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Rage Is Simmering Inside Iran
(Ha'aretz) An Iranian Diary - The call was heard for a protest on Jan. 8-9. Everyone talked about it. No one knew what would happen, but a feeling of change hung in the air. Then shooting started. Forces made up of the city's residents opened fire on their fellow townspeople. The next morning, the bloodstains on the ground testified to how unarmed protesters were suppressed by means of weapons meant for wars. As the lines of communication were gradually restored, a bitter reality was revealed: Friends and acquaintances simply never returned. Out of fear of security pressure, arrest or confiscation of their children's bodies, certain families were compelled to bury the bodies of their loved ones secretly in gardens in the yards of their homes. Checkpoints were set up across the city. People were arrested for having photos or videos of the protests on their phones. More than three weeks have passed since the massacre. The checkpoints are still operating and the security atmosphere is tense. Being online offers no comfort. More and more photographs of young people who could have been the pillars of the nation have now become reduced to photos. There's one feeling that I and many others share: With the crimes it has committed, the Islamic Republic burned itself up, along with every demand it made in the name of the religion of Islam. Rage seethes throughout the country and threatens to boil over. The desire for revenge has become a collective emotion. Photographs and names of the suppressors in the various cities are currently being disseminated via social media. A separate page has been opened for each city. The faces are known, these are people who lived next to us. I heard that some people are only waiting for conditions to change in order to settle accounts with them. The level of hatred and resentment is frightening, but it is real. In many cities, a large proportion of those who took part in the suppression have already been identified.