Neda ye Sohrab

You may wonder why Neda and Sohrab are the two most talked-about victims of the recent savagery of Ahmadinejad-Thugs.

It partially has to do with the meaning and connotation of these names. Neda means "calling" or "heralding". Neda is often used in combination with words such as love "Neda-ye-Eshgh", or freedom "Neda ye Azadi".

Sohrab is the name of a character in and oedipal tale in Ferdowsi's Epic of Kings. Sohrab is the son of the unbeatable Persian Hero, Rostam. But Rostam doesn't know of his existence. Sohrab seeks Rostam, but Rostam is in disguise and unaware of his son's searching. In a battle, Rostam delivers a fatal wound to Sohrab. Before he dies, Sohrab tells him that his Father Rostam will avenge him. Only then Rostam recognizes that he has killed his own son. And it is too late.

With that introduction: Here's a song called Neda-ye-Sohrab:

Of course it rhymes in Persian. But I thought you may want a gist of the lyrics we hear these days.

News came that the winter is drifting / Silence of the dark city is lifting /Look at the foot of the Azadi of this soil [referring to Azadi (Freedom) square] / Prettiest of flowers are dying (2)

News came that people are in streets / All lovers gathered in squares / News came that Neda has rolled in blood / To not let freedom pass away easily (2).

News came that Khordad's* chest is red/ that the city is full of fire and fury / News came that Sohrab's heart is bloodied / That Taraneh's** burned in the hand of injustice.

Sky, rain on this dark night / that they open fire on lovers / they respond to us with lead and bullets / But, the axman: The Forest doesn't die.

*Khordad is the name of the Persian month when Iran's election was held.

**Taraneh is the name of the girl in the black and white photo who was killed on the same day as Neda. In persian, Taraneh means "song".

The pictures in the video belong to those whose families have gone public. Many families of victims are coerced to keep silent. It is shocking to know that the thugs are extorting money (~4000-7000 Dollars) to return the bodies to the families. It is shocking that the police and the department of justice admit that they have no control over what is happening. It is shocking that after they evacuate the Evin from the battered prisoners, the gullible and fundamentalist members of the Iranian parliament claim that the prisoners have been "satisfied" with their conditions! Reading IRNA these days literally nauseates me.

These hideous acts are not motivated by any religious belief; these are hired gangsters who are operating above the law. Just as Ahmadinejad has been operating above the law, while crying crocodile tears of fighting corruption and lawlessness ...

Many a religious leaders has come out and decried these crimes. But many more are complicit in these acts! It is their moral, ethical and professional imperative to speak up. Some have threatened that hey will migrate to Iraq. This is a symbolic protest that the shiite leaders staged during the constitution revolution as well. But this is their last chance to show to Iranians that they are "relevant".

If they leave, we shall never take them back!

If they stand up, we might forgive them for all their betrayal of democracy and their cooperation with the American conspirators who ousted Mosaddegh in the 1953 Coup!

If they stand up, we may reconcile our Nation with the spirit of Islam, and provide an alternative to the Al-Quaeda/Neocon narrative that "Islam is the religion of violence and blood" ...