An elegant Manhattan apartment overlooking Central Park provided warmth and
safety for American reporters representing four news agencies to speak directly
with four Iranians facing drastically different circumstances. “If we get caught
talking to foreign reporters, they’ll take us to Evin prison and hang us,” said
“Mobarez Naftooh,” hiding behind a screen and speaking through a phone-line
encrypted VOIP operation.
Yet, for two hours, the quartet, sitting in
cities across Iran, defied authorities in order to take turns answering an array
of questions on subjects ranging from life in the Islamic Republic to the
intricacies of hearing news and alerting the outside world to the realities of
the situation they face. Unspoken among their audience was the reflexive ear
listening for the knock on the door that, thankfully, never came.
The
force behind “The New Iran,” a US-based, grass-roots organization established in
mid-2010, is Dr. Iman Foroutan, an Iranian-American computer and electrical
engineer with a long history of creating resistance groups; his avowed mission
is to use non-violent means to topple the Iranian regime and establish a secular
democracy.
Acting as interpreter, Foroutan explained to us that at the
other end of the Internet hook-up were a woman described only as a “technocrat,”
an attorney, a student and a building contractor. Each, in turn, adding pieces
to the tapestry that became a reality check on the present situation and a view
into a future that all agreed is heading toward the critical mass that would
overthrow the Khamenei regime. The consensus was that external assistance is
needed; and that a short window of opportunity exists for it to
happen.
That set the scene for a plea that echoed comments we’ve heard
from Syrians during the past nine months. “Why,” they asked, “was America
willing to help even with military might to oust Libya’s Gaddafi, and provide
moral support for the toppling of Egypt’s Mubarak despite his long standing as a
friend of the US, but not to help Iranians reach the tipping point for ousting
the oppressive yet shaky government that presents a greater threat to the region
and the world than Libya and Egypt combined?”
IRANIANS SEEM surprised that the
American leadership hasn’t caught on to the reality that help comes in many
forms and doesn’t necessarily mean a beach-front assault by the Marines or
sending in waves of cruise missiles.
“The US seems always to be two steps
behind,” “Damovand,” the contractor, charged. “There was a window of opportunity
following the elections when rioting filled the streets. We hoped for help, but
it never came.” They’re not asking for military intervention. “Where,” for
instance, “will our electricity come from if nuclear facilities are attacked?”
The Iranian said a second opportunity is now being ignored as the Arab Spring
spreads throughout the region, and that the populace is primed for a
move.
What, then, is powerful enough to bring down an oppressive regime
that doesn’t include military force? The sanctions could work, but won’t unless
applied effectively. To “Mobarez Naftooh,” that means targeting the central bank
and petroleum companies.
And information. All four of the distant voices
were disheartened by the failure of the Voice of America radio to step up to the
plate.
“VoA might as well be staffed by agents of the Iranian
government,” they all agreed. Although communicating with foreign journalists
can cost one his or her life, it will not come as a surprise that the flow of
reliable information remains atop the list of “must haves.” Hence, the profound
disappointment with VoA. But it will no doubt surprise many that all of the
Iranians named Israel Radio’s Farsi channel as the “best radio in
Iran.”
In fact, if anything surprising came of the interview it was the
unequivocal dispelling of the uncompromising rejection of the Jewish state that
has become the signature of the Khamenei/Ahmadinejad regime. Imagine,
instead of being told that the Israeli-Palestinian issue is the mother of all
Middle East conflicts and fuels all unrest found there, we’re hearing that once
the Islamic Republic goes, the tinderbox the center of which is Israel
disappears.
“We have no borders with Israel and no relationship with
Israel,” the contractor told us. “Yalda,” the sole woman of the group, echoed
that “the Iranian people have no fight with Israel,” and as if to offer proof
that Ahmadinejad doesn’t speak for the people added that, “we do believe the
Holocaust happened.”
So what did we learn from the Iranians who risked
life and limb to make their case to four American reporters who would in turn
take it to the American people? The story of the decade is unfolding and we’re
remarkably ignorant of what is happening. For all of its sanctions and
threats, the West has virtually allowed the Khamenei/Ahmadinejad regime to shut
off the flow of real time information that ultimately links the Iranian people
to the world community.
The courageous lawyer known to us only as “Shahab
Shahaban,” whom we are told has written the first draft of a constitution for a
secular Iranian government, speaks to us in English with clarity and conviction
of the possibilities of democratic changes ahead.
The will-be heroes of
Iran are not attacking military convoys and blowing up government
installations. Rather, they are working hard to keep the few channels
through which information flows open and to utilize new technology to increase
the number of Iranians able to communicate with the outside world. The clear
message is that the West can help a great deal more and do so with very little
cost.
Once again we see that with greater attention paid to a more
careful reading, the Iranian street can help us better understand what is needed
and what is not; and how we can finally live up to the belief the Iranian people
have in the free world.
The writer is president and CEO of The Media Line
and founder of The Mideast Press Club.
She can be reached at
tmlnewsagency@gmail.com.