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Monday, June 22, 2009

The Power of Neda

Three images will be permanently etched in my mind as indicative of what the horrors of war mean. Or put in another way, what the result of the use of brutal force by a regime in power can inflict upon its citizens.

1. 1960s, Vietnam- a naked girl child running towards the camera, the horrors of what she has been through, clearly reflected on her little face.A time when the US of A had fought a long, bitter and bloody battle in Vietnam at the end of which they were forced to retreat.

2. 1987-Tiannamen Square, Beijing, China. A lone young man attempting to stop a tank as it comes towards him.All to no avail, as it brutally and ruthlessly mows him down.

3. 20th June, 2009, A young woman called Neda, as she lay dying on a street in Tehran. With blood coming out of her nose mouth and her father wailing and groaning in agony, simply because there was nothing that he could do for his daughter.

Yet all the while, a doctor tried very hard to resusicate her. All to no avail.

According to reports from inside Iran, Neda was a 27 year old philosophy student who was attending the protests with her lecturers and fellow students. The reports claim that she was seemingly shot at random by a member of the Iranian Basij volunteer militia who drove past on a motorbike.

At this moment, my fervent wish and desire is that the death of Neda should not have been in vain.Also that it should become the rallying cry of all those Iranians who are protesting at the current situation.

Long live- The Power of Neda

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