‘Each day is like a funeral for us’

Speideh (23)“On June 12th, a large group of us Iranian students gathered and went to Den Haag to vote in Iran’s 10th presidential election. We each went with the hope of having an impact – even though small – on solving our country’s problems and creating a better future. But the day after was a huge shock. The unexpected result was announced, and we wondered if the result was reliable, or fraud or simply a coup d’état. Then news about protests in Iran and police violence against our people started coming out. Our friends in Tehran were taking pictures and videos of streets on fire, of young men and women covered in blood, and sending them to us, so that we could send them to CNN, BBC…. Each day this week has been like a funeral for me and my friends. We’re all worried about our families back home. Meanwhile, all we can do now is gather together and tell people about what is happening in Iran. But still, I feel embarrassed to be just an observer who cannot be near my brothers and sisters risking their lives for our rights. Now, we just hope someone can stop the violence, so that we can revive our trespassed rights and have a fair, honest election.”

Reza (25)“Students at many Iranian universities are protesting against the fraudulent election, as riot police try to suppress these peaceful objections. At Shiraz University, two students were killed, and afterwards the university’s dean resigned. Many students were seriously injured and arrested during police attacks on Esfahan University. The most brutal attack was at the Tehran University dormitory, where five students were killed, many more terribly injured, and some 200 students arrested. The riot police used tear gas, guns, truncheons and knives to assault students. They broke down dorm room doors with axes to beat and arrest students hiding in their rooms, and then refusing to allow ambulances through to treat the wounded. More than 100 Tehran University professors resigned in protest. Kave, who studies at Sharif University and achieved the second highest grade in the national MBA exam, and his mother, were both shot. His mother is dead. Kave is in critical condition in hospital.”

Khashayar (24)“As an Iranian student at TU Delft, this unrest at home has definitely affected my life here. I’m in touch with friends back home via Internet and have heard and seen many depressing stories and videos from Tehran, where I lived for ten years. Fortunately, my family lives in Bandarabbas, in southern Iran, where there isn’t as much violence as in Tehran. But the problem is that I don’t know when I can see my family again. I wanted to go home  this summer, but because of the events of the past two weeks, I haven’t been able to study for my exams nor work on my thesis, and therefore I cannot leave. But I still hope to take my exams this month and then go home. No one knows what the end is. But we all believe that together we can beat this crucial dilemma.”

Hadi Asghari (30)
“The events unfolding in Iran today belong to a bigger story that will progress, whatever happens. It’s the story of a reform movement that started 12 years ago and believes peaceful change is possible in our ’semi-democratic’ government. During the past months, we reformists campaigned extensively for Mousavi. Many Iranians who don’t usually vote were motivated to vote. It wasn’t easy: even at TU Delft we held two debates, discussing the disastrous consequences of Ahmadinejad remaining in power, and such discussions went on everywhere: in the blogosphere, in families, between colleagues…. I regularly called home to discuss these issues with family and friends. We also spoke with people who had fallen for Ahmadinejad’s words last time and voted for him. I had two such friends: intelligent students I met during my Bachelor’s. For four years we discussed things. Right before this election, they emailed me to say they were actively campaigning for Mousavi! Unfortunately, one of them, Mehdi, was arrested during the protests and is now in Evin prison. The green reform movement won the hearts and minds of most Iranians. Mousavi talked about removing Iran from world isolation, and Iranians loved this. Prior to the elections, the streets of Iran were full of happy people. And then, unbelievably, fraud was committed. But this is the sad story of my country: a minority uses any means to remain in power – what ever the costs. Despite the worrying stories I hear from home, all is not bad. The world has seen our new face. It also assured us that ‘we are countless’. I hope the government accepts the will of my people. But whatever the outcome, reform in Iran cannot be stopped. My reformist friends and I will continue recruiting Iranians like Mehdi, one by one, to the cause of peace, hope and knowledge. And we are countless.”

Saam (24)“Since neither I, nor my friends, knew anyone here or in Iran who was voting for Ahmadinezhad, nobody gave him the slightest chance of being re-elected. The news hit me hard. Checking ‘nu.nl’, I learned that he was already celebrating victory. My first thought: How could they manually count 45 million votes in less than three hours?! Part of me was relieved that most people around the world cannot understand Farsi, and thus cannot truly understand the ridiculous happenings in my country. But yet I also wanted the world to know how easily they can commit such large-scale fraud. Ahmadinezhad is not our choice. I was very happy about the protests. Finally! I was also surprised, since the Islamic Republic was ‘ideal and perfect’ on the surface. No protests before, except, of course, those calling the USA ‘the great Satan’. News of the Tehran University dormitory attack shocked me. I kept comparing my situation here to their situation there. It was very frustrating to know I could do nothing to help them.”

