Traducción al Español abajo.
Si alguien encuentra el documental de este post con traducción al español para añadirlo, le estaría agradecida si pudiera compartir el link.
Si alguien encuentra el documental de este post con traducción al español para añadirlo, le estaría agradecida si pudiera compartir el link.
These last two weeks have been quite demanding on a professional level. I had to put my energy in a job that allows me to live as I do, and I am thankful for being able of doing so. On a personal level I was on the receiving end. I had much less to give, and as it usually happens in these cases, I was given, more than enough.
Within a few days, from separate sources, several documents came to me, on Iran. Why? I'm sure this is the perfect time for me to come in contact with that reality. A strange and far away place, foreign in habits and culture. But the information I received from that almost-unknown place touched me, and this is the moment in which I share what I learned on this diary of mine.
The events of the first documentary are not only far away in space, but they are far away in time. We all surely remember the Green Revolution, but the images and the memories are from the summer of 2009, so much has happened in our lives since then, that those memories and images have been put in a tiny drawer in our heads, and other images have replaced them in our more present mind.
Well, those images, those events came back all at once with this testimony from those times. It shows a country that I, and surely many others, know only as an oppressive Muslim authoritarian regime. It shows that one country cannot and will never be an homogeneous whole of people all thinking the same, all agreeing on everything. Iran, as each of the countries of our world, has millions of hearts, millions of minds, millions of people all with their will, their consciences and their thoughts. And none is like the other.
This is not about the perfection of the western way of life, I am very aware that the way we see, experience and USE the world is far from perfect, and much more than that, it is a way that is taking us down a road of huge changes, an unrealistic way of living, a very egoistic one.
This is not about the tyranny of a Muslim state because of the Muslim faith. I was lucky enough in my life to have the chance of being in close contact with the "Muslim reality", or at least a certain "Muslim reality" since this has so many different shades (as the "western" or any other "general reality" does). This contact with the "Muslim world", although only partial and certainly incomplete, helps me understand that Muslims are people that are more similar to us than we are led to think. They have the same concerns, hopes, wishes, embedded in a somehow different culture, but deep enough to be universal and the same as for all human beings.
I do not see the "Muslim way of life" as a whole, as it would be absurd to see the "western way of life" as the lifestyle of each and every one of us. I think that if anybody wrote down a description of the "western way of life", it would be obvious very soon to him or her that NOBODY fully fits that description. The same is true for the way of life of the other cultures of the world, used to generalize.
This documentary shows the underground power and force of those concerns, hopes, wishes of human beings trapped in a political regime that uses religion as an excuse to remain in power.
There are several levels of freedom. We, in the "western world", enjoy a certain amount of freedom, more so if we recognize the manipulation we are submitted to, almost every minute of our lives. Being aware of that manipulation (or at least part of it) allows us to live outside the deception and enjoy a higher level of freedom.
There are places on Earth where the level of freedom is much lower than that, regimes in those parts of the world do not even need to use manipulation (apart from the crude manipulation of religious texts through interpretations that only benefit the status quo) to keep the population subjugated. They use brute force to restrain people from thinking, speaking, acting, learning, sharing.
Brutal repression of pacific demonstrations, prohibitions of any sort punished with imprisonment, terrible tortures and even death sentences, are the most cruel visible tip of this iceberg. Iran, as many other countries, is an alien world for us, a world where people live double lives, and this is not an exception but the rule. "Let's speak about what we like inside our homes, but never mention those things outside!" "Let's act as we please within our four walls, but be sure to obey the rules in the street!" This is the real cancer, this is how these regimes break the people of their countries into submission. This is what changed in the summer of 2009. And this is what the governors of Iran crashed with all their power.
Let the people of Iran find their own way, they want to experience the "western way of life"? Why shouldn't they be allowed to? We are doing it! Do we have more rights that they do? Apparently yes. Let them live as they want, let them find out on their own the best way to live their lives, let them discover that the "western way of life" is not the panacea our leaders want everybody to believe. Let them find their own way, and who knows, they might even find a way of living life that is BETTER THEN OURS! Let them be them, with their culture, their millennia-old rich history, their religious beliefs, their human concerns, hopes, wishes, let's see what comes out of that, let's learn from it!
Iranian, girl and rapper, those three words DO NOT GO TOGETHER, or at least that's what somebody wants all of "us" (and all of "them") to believe, but there are people who decide to believe what they feel is their real reality, and that gives me hope. The protests, the gatherings, the cries, the resistance of courageous people, but more then anything, an Iranian girl rapper. Now she knows that she is not alone.
This is not about the perfection of the western way of life, I am very aware that the way we see, experience and USE the world is far from perfect, and much more than that, it is a way that is taking us down a road of huge changes, an unrealistic way of living, a very egoistic one.
