I've never been one to stick my nose in political goings-on because I don't normally keep up with politics. It's not something that has interested me until the 2008 elections, and even then most of the stuff I know comes from talking with friends. The world is in such a sad state of affairs right now that I figure there's nothing wrong with being willfully ignorant.
Then along came Neda Soltani, a 26 year-old Iranian woman who was shot by a militia member while peacefully protesting in Tehran. It's true that the 2009 election protests have seen many deaths (at least 17 confirmed), but this one is markedly different in that Soltani (who was marching with her father) was completely separate from the crowd at large and, even more horrifying, her death was captured on video.
From her Wiki page, according to an anonymous source:
[...] A young woman who was standing aside with her father watching the protests was shot by a basij member hiding on the rooftop of a civilian house. He had clear shot at the girl and could not miss her. However, he aimed straight her heart. I am a doctor, so I rushed to try to save her. But the impact of the gunshot was so fierce that the bullet had blasted inside the victim’s chest, and she died in less than 2 minutes. The protests were going on about 1 kilometers away in the main street and some of the protesting crowd were running from tear gass used among them, towards Salehi St. [...] Please let the world know.
The image of Soltani's bloody face has already been used among protesters as hard proof of the Iranian government's remorseless brutality against their own people, and Soltani herself is being touted as a martyr for the revolution. How appropriate, then, that the name Neda is Persian for "voice."
I can barely wrap my mind around this. As an American citizen, I know that it's very unlikely I will see this level of violence in my lifetime in my country. The thought makes me sick, but it's not enough to just feel sympathetic and pray that things turn around. I want to protest, I want to show my support. It's time to stop turning a blind eye to incidents like this and do what I can to help those who need it most. If anyone knows of protests happening in or around Savannah, GA, please let me know.
A word of caution if you go looking for the video of Soltani's last moments, it is very, very, very graphic and disturbing. Watch at your own risk.