In recent weeks several Iranian cities in the south and southeast of country faced sandstorms. Several bloggers say that Iranian media did not cover these events, but they provided films and photos in their blogs themselves.
Vatanema has filmed a sandstrom in the southern city Ahwaz in the oil rich Khuzestan province. The blogger says [fa]:
I imitated Americans who name everything, calling their hurricane Gustav. I am calling this storm Jasem. It seems that between four and eight people perished in this storm, just like what happened in Gustav.
Here is the video:
Badahwazi also took and published photos from the sandstorm in Ahwaz.
You can find more photos of the storm in Zirsigari's photoblog.
Meanwhile, Mohmmad Darvish, a leading environmentalist, talks [fa] about sandstorms in the Sistan and Balouchestan province.
He says:
Iranian media all talked about Gustav but ignored the sand storms in the Sistan and Baluchistan province particularly in Zabol .It seems the oppressed of this world should remain oppressed on all levels. Just compare the number of films that Iranian national TV broadcast about Gustav, to the number of films about sand storms in the Zabol or Khuzestan provinces.
Send this by E-mail
Janine Mendes-Franco2703 posts 
Ndesanjo Macha2004 posts 
Bhumika Ghimire10 posts 
Solana Larsen54 posts 
Jillian York270 posts 
Eduardo Avila1552 posts 
J. Nambiza Tungaraza19 posts 
SudaneseDrima25 posts 
Georgia Popplewell1517 posts 
Adam Klempner1 posts 
Clara Onofre14 posts 
Lina Ben Mhenni3 posts 
I think that’s all because of freedom Iranians have, Iranian media have freedom not to publish detrimental events,like this sand storm. Unfortunately western media do not have this kind of freedom.;-)
I wonder what reason they would not report on the storm? Do they think it will scare people or blame the government?