The Playground of the Generals vs Our Playground

The image of that pickup truck driving over one of the protestors on Ashura (the day Shiites honor the martyrdom of their third most important saint Hussein) in Iran does not fade away from my eyes. My heart fills with hate, but at its height I remind myself that peace is the identity of our Green Movement. To confront this hate and identity, I stress that there is no other way left for us than to transform this hate into a powerful force and strengthen our identity. Otherwise, we will be stuck with hatred which will keep us away from our human goal. So we will stay with our true identity and shall prevail.

I know that current conditions are difficult to tolerate. But I also know that hatred has two edges: it fills the heart of the enemy and it also bitters our soul. History and experience tells us that hatred and violence are fertile grounds for the growth of Taliban-like violence of Radan, Naghdi, Mortezavi and Ahmadinejad (individuals who have been the advocates and practitioners of violence and crackdown in Iran). So until we scotch this earth, green will not grow on it.

We know that what is happening to us and our country is so bitter that it makes it difficult by the day to leave everything in the hands of wisdom. At the same time we know well that this type of fire is precisely what the coup perpetrators are hoping for. They are fueling this fire everyday through thousands of tricks. One day they tear up a photograph of ayatollah Khomeini, and another they insult desecrate the Quran, one day they launch their plainclothes agents and mercenaries, etc. But this game is very simple: Increase violence to a level that would frighten the public forcing them to stay in their houses choosing to remain silent. They know that in this game, the side that is armed to its teeth will win, and it is ready to massacre as well.

The supporters of the Green movement, on the other hand, are the losers. Let’s ask ourselves: which one of us can be like any one of the guys across us? Which one of us is capable of stealing a corpse? Which one of us can be a prison guard for life, breathe and remain alive in that tense atmosphere?

Our playground is peace. We view ourselves winners in the game of peace and righteousness and by demanding the most human values. In this game, the violence of the Taliban is the looser. All the weapons of the world have a limit, but kindness, friendship, peace and humanity have no end. The bullets of the coup perpetrators will end one day, while our love for our country and freedom has no end.

They will remain alone, while we will multiply. This is what history has shown and taught us. This is the reason why coup perpetrators want to drag people into their playground. A playground that is criminal, full of bullets and evil. They know that we do not have much tolerance in their battleground. Just as they cannot last for a moment in the playground of peace. They know that our weapon is stronger, which is why they are doing everything to take our weapon of peace and love away from us.

We too have learned from history not to put our valuable weapon down when hate rules. Our predecessors did and gained nothing. We did it and gained nothing. But our children, the Greens, the Neda Soltanis,  the Sohrabs, know that they must not do it. They know that only in the sunshine of peace and reason will the swamps of violence dry up. Worms will come to the surface and will be destroyed.