individualists who lack
the spirit of teamwork. In some instances this characteristic may work
to our advantage, but in the case of obliterating the reign of terror in
our homeland, it strongly backfires against us. It will be impossible to
eradicate the seeds of evil from our land, without a united force of all
segments of Iranians.
My fellow compatriots, we need to learn to work together now. We need to
advance this process quickly and reach to the next phase of our destiny.
We must strive, seek, and struggle to achieve what always seemed
unachievable, and with great emotional intensity and love for our
country, do what always seemed undoable. We need to gather our strength
together and lean on each other's shoulders, all the way across the
ocean, in order to become a beacon of unity and oneness. The first step
towards our unity is to go beyond skepticism and open our hearts to one
another in this noble act of freeing our fellow countrymen from the
hands of those who are merciless, brutal, and without the slightest
passion or compassion for their fellow human beings.
These are precarious times for our country. There is a high potential
for preemptive attack by those who fear that the Islamic Republic is
secretly developing weapons of mass destruction and is willing to share
this technology with the terrorists. This gives them the right to attack
Iran at any time. We simply cannot allow that to happen. We must rise to
the occasion and support Iranians in Iran to overthrow this barbaric,
brutal regime which does not value human life and Iranian culture. My
dear compatriots, it is up to us to save Iran, or it may be too late to
be sorry.
We must not allow our bitterness towards one group, one segment, or one
party to cloud our mission of liberating our country. " Freedom is
obtained not by the enjoyment of what is desired but by controlling
desire itself." Let us not allow revenge to become our guiding
light in pursuing our mission, but fill our hearts with love and
sincerity and sensibility to make certain that we don't repeat history.
"Nothing is little to him that feels it with his great
sensibility."
My fellow freedom loving Iranians, the time to rise to the occasion is
NOW. It is now that can make a difference. It is now that we must come
together and make our marks in the history books. It is now that we must
come together as a massive force to show the world that Iranians were
the pioneers of civilization.
So, my dear Iranians across the world, this is a universal call for all
Iranians to come out on July 9, 2004, in support of democracy and
freedom and liberty and the Rule of Law for our country and our
countrymen in Iran. It will be for the Iranian UNITY that we have always
craved. It will be for all the prisoners of conscience who are being
held and tortured by the Islamic Republic for loving their country. It
will be for thousands of innocent Iranians who died at the hands of the
villains and for the hundreds upon hundreds of other reasons.
Yes, life itself is a struggle but, the vast majority of Iranians are
struggling, at this very moment for simple and basic human rights.
My fellow freedom loving people, July 9th, 2004 is almost upon us.
Millions of people, inside and outside of Iran are gearing up for a
tremendous movement on that day. Iranians are hoping to eradicate the
Islamic Republic's barbarities from their land. They are hoping you, the
Iranians who are living abroad and can freely participate in these
gatherings, support them, pay attention to them, and help them morally
in whatever capacity you are able.
My fellow Iranians, your other fellow Iranians in Iran need you, and
need you NOW. So, I beseech you to come out on July 9th, 2004, in front
of the Iranian consulates or the embassies of the Islamic Republic, or
any designated areas that you have chosen in your respective countries,
in solidarity with the people of Iran.
Over half the people who have begun to mobilize for a demonstration,
have never demonstrated nor protested before. I am confident that WE can
do this. We can do this together, if we put our hearts into it, and send
major shock waves right into the hearts of the Ayatollahs of the Islamic
Republic. Together we can cause them to realize our everlasting
commitment to liberty, justice, and freedom for all Iranians.
"A stream of light shall pierce the darkness of ignorance and man's
oppression until Liberty enlightens the world." -- President Grover
Cleveland
Amil Imani
June 6, 2004
Amil_Imani@hotmail.com
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