Tag: Iran

Life & Death

Hamar WilliamsLeave a comment

The refugee crisis never really went away, it just calmed down a little and was forgotten about. People are still dying on a daily basis. Children are still drowning and we’re continuing to let it happen because of ideological beliefs, ignorance and our own self-serving desires. With the names, ages and photographs of the dead Kurdish-Iranian family being realised there is finally a human face being put on those desperate enough to risk their lives because what they leave behind is worse. Not since Alan Kurdi washed up on that Turkish beach over five years ago have refugees been treated like human beings. It is such a rarity, it stands out as novel. And here we are; Rasoul Iran-Nejad, 35, Shiva Mohammad Panahi, 35, Anita, 9, Armin, 6 and Artin, 15 months. Victims.

It would be easy to blame the current Government, they make it easy. Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, Dominic Cummings, the man with the advice. They’re responsible. The leader of the opposition Keir Starmer, he’s responsible. They are culpable but to turn this into a piece going on about particular politicians or leaders doesn’t do a dead family any honour. If anything they just get used so a point can be made. It doesn’t respect them it just makes them pawns and objects in this continued war for power. They have power, we don’t like how they use it, we think we could do better, we use a dead family as a stick and next week we find something else. We just use them. We use them in the same way the other side would use the highjacking of the oil tanker by Nigerians seeking refuge earlier this week. Desperate people getting used in desperate moments.

How then can we create legitimate discussions about the deaths of these people and find a culpable party or argue about how and whether people should be able to move freely on this planet, without using examples of those who died as a consequence of a series of decision based upon those arguments. We must be able to discuss it. Is it blame? Do discussions fail the moment we allow blame and guilt in? People make errors and there will always be repercussions but it feels like both sides of the argument, the accuser and the accused, don’t want to find a resolution, or at least a resolution that doesn’t perpetuate the cycle of suffering.

In that case we, us, me, I am just as responsible as those previously mentioned leaders. Their job is to be the face of guilt and when that guilt becomes too much they’ll be replaced by a fresh face and so on. We continue to perpetuate this by deluding ourselves into believing the next fresh face will be the good one yet we don’t even know what that means because we ourselves don’t behave or exist in any morally virtuous way. But then we’re human and we’re fallible. We need to forgive ourselves for this too and accept these ideas of good and bad are simply ideas, nothing more. In the meantime a young family have died and while young families have always died and young families will always die let’s not make their death pointless. Life is never worthless and death will always be it’s equal.

Lebanese Politics & Scottish Education

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Two issues today separated by geography and a multitude of other things. Lebanon seems completely fucked, the government has toppled and the western powers have offered $250 million dollars toward relief as an aid package. This of course on the proviso there are fundamental changes made within the country. This was demanded prior to the government collapsing and during protests so perhaps these changes have begun to be made. That is a lot of money but when the estimated bill for damages is currently at an estimated $12 billion, the sum offered seems like a spare change and it’ll be interesting to see whether the country is that desperate that they’ll accept them. Most likely help will come from Iran but they’re not exactly swimming with cash themselves so how this unfolds is anyone’s guess. Instinctively whenever I see an ‘event’ in the Middle East followed by protests and potential government/structural/regime change my life’s conditioning is that it is the the west meddling in and ruining another country.

Lebanon has serious issues in the immediate and medium term to deal with, having to endure someone else’s take on freedom is probably not required right now. Saying all of that these protests could be completely organic and those involved may be fighting for something completely independent of anything offered by outside forces be they western and Israeli, or Iranian. The country has a finely balanced sectarian structure, although it also has led to high levels of corruption, which has so far prevented another civil war for thirty years. If the country does become the latest battle ground in the Middle East Hezbollah will certainly not go down without a fight and it could become as bloody and destructive as what has happened and is continuing to happen in Syria. Or it won’t and they will get the desired support from the IMF without too many self-destructive conditions and they’ll rebuild. Really though I’m someone who has never been to Lebanon, despite really wanting to for a few years now, and who knows little beyond reasonably unsubstantiated conjecture. So let’s see.

What I do know though is that Scotland’s education system has struggled in the years the SNP have been in power. This is the second point, and it’ll be quick. They have undeniably done a lot for Scotland as a party but education seems to be one sorry mess after another. Inexplicably they have moved closer to the English education system and it’s higher levels of exam assessments despite evidence suggesting that not be the best approach. Standards have dropped as a result. Then there is this debacle over lowering students grades because of concerns they were too high across the board, but not lowering them evenly, seemingly doing so more in disadvantaged areas. To lower them is political. To lower them disproportionately is probably down to the knowledge of the pressure from those with influence in wealthy schools and potentially political too but that is less clear. Either way it is a stupid own goal in an already beleaguered part of government. Nicola Sturgeon has stood up, accepted the mistake and reversed it which is a refreshing move from a politician but it should never have got to that. The Tory propaganda machine will be going into overdrive as English results are released on Thursday and assuming they don’t go and make the same mistake. Surely that would be beyond incomprehension if they did. Which means it is safe to say they most likely will.

