Neda

Hi girls! Long time no see. I wish I could say that I just popped in to catch up, but there's something that's been on my mind a lot that I wanted to make sure you're all aware of. (Not to say that I don't want to catch up! I'm one exam away from being done with tenth grade - yahoo! - and so I should have some more free time for a while.) I'm sure you've all heard a bit about the elections that recently took place in Iran. Here's a quick background from NYTimes.com:

Iran has had a quasi theocracy since the ouster of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in the Islamic Revolution of 1979. In June 2009, widespread protests over the results of a presidential election grew into the greatest challenge to its authority that the Shiite regime has faced.

On June 13, 2009, after an unusually bitter campaign, the authorities announced that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had been reelected. The announcement of his victory -- in which it was said that he had received more than 60 percent of the vote -- prompted mass protests by demonstrators who claimed that he had stolen the election. Mr. Admadinejad's main challenger, Mir Hussein Moussavi, a former prime minister with a reputation for honesty and competence, rejected the results and called on supporters and fellow clerics to fight them. In the final weeks of the race, Mr. Moussavi's campaign had gained tremendous energy, and huge rallies by his supporters had packed the streets of Tehran day and night.

Initially, Mr. Ahmadinejad and the country's supreme ruler, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, brushed off the outraged reaction to the results. But in the face of massive demonstrations, two days later Mr. Khamenei called for a high-level inquiry into accusations of election irregularities. But that failed to appease the protesters, as did an offer the next day to conduct a partial recount. Thousands of both pro- and anti-government demonstrators gathered in the streets, increasing tensions. Clashes with members of the Revolutionary Guards and their militia supporters left at least seven people dead during the largest antigovernment demonstrations since the Iranian revolution.

The country is, to say the least, a mess at the moment. The protests were initially nonviolent, but the conflict has been escalating. Khamenei is calling for increased opposition to the protesters and promising bloodshed if demonstrations continue, and according to unverifiable accounts (in other words, take this with a grain of salt because I can't vouch for its accuracy), a young woman named Neda was killed today while simply watching what was going on with her father.
From Twitter:

Who are you, Neda ?

Neda, the girl murdered by Basij today, and now the voice of the new revolution.

Neda's life was ended so that Iran's children might live free.

May she rest in peace, the rest of us can´t. Let´s make sure she didn´t die in vain.

Neda (voice).Those beautiful eys..Nedaye Iran.. The new voice of Freedom...

Neda's life today was not lost in vain. Non-violent movement of Iran will b victorious.

The world looked a girl in the eyes as she died tonight. Remember Neda.

Her name was ندا #Neda. It means voice or call in Farsi. She is the voice of the pple, a call to freedom.

(You may have heard of what's being called a Twitter Revolution: people in Iran are trying to get the truth about what's happening out using sites like Twitter. Iranian authorities have been trying to crack down on these people, leading thousands of users in other countries to change their location on Twitter to Tehran in order to throw them off, as well as tinting their Twitter icons green in a show of solidarity.)

It all boils down to this: It's a difficult time for Iran, right now, and as far away as Iran is from where we are, we need to remember that there are real people, including real girls just like us, who are being affected.

One last "Tweet":
In land where women lost their voice, appropriate that woman named Neda --Voice-- should become symbol that topples regime.

I ask one thing of you, girls: Remember that we are important. Remember that we have our own voices. Remember Neda.


(other sources: NYTimes.com: Violence Grips Tehran Amid Crackdown, Daily Kos: Her Name Was Neda, Life.com: Eyewitness: From Tehran's Streets)