a taxi story

Hello world. I'm back. Since my last post I've been dithering in the unkempt world of no-wireless and it has made me very hobo-like. It's been a mess of USB keys-as-necklaces, webmail and back-and-forth that I barely have enough energy to describe. And what's worse is that I've had no outlet to regale you with daily tales of discoveries and stories.

And so, as a sort of small apologetic offering to the world, I give you a wee story to whet your appetites.

Of course, it all went down in a taxi cab.

I was rushing, as usual, and the skies were threatening rain, and the added pencil skirts don't work on bicycles situation didn't help, so, in an effort to solve all issues, I decided to jump into a taxi.

The driver, a lovely gentleman of (I'd guess) around 60 years of age, actually turned down the music rather than choose an obnoxious pop station for the ride. I was heading to my home, and was happy to be chauffered. Somewhere along the way, as we were stuck in traffic, the subject of the recent Iranian elections came up and he, as an emigre to Canada, and an Iranian, was quick to say he was disappointed with the results and said very clearly to me that "this is no longer about the election, it is about basic human rights, the people, the world, will not stand for this."

I asked him what we could do to achieve any kind of result or change for the country as I knew that the whole political issue hadn't been clearly explained on television. He explained that the issue was mainly that Ayatollah Khomeini (the 1st Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran) had stood up and publicly supported the election results and would not back down. At the time, he said, the people of Iran were waiting for Friday when, he explained, the Ayatollah was to speak at the Friday mosque service and hopefully make a sort of loophole statement that might concede some wrongdoing in the election.

Unfortunately, as Friday came and went, I saw no Canadian news reporting on the results of this speech, which my taxi driver had explained, he could listen to on his Iranian radio device that was giving him the best reporting he knew of about the daily situation.

I'm watching it carefully now, and so far have only seen fingerpointing from the Iranian government. First they blamed England for interfering and now they're trying to lay blame on Obama and the USA. Obama was an easy target as he actually made a public statement on the matter. Stephen Harper called the situation unacceptable in his recent press statement.

I know the issue that is going on is one thousand times worse than what we are seeing on our news, and what is leaking out quietly via social network sites like Twitter. There are likely more murders, more imprisonments, more physical wrongdoings and signs of dictatorship than anyone in the Western world would know how to manage.

It sparked something in me this taxi conversation. It was mainly a feeling of helplessness. I'm not Iranian but I often think that in times of world conflict, we get off too easily. But despite my strong feelings on the subject, I still don't know what to do. I don't know best where my time and money would be spent. I worry about the journalistic situation since they are revoking passports for foreign journalists and are threatening the lives of Iranian journalists currently inside the country.

Last year I read Azar Nafisi's Reading Lolita in Tehran. I was truly moved by this story which was part memoir and part literary criticism. It also gave me a peek into the real world of women in this country and how lucky we are in Canada to be able to even read freely.

I couldn't help but think that the recent election has regressed the world position of Iran to untenable levels.

But I still don't know what best to do. Does anybody know what we can tangibly do to make a difference from Canada? It's on my mind. I think it should be on everybody's mind these days, really. Regardless of your cultural ancestry. This is a major world event and I hope we focus hard on them and make them see it is unacceptable to continue like this.