The Lebanon

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This incident seems strange. It seems pretty horrific too. Ammonium nitrate left in a warehouse at the port for six years and it accidentally goes off. That is not an implausible story, let’s be honest. It is possible that fertiliser is imported into a country and it is also possible that it has been left for one reason or another and abandoned. It does happen. But ammonium nitrate is also used as an explosive. It is not implausible that it has intentionally gone off.

Usually in stories like this it’s very quickly pointed out as potentially an act of terror if not jumped on and accused of being so. Unlike other previous events it feels like it is not following the same pattern. The main focus is on the fertiliser and while it is suggested investigations are open into other possibilities, this is not seized on. I have only read the article on the BBC, this could end up being an analysis of the BBC’s reporting or a sign that I’m missing many other angles elsewhere. It just feels notably out of the ordinary in comparison to how these kind of things are usually reported on when covering the Middle East.

It is important to know context with the Lebanon in regards current social and economic issues. While I admit I don’t know in depth, the country is struggling with an arguably failed economy. I’m sure I remember reading that they were on the verge of defaulting as a country for the first time which would be a massive thing. The pandemic and subsequent global economic lockdown has only exacerbated the situation. There are currently protest although I am unsure on what scale. I don’t quite know the political structure of the country but I know Hezbollah, who were elected democratically it is often forgotten and ignored, are in power but I’m sure also the Prime Minister and his ministers are not Hezbollah, so perhaps there are two system within one. The regional political situation is that they are strong allies with Iran and that the Israelis seem to be fighting Hezbollah on and off, who are also deemed a terrorist organisation in the west, yet not fighting with Lebanon, or at least that is the narrative. With all that in mind the Israelis have had to distance themselves already, but have also offered food and humanitarian aid along with offers from Boris Johnson and Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State. It’s fair to say these are ominous gestures you would be cautious of accepting.

All of which make this feel eerily calm, almost like we’re waiting for something to happen. Maybe it also means that it genuinely was an accidental explosion of fertiliser and it has caught everyone, the Lebanese, the Western powers and the media off guard. All scrambling for an as yet unknown and too sudden line to follow. The next twenty-four hours will reveal the immediate direction it’ll take as events unfold, parts of the truth come out and the death toll becomes clear. No matter what does arise, one thing is clear, it is an horrific event either way.

Tell The Truth Partisan

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I was thinking about Donald Trump today. I don’t like talking too much about American politics because I’m not American, it’s not my country and the world focuses on it enough already. The problem is that American politics plays such a large role in influencing what happens in other countries that to not take an interest in it risks potentially not understanding politics on a global scale. In that case then it’s also important to understand the situation in China, Russia, Iran and Australia. I threw in Australia there because it’s good to focus on a country that isn’t in some kind of battle with the Americans and also because their politics is so unbelievably corrupt and owned by corporate interests that it’s a warning not to be missed. That doesn’t mean we’re not corrupt and owned in Britain but at least the politicians keep up some kind of pretence.

American politics is just so unbelievably entertaining at the moment that it’s hard to keep your eyes off it. I appreciate of course that my enjoyment of politics and power as entertainment completely ignores the suffering of those who it affects. But the truth is it affects us all. And we have Boris Johnson, he’s not known as “Britain Trump” for no reason. But it’s always more than one man even though they may be desperately trying to convince you otherwise.

The thing with Trump though is that he is used to working in the entertainment industry. He understands ratings but not from a politics perspective, hence why politics has devolved into reality television. I was thinking today though that I’m starting to get bored of the constant criticism of him. That seems like a strange statement to make but it’s more that I’m just tired of hearing such completely biased and partisan news stories. It’s not that I necessarily disagree with them but I want real news, I want to know what’s really going on, not some version of events that fits a narrative and a political position. People are not idiots, they are capable of making up their minds for themselves but the left wing and the right wing seem to write such blindly ideological stories that nobody gains anything. If what you believe is right and really the best way to approach life and power then you should have nothing to fear. If the other side are full of shit and wrong then surely their argument will unravel eventually. Maybe there is something naive in this thinking, to control the narrative is to control the story but why are we so scared of being scrutinised if what we believe is genuinely the best approach.

I broke habit and voted in the last elections, and despite being bitterly disappointed Jeremy Corbyn didn’t win I will not say everything is good about him, what he thinks and how he acts. It is the same for Trump or Boris, not every single thing they suggest is bad. I may disagree with large amounts but they will have some good ideas, maybe not many but they will. How are we supposed to evolve in a mature developed society if we are unable to see moments and ideas for what they really are. Nothing is perfect, but I just want to know the truth. I want to see the world for what it is not how people want me to see it. I know I’m not alone in this and that’s only going to continue.

Jewish Iranians

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There is a real dearth of interesting and balanced reporting in these days of polarised corporate media. There is one magazine that I doubt can be classed as independent but which I have been enjoying recently and that is The Economist. It doesn’t appear to sit on either side of the spectrum and doesn’t seem to espouse a centrist position either which is even more reassuring. It reports world events and these can range from small pieces on which countries have the most dangerous roads to immediate and large stories about today’s corrupt attempt at bringing ‘peace’ to Palestine. They also have a pretty active podcast channel and it is this that is the driver behind my mentioning of them.

