5:30 pm, the battle zone
“Ely………….., Hooman,….. bodoeen, Omid…” screamed Jaleh. The police and plain clothed militia had cornered Omid and were beating him. We ran towards him and attacked the dogs. Hooman charged towards the guards in the street, opened his arms wide and with his operatic bas voice screamed “Bezan, Bezan,..(hit me, hit me), maadar gh.. bezan (mother xxx hit me). The guard raised the club but his hands were shaking and then brought his club down. I arched over Omid as Jaleh was screaming “bee gheirat” (a man without virtue) and people started chanting “bee gheirat” to the guards and the police. I felt the burning on my back as I tried to shield Omid, he was crying “man faghat mikhaam beram khooneh (I just wanna go home). They were hitting me hard, my hands, and my legs and suddenly there was darkness as I felt a terrible pain on the back of my head and the sounds and vision blurred into oblivion.
All we can do is hope for the best.
This is agonizing to watch and I don’t see it turning out well for the protesters or their families. With nothing but stones and lighters as weapons, they hardly stand a chance. At best their bravery and sheer numbers are a spark that theocratic middle eastern regimes may see as capable of igniting a wildfire unless certain demands are met.
I just can’t see Obama handling this any better than Bush 41 handled Tiananmen Square. I don’t have that much imagination.
Unless something happens this evening, it appears to be over now. Obama came out and told Khamenei to stop the brutality, and the protesting stopped. Ahmadinejad will still be President, as well Obama. They both saved peace from the clutches of chaos.