HUMAN DIGNITY
Deferred dreams
Elahe AmaniSeptember 1, 2006
The summer of 2006 marks the 18th anniversary of one of the most hideous waves of executions in Iran’s history. Let us not forget the crimes against humanity that took away and silenced thousands of the brave souls and bright young people in Iran. No one knows the exact number of political prisoners who have been executed since 1979.
But, the first decade of 1979-1989, and specifically during the summer of 1981 and 1988, Iran had one of the worst periods of human rights violations. What would happen to our collective "Deferred Dreams" for respect to human rights and human dignity? Will it explode as Langston Hughes’ poetry reminds us? (
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Despite the tragic history, however, I have faith in humanity. I believe that one day people of Iran and the international human rights community will hold the government of Iran accountable for these crimes against humanity. As Gandhi said, "You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty".
I look forward with hope and confidence to the day when the human race will respect the most basic human right, the "Right to Live " and to total eradication of all death penalty laws around the world, whether through injections, electric chairs, stonings, or fire squad executions.
The day that our dreams will not be deferred, will be the day when we actualize and realize the human rights of every person regardless of race and ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or any other layer of identity that makes us so beautifully diverse. The day that our dreams will not be deferred will be the day that people are not being denied of their "Right to Live" and death penalties, honor killings, and stonings will no longer be a part of our vocabulary.
The world of our deferred dreams is possible. According to Arundhati Roy, “she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”
source: iranian