Today there was an interview with Nicolas Pelham, their Middle East correspondent, who when visiting Iran in July last year was detained at the airport and forced to stay for another seven weeks. It was an incredibly interesting interview and he gave a version of Iran that is rarely seen in the media. It seemed neither pro nor anti Iran, and while he explained the genuine dangers he was in and the realities of life in a dictatorship, he also painted a picture of a welcoming, hospitable and open people. This is the version I have felt having met Iranians in the past and from stories of those who have travelled the country. He was under a sort of house arrest; he had questioning in the morning and then would spend the afternoon and evening exploring Tehran. He was given a mobile phone, which he knew was bugged but which he could use to call home and he says that perversely he felt freer in those weeks than he did at any time in the week he had initially only planned on being there. He also admits that in no way was his ordeal comparable to other foreigners detained there such as Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliff, the British Iranian woman who has been detained in solitary confinement in Iranian jail for nearly four years.

What is interesting though is that he is Jewish and has spent time reporting from Jerusalem. He believed at first that this may have been a factor in his arrest but questioning never followed that route in any serious way. While there he visited the Jewish community in Tehran. It numbers about eight to ten thousand, which is about ten percent of it’s peak prior to the Arab-Israeli War, and is the largest Jewish community outside of Israel in the Middle East. When speaking with members of the community he discovered they feel safer there than in major western cities such as Paris or London and are largely left alone. He himself said it was more dangerous for him being British than Jewish in Iran.

The importance of this cannot be overlooked in regards geopolitics. The Press reports that Iran has vowed to obliterate Israel, doesn’t recognise their right to exist and that Israelis and Jewish people are in constant danger of Iranian attack at any moment. This is portrayed as anti-semitism and that the Iranian government simply hates Israel existing because they are Jewish. This seems to be at odds to the reality of this comparatively large Jewish community within Iran. Really it’s another indictment of a corrupt media, that to attack Israel is to attack Judaism, but evidently it can’t be further from the truth. We saw this recently in the UK with the constant anti-semitic slurs against pro-Palestinian Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. He refused to agree to include as part of a definition of anti-semitism in the party’s charter; that criticism of Israel and anti-semitic attacks on the Jewish community were one and the same thing.

This was a rare and honest conversation on Iran, and one with someone who was in danger of experiencing their worst tendencies. It left you in no doubt of the potential perils which can await within the country but also gave a wonderful endorsement of the people and culture, which also included his minders and guards incidentally. This is a link to the podcast for anyone interested in listening to it. Sometimes it is refreshing to experience reporting that doesn’t appear to be pushing any one thing more than the truth.

An Ignorant Act of War

Hamar WilliamsLeave a comment

What is it that goes through peoples minds when they act in a way which will inevitably have a detrimental affect upon other people. I ask this because all over the news today is the assassination of the Iranian General Qasem Soleimani by the United States. In the UK the coverage is generally subtly supportive or cautious but without ever condemning, which is predictable given the geopolitical framework in which this incident exists. The caution comes from the clear retributive dangers of inevitable actions by the Iranian government. There have been calls from across the world wide spectrum of governance about the dangers of this and calls for the deescalation of further violence. Were this to have happened in reverse the US would have already dropped the bombs in retaliation. This is an act of war and by those same rules the Iranians can justifiably fight back. The question then is that given the consequences whether this is exactly what this current US administration want, and judging by their behaviour since coming to power the answer seems pretty obvious. The Iranians have vowed revenge of equal measure, which would mean killing America’s most powerful General, or Israel’s.

Which leads to Israel. It seems the current US administration have been doing all they can since coming to power to support Israel – recognising the capital as Jerusalem, recognising the illegal settlements in Palestine as legitimate, Trump kissing some holy wall and then licking the soles of Netanyahu’s feet. The Israelis have been desperate to take on Iran for years and successive US governments have always held back from doing so. They’ve finally got what they want. If I was a betting man, the attack from Iran will not be directed at any Americans but straight at the heart of Israel. I just hope that whatever happens civilians are not caught up in it because the only constant of war is that innocent people suffer. If they take out a few Israeli generals well then so be it, they signed up for it and already have the blood of innocents on their own hands.

It is scary though. But is it scary for those making the decisions. And when they make the decisions what do they feel. It is very easy to look through the polarised lenses of good and bad, unfortunately this seems to be all that current rhetoric is made up of. The Iranians are the bad guys, they should die. The Americans and Brits the good guys, they should be applauded for their heroism in defending freedom. I’m making assumptions but I suspect those making these decisions to pull triggers do not think that what they are doing is wrong in any sense of the word. We view these people as evil in some ways but they’re not, they are just trying to make the world, or maybe more precisely their own world, a better place. I think it is important to remember that ultimately in everything people do they just want to be happy. Nobody acts in ways counter to that, not consciously at least, and he might be a cunt, but Trump just wants to be happy. The problem is though that he is going about it in such an immoral and mistaken way that there is no happiness coming for anyone out of this, least of all the innocent civilians who will inevitably bear the brunt of such monumental ignorance.