This is not about the tyranny of a Muslim state because of the Muslim faith. I was lucky enough in my life to have the chance of being in close contact with the "Muslim reality", or at least a certain "Muslim reality" since this has so many different shades (as the "western" or any other "general reality" does). This contact with the "Muslim world", although only partial and certainly incomplete, helps me understand that Muslims are people that are more similar to us than we are led to think. They have the same concerns, hopes, wishes, embedded in a somehow different culture, but deep enough to be universal and the same as for all human beings.
I do not see the "Muslim way of life" as a whole, as it would be absurd to see the "western way of life" as the lifestyle of each and every one of us. I think that if anybody wrote down a description of the "western way of life", it would be obvious very soon to him or her that NOBODY fully fits that description. The same is true for the way of life of the other cultures of the world, used to generalize.
This documentary shows the underground power and force of those concerns, hopes, wishes of human beings trapped in a political regime that uses religion as an excuse to remain in power.
There are several levels of freedom. We, in the "western world", enjoy a certain amount of freedom, more so if we recognize the manipulation we are submitted to, almost every minute of our lives. Being aware of that manipulation (or at least part of it) allows us to live outside the deception and enjoy a higher level of freedom.
There are places on Earth where the level of freedom is much lower than that, regimes in those parts of the world do not even need to use manipulation (apart from the crude manipulation of religious texts through interpretations that only benefit the status quo) to keep the population subjugated. They use brute force to restrain people from thinking, speaking, acting, learning, sharing.
Brutal repression of pacific demonstrations, prohibitions of any sort punished with imprisonment, terrible tortures and even death sentences, are the most cruel visible tip of this iceberg. Iran, as many other countries, is an alien world for us, a world where people live double lives, and this is not an exception but the rule. "Let's speak about what we like inside our homes, but never mention those things outside!" "Let's act as we please within our four walls, but be sure to obey the rules in the street!" This is the real cancer, this is how these regimes break the people of their countries into submission. This is what changed in the summer of 2009. And this is what the governors of Iran crashed with all their power.
Let the people of Iran find their own way, they want to experience the "western way of life"? Why shouldn't they be allowed to? We are doing it! Do we have more rights that they do? Apparently yes. Let them live as they want, let them find out on their own the best way to live their lives, let them discover that the "western way of life" is not the panacea our leaders want everybody to believe. Let them find their own way, and who knows, they might even find a way of living life that is BETTER THEN OURS! Let them be them, with their culture, their millennia-old rich history, their religious beliefs, their human concerns, hopes, wishes, let's see what comes out of that, let's learn from it!
Iranian, girl and rapper, those three words DO NOT GO TOGETHER, or at least that's what somebody wants all of "us" (and all of "them") to believe, but there are people who decide to believe what they feel is their real reality, and that gives me hope. The protests, the gatherings, the cries, the resistance of courageous people, but more then anything, an Iranian girl rapper. Now she knows that she is not alone.
Laura
Estas dos últimas semanas han sido muy exigentes a nivel profesional. Tuve que poner mi energía en un trabajo que me permite vivir como vivo, y estoy agradecida de poder hacerlo. A nivel personal me encontraba en el extremo receptor. Tenía mucho menos que dar, y como suele ocurrir en estos casos, recibí, y de sobra.
En pocos días, de fuentes distintas, varios documentos vinieron a mí, sobre Irán. Por qué? Estoy segura de que este es el momento perfecto para mí para tomar contacto con esa realidad. Un lugar extraño y lejano, diferente en costumbres y cultura. Sin embargo, la información que he recibido de ese lugar casi desconocido me tocó, y este es el momento en el que comparto en este diario mío lo que aprendí.
Los acontecimientos del primer documental no sólo están muy lejos en el espacio, sino que también están muy lejos en el tiempo. Todos seguramente recordaremos la Revolución Verde, pero las imágenes y los recuerdos son del verano del 2009, han pasado muchas cosas en nuestras vidas desde entonces, los recuerdos y las imágenes de aquel entonces se han guardado en un cajoncito en nuestra cabeza, y otras imágenes han ido sustituyéndolas en nuestro presente.
Bueno, esas imágenes, esos acontecimientos, regresaron con fuerza a través de este testimonio de aquellos tiempos. En el se muestra un país que yo, y seguramente muchos otros, conocemos sólo como un opresivo régimen autoritario musulmán. Este documento demuestra que un país no es y nunca será un conjunto homogéneo de personas que piensan todas lo mismo, que están todas de acuerdo con todo. Irán, como cada uno de los países de nuestro mundo, tiene millones de corazones, millones de mentes, millones de personas con su voluntad, sus conciencias y sus pensamientos. Y ninguna es igual a otra.
