Like many people, I have been captivated by the news coming out of Iran the past few days – the photographs, the videos (I found the two videos below particularly powerful, especially since they do not contain any graphic imagery) and yes, even the tweets. 

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBQbDltPuCY 

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C69NvFGxZQE 

I am very passionate about Iran. Having worked at the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center in New Haven, Connecticut (www.iranhrdc.org) just prior to joining the Kosovo Women’s Network, I have come to learn a lot about the Islamic Republic, it’s political system and it’s people. I even wrote my Masters thesis on Iran. So, as these historic events are unfolding, I want to talk about what is happening, what could happen in the coming days, and what it all means.

But no one here is talking about Iran.

I have tried to start a dialogue on Iran several times, with several different people.  But Kosovars don’t want to talk about the election, the demonstrations, or the violence – especially the violence.  

At first, I couldn’t understand why no one (at least from my perspective) seemed interested in Iran. Then, a young Kosovar woman explained it to me. She stated that they simply have too many painful memories of their own experiences to open themselves up to more.  They need to look to the future and focus on building the democratic institutions of their “newborn” country.

For those who are interested in learning more about the current situation in the Islamic Republic, definitely check out fellow Advocacy Project Fellow Farzin’s blog (http://advocacynet.org/wordpress-mu/farzin/). He has done an amazing job presenting the current events from an angle that very few news outlets are covering.