Maryam (24) “The true heart of Iran lies in its people and their remarkable national unity in times of need. One of my last memories of living in Iran dates back to 1997, when Khatami was elected as the first president of Iran who dared speak of reform and change. Fast forward eight years, when I went to vote in Den Haag, frustrated at my friends in Iran who were boycotting the elections because the promised change wasn’t enough – they had simply given up. Hearing Ahmadinejad announced as that election’s winner brought tears to my eyes. But as Iran’s people watched what happened to our country over the past four years, they realised that they must speak out loudly. The streets filled again with people cheering for their reformists and ‘Going Green’ – the color of reformist candidate Mousavi. But now when the unbelievable vote counts were pronounced, Iran’s people felt cheated of their basic human rights and protested in their millions. We were all so emotional. Hope was emerging; we thought the country was clearly showing what it stands for, but that day ended in bloodshed. As the days pass, we’re all hooked to our computers. We’ve witnessed millions of people out on the streets day after day, marching in silence and commencing a new beginning to a new civil movement. The big question on our minds now is how this will all end, and what the fruits of our nation’s labour will be?” 

Amir (25)“For nearly 30 years the Iranian nation has been stereotyped in other parts of the world, without people really understanding how different Iranians are from what they see or hear through Iran’s state-controlled media. During the last few days the Iranian people have confronted fascism with the only thing they have left to spare: their lives. They’re demanding their freedom, showing the world that what the so-called supreme leader of Iran Khameneyi says is not what the people say. The Iranian people are standing up for democracy! The world has seen this many times before: dictators, blinded by power, brutally trying to silence the voices of people who want freedom, peace and democracy. We believe we have learnt from history. We believe in being better than those who kill the innocent voices. We understand that real democracy won’t happen until we fight every last dictator, even if this fighting is only telling your friends: ‘I support these people, deep in my heart.’”

Zo gladjes als de toeristen straks in een zeppelin boven de Wadden moeten glijden, zo hobbelig was de weg naar de eerste vlucht. Oud-burgemeester Berend Jansema van Harlingen en Coevorden maakt zich al jaren sterk voor zeppelinvluchten boven de Waddenzee. Hij had 155 duizend euro subsidie van de provincie Friesland, een vergunning, een gehuurde zeppelin en flink wat publiciteit. Genoeg voor de ‘ecotoeristische rondvluchten’.
Maar uitgerekend de milieubeweging tekende bezwaar aan. Onterecht, besliste de Raad van State vorige week. Jansema’s Stichting Zeppelinvluchten Waddenzee mag proefvluchten maken, zo meldde onder andere het Algemeen Dagblad.
Milieuorganisaties zijn bang dat de vliegende gevaartes de vogels en zeehonden storen. “Die milieubewegingen kijken naar mogelijke verstoring van een habitat”, zegt dr.ir. Arjan van Timmeren desgevraagd. “Maar je kunt zeppelins ook zien als een milieuvriendelijke manier van luchttransport.”
Zo zag Van Timmeren het ook, toen hij in 1994 een plan maakte om zeppelins in te zetten als alternatief vervoermiddel. Van Timmeren wilde voor zijn afstuderen bij Bouwkunde een duurzaam luchtvaartterrein ontwerpen, maar werd naar huis gestuurd. “Luchtvaart is niet duurzaam, kreeg ik te horen.” Zoekend naar milieuvriendelijke alternatieven kwam hij bij zeppelins uit. Die zweven door het helium dat erin zit; met weinig brandstof gaan ze al vooruit. “Ik ontwikkelde palen om ze aan te leggen in de stad. Na een treinreis naar Groningen, zou je per luchtschip bijvoorbeeld naar Schiermonnikoog kunnen.”
Het idee van Van Timmeren, nu universitair docent klimaatontwerp en duurzaamheid, deed destijds veel stof opwaaien. “Bij marketing en communicatie hadden ze mappen vol krantenknipsels over mijn plan.” Maar ondanks alle interesse, is het nog steeds niet zo ver als in de jaren dertig van de vorige eeuw, toen er een lijndienst voor zeppelins bestond. Te weinig investeerders. Mogelijk vanwege de ramp met de Hindenburg in 1937, waarvan de beelden tot de dag van vandaag indruk maken. “Maar de huidige zeppelins gebruiken helium in plaats van waterstof, andere verf en andere folie. We zijn inmiddels een flink aantal fases verder.”
Van Timmeren pleit ervoor groter te denken. “Steeds zijn er plannen voor zeppelins van ongeveer honderd meter. Daar kun je met twaalf mensen in”, vertelt hij. “Als je de sigaar twee keer zo lang maakt, kunnen er ongeveer driehonderd mensen mee. Dan wordt het pas rendabel als alternatief vervoermiddel.”
Met de rondvluchten boven de Waddenzee kunnen twaalf passagiers mee die voor een kaartje tweehonderd euro moeten betalen. “Wie het kan missen, heeft er een prachtige ervaring voor. Maar die rondvluchten zijn voor de happy few”, aldus Van Timmeren. “Maar het kan wel bijdragen tot acceptatie van de zeppelin en ontsluiting van de markt.”