The Iranian protest movement now has a symbol and a face: Neda.
Neda was an Iranian woman who was shot dead by Basij militia on Saturday during a protest of thousands against the Iranian presidential election results that declared Mahmoud Ahmadinejad president. Her death was captured on video by bystanders and uploaded to the internet. She died with her eyes wide open, and her last moments transcended citizen media to mainstream media, reaching millions of people.
A website has been dedicated to Neda, named We are all Neda. A quote on the homepage says, “We did not throw rocks at them, we cried ‘we want freedom’. They shot us.” Both Iranians and non-Iranians are leaving comments in memory of Neda on the site. So far, there are nearly 3,500 and the numbers are growing rapidly.
Mahyar says: “I wish my eyes could have learned from yours to be open bravely!!!”
Reza says: “Your open eyes taught me a lesson: ‘Don’t close your eyes to injustice'”
Mojtaba says: “Neda will never die, everyone of us could one day be a Neda”
Vida says: “Your light is shining the way towards freedom. Thank you.”
Iranian blogger Andisheh writes that Iranian national television are trying to blame ‘anti-revolutionaries’ for killing Neda. The blogger adds that if anybody had any doubts that Iranian television lies, these doubts can now be put to rest.
Here is a video film on Neda and the Iranian protest movement (Warning: some images are very graphic)
In a very short time, Neda's death became an international news story and people responded in different ways to show their sympathy.
Here is a song for Neda from an American singer on YouTube, Johnny Maudlin (Johnny99) (Persian subtitles were added by another user):
… and another by traveling American musician, Roothub:
Blogger Asad Ali Mohamadi, writes [fa] that his neighbours in Copenhagen, Denmark, are asking him about Neda, and that as soon as you turn on the television and internet you see news about Iran and Neda. “All talk about my Iran, our Iran. All talk about my Neda, our Neda,” he says.
Cecilia Morales tweeted, “We were not born to be slaves. We are human beings, God Bless you Neda, God Bless the Iranian people who want to live in freedom.”
Atefeh Walters tweeted, “I will fight for my country always!! I will never forget Neda!!”
Zannevesht, a blogger and journalist refers [fa] in her blog to Neda's death and says courageous Iranian women and girls have been present in this protest movement.
There were candlelight vigils for Neda in many cities around the world.
From New York:
To Dubai:
28 comments
Seen a Video
From the Web
Oh the Shedding
Tears
My heart bled
Hurting
People I seen
Made me feel
Like Steam
Like a Kettle
Boiling through
Whistling Pain
Pressure to
In my heart
Hurting Sorrows
All my parts
Times were
Dark Indeed
People protested
A crooked deed
One Girl with
Father
On the Streets
In Persia
Neda and her Abba
He was crying
For his Daughter
Innocence Hurt
Hard To Understand
Pains of
The Grief Stricken
Heart
When it comes to
The Loosing
Of Family
Parts
Be they
Young or Old
It hurts
The heart
In ways that’s
Old
When God calls
A loved one home
Broken hearts
Is Left
To Hold
My heart cries
For Neda’s Father’s
Tear stricken Eyes
His Heart Sieved
For pain God
Is giving Him
HIS tears
That we Need
To remind us who
We be
Our Hearts
Grief
Is breaking
In Pain Father is
Feeling today
The Hurting
For those
Departed
To God’s care
Our loved ones who
Are taken
To God’s Heavenly
Lair
It’s a fragile
Crystal vase
Pumping life
From God’s grace
Breaking into
Many parts
From wretched
Throbbing from
Beating Parts
When a loved
Ones spirit
Does Depart
Called home
By HIS love
For all HIS
Many Parts
Woe be the
Broken Hearted
Those
Left Behind
Loved ones
So Filling
Cry when
Someone dies
Afraid of the
Pain it holds
When Anger
Rips into young
And Old
For the
Dreams of the
Loved Soul
The Breaking
Of Days
When The Lord’s love
Takes hold
When your heart
Burns apart
From the pain
About to depart
Inferno inside Us
Chambered parts
Pouring out
Of the
Burning heart
есть и другие мнения:
http://nstarikov.ru/blog/1184
I have never read so much uninformed drivel in my life. You obviously know nothing about Iran and its history nor do you seem to care. Suggesting that this revolt is fomented by the West, and in such a provocative way – as if you’re letting the rest of us in on some secret – is the most intellectually lazy, paranoid and reductionist reaction to all of this. Such reactions have been laughed straight out of town, and rightly so, outside of Khamenei’s circle and apparently now Russian psuedo-intellectual circles. You can congratulate yourselves.
It is incredible!
Had Neda Agha Sultan lived a thousand years, she might not have become immortal as her untimely death has made her.
Had Neda lived a thousand years, she might not have had the universal impact she had on millions of human being who through her death might have experienced the inhumanity of a system whose response to an innocent voice seeking legitimate justice and freedom is the silence of death through a bullet.
I am originally from Iran and I shall for ever remember Neda as if she were my own daughter.
History tells us that Neda will live on forever. May Neda rest in peace.
Neda was with a male companion, her music teacher but the sniper chose to shoot her, the woman, through the heart. This was an anti-woman hate-crime, a violation of human rights and international law. If one is religious, which–thank God, I am not, one needs to look into the heart and ask why men attack women, the peace-makers. Violence is a mental-illness disease, a disruption of the normal humanity of all people. The world must start talking about the need to quell violent impulses, to calm the fires of reflexive hate. Are the men who kill mourning something lacking in themselves? Why do we not speak to killers and ask them what insane hatred makes them act so inhumanely?