Unfortunately, I don't speak Farsi, so an English translation for the videos would be very appreciated!
So, I went to this event; I was half an hour late and I was worried I might have missed something. But when I arrived it seems they were still setting up. People were still arriving in car and bus, the crowds were coming in by the dozens. Nothing happened for quite a while, so I walked around and took photos. One of the booths has a sculpted bust of Neda, and a few paintings displayed around it. One of them was a monochromatic green closeup of Neda as she's on the ground and looking up at the camera during the final seconds of her life. It was a painting that really struck me and nearly sent a chill through me, the artist captured the emotion of those final moments and it really felt like it was her staring right up at me.
I sat nearby for a while by myself, waiting for the speakers to arrive at the podium. I continued to stare at the painting for a long while. I looked away from it for a moment and because it was also very windy, it fell over. When I looked back I just about panicked; being an artist myself, I really would have hated it if the painting had been damaged. Especially one of Neda. Fortunately, it was still intact, but it had to be taken out of the frame.
After some time passed, I got up and took a walk around to see what else was going on. Some distance from where I had been sitting there was an artist in the middle of painting a portrait of Neda. It wasn't complete, but it still looked lovely. And not too far from him was a collection of pictures of the protests in Iran. Right in front it was a small memorial area for Neda (seen in the pictures above), wreathed in flowers and unlit candles. When I stood in front of it, despite that I knew that it wasn't actually her grave only a representation of it, it gave me this feeling that I just can't describe. But it gave me a moment to pay my respects to her before I moved on.
It wasn't until it was around 6:30 pm when the speakers finally arrived. I had assumed that the speakers were going to make their speeches in English as well as Farsi. But none of the speeches I heard were, so all I was able to do was stand there and record. There were a few moments where a couple of the speakers and some members of the audience shouted "maarg bar Mousavi" and probably even a "maarg bar Karroubi" - a point, which left me wondering if I was at the right rally? I thought most people who didn't vote for Ahmadinejad supported Mousavi and Karroubi. All I know is some are upset at Mousavi's lack of involvement in stopping the mass executions of the 1980s (please correct me if I'm wrong).
I wasn't able to stay for the whole event, I would have if I could. I was happy to go and support this struggle and human rights. One sign, seen in one of the pictures says "The Islamic Republic of Iran has been violating human rights for over 30 years", it made me wonder: "why has it taken so long for the rest of us to notice this and do something? Why don't international governments immediately gather and help out the people of these countries under oppressive regimes?" It's one of those things I'll never understand. But I continue to hope that Iran, as well as many other countries under a similar, vicious government will have their freedom and rights respected. Every person born into the world has the right to be free and treated with dignity and respect. These governments, regardless of country, need to stop this kind of treatment towards their own people.
But someday all of that will change. For as long as there are those who are ruled by greed and have little heart for the well-being of others, there will be those to fight them and restore what rightfully belongs to every man, woman and child. Every dictator will pay the price for their iron fists, and many dictators throughout history have and they will continue to do so as long as everyone knows their rights and fights for them.
That about wraps it up for this update. I still have one more picture I'd like to show, but I'm still working on it, it's my first time trying a panoramic shot. I'll see if I can have a news update later tonight!
So, I went to this event; I was half an hour late and I was worried I might have missed something. But when I arrived it seems they were still setting up. People were still arriving in car and bus, the crowds were coming in by the dozens. Nothing happened for quite a while, so I walked around and took photos. One of the booths has a sculpted bust of Neda, and a few paintings displayed around it. One of them was a monochromatic green closeup of Neda as she's on the ground and looking up at the camera during the final seconds of her life. It was a painting that really struck me and nearly sent a chill through me, the artist captured the emotion of those final moments and it really felt like it was her staring right up at me.
I sat nearby for a while by myself, waiting for the speakers to arrive at the podium. I continued to stare at the painting for a long while. I looked away from it for a moment and because it was also very windy, it fell over. When I looked back I just about panicked; being an artist myself, I really would have hated it if the painting had been damaged. Especially one of Neda. Fortunately, it was still intact, but it had to be taken out of the frame.
After some time passed, I got up and took a walk around to see what else was going on. Some distance from where I had been sitting there was an artist in the middle of painting a portrait of Neda. It wasn't complete, but it still looked lovely. And not too far from him was a collection of pictures of the protests in Iran. Right in front it was a small memorial area for Neda (seen in the pictures above), wreathed in flowers and unlit candles. When I stood in front of it, despite that I knew that it wasn't actually her grave only a representation of it, it gave me this feeling that I just can't describe. But it gave me a moment to pay my respects to her before I moved on.
It wasn't until it was around 6:30 pm when the speakers finally arrived. I had assumed that the speakers were going to make their speeches in English as well as Farsi. But none of the speeches I heard were, so all I was able to do was stand there and record. There were a few moments where a couple of the speakers and some members of the audience shouted "maarg bar Mousavi" and probably even a "maarg bar Karroubi" - a point, which left me wondering if I was at the right rally? I thought most people who didn't vote for Ahmadinejad supported Mousavi and Karroubi. All I know is some are upset at Mousavi's lack of involvement in stopping the mass executions of the 1980s (please correct me if I'm wrong).
I wasn't able to stay for the whole event, I would have if I could. I was happy to go and support this struggle and human rights. One sign, seen in one of the pictures says "The Islamic Republic of Iran has been violating human rights for over 30 years", it made me wonder: "why has it taken so long for the rest of us to notice this and do something? Why don't international governments immediately gather and help out the people of these countries under oppressive regimes?" It's one of those things I'll never understand. But I continue to hope that Iran, as well as many other countries under a similar, vicious government will have their freedom and rights respected. Every person born into the world has the right to be free and treated with dignity and respect. These governments, regardless of country, need to stop this kind of treatment towards their own people.
But someday all of that will change. For as long as there are those who are ruled by greed and have little heart for the well-being of others, there will be those to fight them and restore what rightfully belongs to every man, woman and child. Every dictator will pay the price for their iron fists, and many dictators throughout history have and they will continue to do so as long as everyone knows their rights and fights for them.
That about wraps it up for this update. I still have one more picture I'd like to show, but I'm still working on it, it's my first time trying a panoramic shot. I'll see if I can have a news update later tonight!
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