No se trata de la perfección del "estilo de vida occidental", soy muy consciente de que nuestro modo de ver, experimentar y USAR el mundo está lejos de ser perfecto, y mucho más que eso, es una forma de vivir que nos está llevando por un camino de grandes cambios, una manera de vivir para nada realista y muy egoísta.
No se trata de la tiranía de un estado musulmán por la fe musulmana. Tuve la oportunidad y la suerte en mi vida de estar en estrecho contacto con la "realidad musulmana", o al menos cierta "realidad musulmana", ya que ésta tiene matices muy diferentes (como la "occidental" o cualquier otra "realidad generalizada"). Este contacto con el "mundo musulmán", aunque sólo parcial e incompleto, sin duda me ayuda a entender que los musulmanes son personas que se parecen más a nosotros de lo que quieren que pensemos. Ellos tienen las mismas preocupaciones, esperanzas, deseos, integrados en una cultura diferente, pero lo suficientemente profundos para ser universales e iguales a los de todos los seres humanos.
No veo el "estilo de vida musulmana" en su conjunto, como sería absurdo ver el "estilo de vida occidental" como el estilo de vida de todos y cada uno de nosotros. Creo que si alguien escribiera una descripción del "estilo de vida occidental", se daría cuenta muy rápidamente de que NADIE se ajusta totalmente a esa descripción. Lo mismo es cierto para el estilo de vida de las otras culturas del mundo, descripciones que sirven para generalizar.
Este documental muestra el poder y la fuerza sumergidos de esas preocupaciones, esperanzas y deseos de los seres humanos atrapados en un régimen político que utiliza la religión como una excusa para permanecer en el poder.
Hay varios niveles de libertad. Nosotros, en el "mundo occidental", disfrutamos de cierto nivel de libertad, más aún si nos damos cuenta de la manipulación a la que estamos sometidos casi cada minuto de nuestras vidas. Ser conscientes de esa manipulación (o al menos parte de ella) nos permite vivir fuera del engaño y disfrutar de un mayor nivel de libertad.
Hay lugares en la Tierra donde el nivel de libertad es mucho menor que eso, los regímenes en esas partes del mundo ni siquiera necesitan utilizar la manipulación (aparte de la burda manipulación de los textos religiosos a través de interpretaciones que sólo benefician al status quo) para mantener la población subyugada. Utilizan la fuerza bruta para reprimir a las personas, para prohibirles pensar, hablar, actuar, aprender, compartir.
La brutal represión de manifestaciones pacíficas, las prohibiciones de todo tipo castigadas con penas de prisión, terribles torturas e incluso la pena de muerte, son la punta visible y más cruel de este iceberg. Irán, como muchos otros países, es un mundo extraño para nosotros, un mundo donde la gente vive una doble vida, y esto no como una excepción sino como la regla. "Hablemos de lo que nos plazca dentro de nuestros hogares, pero nunca mencionemos esos temas fuera!" "Actuemos como nos guste en el interior de nuestras cuatro paredes, pero asegurémonos de obedecer las reglas cuando salgamos a la calle!" Este es el verdadero cáncer, así es como estos regímenes doblegan a la sumisión a la población de sus países. Esto es lo que cambió en el verano de 2009. Y esto es lo que los gobernantes de Irán aplastaron con todas sus fuerzas.
Dejemos que el pueblo de Irán encuentre su propio camino, que quieren experimentar el "estilo de vida occidental"? Por qué no podrían? Nosotros lo hacemos! O tenemos nosotros más derechos que ellos? Al parecer, sí. Permitámosle vivir como ellos quieren, averiguar por su cuenta la mejor forma de vivir sus vidas, descubrir que el "estilo de vida occidental" no es la panacea que nuestros líderes quieren que todo el mundo crea. Dejémosle que encuentren su propio camino, y quién sabe, incluso capaz que encuentren una forma de vivir la vida MEJOR QUE LA NUESTRA! Permitámosle ser ellos mismos, con su cultura, su rica historia milenaria, sus creencias religiosas, sus preocupaciones humanas, esperanzas, deseos, veamos qué sale de eso, aprendamos de ello!
Iraní, chica y rapera, esas tres palabras no pegan, o al menos eso es lo que alguien quiere que todos "nosotros" (y todos "ellos") creamos, pero hay gente que decide creer en lo que siente que es su verdadera realidad, y eso me da esperanza. Las protestas, las reuniones, los gritos, la resistencia de los valientes, pero más que nada, un chica rapera iraní. Ahora ella sabe que no está sola.
Laura
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