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دوشنبه ۱۴ فوریه ۲۰۲۰
Chat
with Arnold August
The events
surrounding the announcement of the international book
launch and the introduction of the Persian translation of
your book, entitled " Cuba-US Relations" on the
Iranian-Canadian Congress (ICC) forum page, resulted in my
attendance at your webinar.
The meeting,
which was held on the 43rd anniversary of the Islamic
revolution, was attended by speakers who all believe in the
revolution and support the Islamic Republic.
Including Saideh (Arezoo) Khadir, Vice President of
the ICC, who joined the gathering not only late, at the very
end. Unfortunately, she did not
succeed in giving her speech in full and what she said was
not directly related to the topic of the meeting.
This gathering
brought to life the memories of my student days in the early
1970s in France. When I felt closest to socialism, and was
fascinated by the endless conversations with the university
leftists, who were the most loud and active students.
The book "When
China wakes up...... the world will tremble" by
Alain Peyrefitte
in 1973, while instilling fear in me, calms my frustration,
anger
and despair at the lack of social justice and equality. At
the time, I also believed that these phenomena were due to
the economic aspects of imperialism.
I can not say
that I was safe from the effects of religion, in my case
Islam. Perhaps that is why, I have become sensitive to any
thought, plan, ideology, or action that requires one to
sacrifice today for a future built on promise, illusion, and
probabilities.
I was also one
of the opponents of the Shah's regime and the supporters of
the revolution, but I quickly realized that we Iranians were
not ready for the revolution that we had carried out.
Since revolutions do not depend on time, place, and
the people who create them, the Islamic Revolution had no
effect on the Iranian people other than bring more
injustice, oppression, and poverty.
Listening to the
Iranian speakers at the recent meeting, I wonder how, after
43 years, they can speak as if they were talking in 1978/79,
during the revolution and in and around the
universities.
The clock
seems to stand still not only for them, but also for many of
the audience members. Their grey hair reminds what is gone
with the wind.
Although many of
us have not yet felt the trembling of the earth, China has
actually awaken. Perhaps our opposition to the old creature
had transformed us over time, and made us unable to see the
formation of the new one that does not hesitate to show its
claws and teeth.
But I no longer
feel the fear of fifty years ago, which could be mostly born
of an ideology of any kind. Advances in technology, both in
manufacturing and in communications, have changed so many
factors that it is not even possible for us to analyze what
is happening today, let alone what is going to happen
tomorrow.
What remains and
is available to all, and especially to those living in free
and democratic societies, is to strive to promote political
thinking based on human rights principles.
Contrary to some speakers, I believe that no
confrontation with imperialism should, for a moment,
overlook democracy, social justice, and freedom.
Contrary to
those who do not see monopoly and imperialism in the
political religion and go so far as to justify
fundamentalism, I believe that the costs of achieving the
ideological goals of the rulers should not be borne by the
people.
I intend to
compile and publish excerpts from the speeches and
conversations that took place at the recent webinar. I would
appreciate if you would agree with it.
Thank you for
your efforts and for holding a peaceful dialogue.
Sincerely,
Medi Shams
medishams@rogers.com
Full
Session Video
Event Presentation
hopefully excerpts coming soon
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