Tag Archive | Iran

Is this peace?

Jun25


The dust has settled

The missiles have been silenced

People are going back to work

But is there peace?

Peace is not the absence of war

Peace is serenity in people’s hearts

Peace is justice in the land 

Peace is love for your fellow man

I pray for the day when won’t need spies

I pray for the day when negotiations will solve the problems that arise

I pray for the day of equality

When demonstrators won’t have to die in the streets

Peace is not the absence of war

Peace is love in our hearts 

June 25, 2025

News from Iran

Jun24

I draw

I listen to the news about Iran in Persian

I cook

I listen to the news from Iran

These scenes were unimaginable ten years ago

Even five years ago

My contact with my Persian classmates 

Has opened my world to news from them

And news from my land of birth

The news is heart breaking most of the time 

Countries being bombed

People getting injured and dying 

I hope that when the dust has settled

There will be freedom in Iran

There will be equality in Iran

There will be justice in Iran

I draw

I listen to the news about Iran

My heart is with the people of Iran

June 24, 2025

No internet

Jun23

No internet?
No phone calls?
What is this?
1985?
When communication was at a turtle’s pace
When we wrote letters and waited
Waited for many days before we received an answer
And in between
Radio silence
Except for the occasional phone call
But now phones don’t work either
What are we supposed to do to communicate?
We live in the age of instant communication
Our lives are built around it
Deprivation is like tying one’s hands behind one’s back
This is unacceptable and unfair
Only fearful people would do that
Those who fear for their very existence
I hope these days will be over soon
And we’ll be in touch with each other as we used to be

June 20th, 2025

War in Iran

Destruction

Jun23

 

Death and destruction 

Worry and consternation

No news from family

Friends in danger

These are dark days

And as much as I dislike this situation

I remain hopeful

That the sacrifices people are making

Will bear fruit

It’s hard to imagine now

But change happens suddenly

And without much notice

The Berlin Wall falls

The Soviet Union shatters 

All in the blink of an eye

We pray for better days

For peace and prosperity 

For justice and unity

There is a light at the end of the tunnel

No matter how dim

May these days of war 

End as quickly as they started 

June 22nd, 2025

War in Iran 

My heart aches

Dec6

My heart aches for the Baha’is of Iran
A people who want nothing except serving their country and countrymen
And how are they rewarded?
With jail time
With raids on and theft from their homes
With the closing of their business
With them being unable to go to university
With being disrespected and counted as unclean
My heart aches for the Baha’is of Iran
Those who want to help their fellow man
Those who obey their government despite its injustices
Those who don’t lash out despite the cruelty they endure
We have been silent too long
What do we fear?
When a few minorities are discriminated against
Eventually many other groups will be as well
Because injustice like a virus spreads
It’s only antidote is the love and support of others
And speaking up for them
We are all one family
And our story is one

Dec 6th, 2023

Resistance

Nov21

You insist on taking our rights away

Our right to wear what we want

Our right to dance in public 

Our right to voice our opinions without fear of reprisal

Our right to be the voice of other women 

Our right to be free

And yet we resist

There is no truing back

You lash out with the hijab police

We continue to walk without our headscarves

You imprison those who speak out

They continue their work in prison and win awards

You pass laws to increase the restrictions on us

We continue to do what we want

Women’s resistance may be quieter than that of men

But women are strong 

They don’t back down

Even if they are not demonstrating in the streets

They are still furthering their cause

And if you ask me 

Women will win this fight

Nov. 21, 2023

I say no!

Nov5

You say cover your hair

I say no!

And my daughter says no 

And her daughter will say no

It’s not possible to control half of society

There has been an awakening

You can’t turn the clock back

You put more forces on the street 

Go ahead 

This is not a battle that you can win 

One woman here

One woman there 

We are supporting each other every day

Our dark long hair is flowing on our shoulders 

And down our backs 

The wind plays with it joyfully

You hear my laughter as I chat with my friends

We will bring joy back  

Times have changed 

Jail time and arrests don’t frighten us

This is a worthy cause 

Each generation will be bolder than the one before 

And things will be different as time goes by 

What you want is against reason

And it’s plain to see 

Women are smart and they know that 

You say cover your hair

I say no! 

Nov 2, 2023

You are victorious

Jul27

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I see your long black beautiful hair moving side to side

As you walk with your back to the camera

Sometimes your hair is blond, sometimes curly

Sometimes mid-night black

Strong like you

Luxurious

Unabashed 

Confident 

I see you standing up for your rights

Fear has left you 

Intimidation does not alarm you

Unlawful laws don’t deter you 

A few angry men cannot control you 

I see you walking tall

I salute you, the women of Iran

And the men who support you

Times have changed

And the dictates of a regime in turmoil

Cannot stop this evolution 

You are victorious 

July 19, 2023

Tragedy and comdy

May19

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I go to Youtube as I do every morning

To hear the news of the day about Iran

I play a clip about three innocent young men

Who were executed ruthlessly

To serve as examples for others who want to protest

Then I play a clip of a Finnish comic

Making interesting observations about the English language

Finnish is a most interesting language too

With words as long as a sentence with no space

Why switch from serious to silly you may wonder

Because the news of the world is too hard to bear

Without some comic relief

So much injustice

So much pain

My psyche can’t handle too much of that

I need the comic relief

To be able to get on with my day

May 19th, 2023

Freedom cries

May14

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When the price of protest songs is solitary confinement

When rappers end up bring tortured

When freedom of speech is non-existent 

When so much in your life is controlled and inspected

Freedom cries 

Liberty dies

Justice is hand-cuffed 

And beauty must hide

When youth leave their country

Because they don’t see hope 

When corruption is rampant

Inflation roars 

When the retirees and teachers protest

When the prisons are full 

When the courts are only a show

And lawyers get arrested

Tears run down the face of a nation 

And joy is hard to come by in most places

But no matter how dark the night  

The dawn will come and the sun will rise 

May 14th, 2023