Mid-East Meets Midwest

Nassim Nazemi

The news from Iran has died down, but some Americans, like Chicago’s Nassim Nazemi, have not stopped their fight. Click the play button to hear what she has to say.

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Highlights:

• “We expected that no matter who won the election, it would be business as usual”
• “Suddenly we’re using social media, things like Twitter and Facebook to actively resist oppression and to help people actively resist government oppression.”
• “It got harder and harder to get the world’s attention as the protests waned, as time went by, as Michael Jackson died and took over the news cycle.”
• “I know one thing with certainty and that is, Iran will never be the same.”

Don’t want to listen? Here’s the transcript:

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to speak with Nassim Nazemi, an Iranian-American, to talk about what she has been doing to help foster democracy in Iran and help her friends and family that are still there.

First Question Nassim… have you always followed Iranian politics so closely?
I would say myself and most of my friends and family who’ve become involved in one way or another never really viewed themselves as politically active in any way.  Most of us, at least speaking for myself, didn’t expect much to come out of the election.  We viewed it with the same skepticism that we’ve developed over the last 30 years in regards to this Islamic republic.  We expected that no matter who won the election, it would be business as usual.

And what role has social media played in your efforts?

Folks like myself and other people who are kind of observing this from the comfort of our home computers have been using Facebook to spread the news, to get the news.  Really without the social web, the world would not know what was happening in Iran.  Iranians would not be assembling the way that they are, and Iranians like myself, expatriate Iranians, would not be able to spread this information nearly as efficiently.  And I think it goes beyond just sort of a news function.  You know when you have people, disinterested individuals across the world, across the United States, setting up proxies and bridges and using all of their sort of technical expertise to assist the Iranian people in accessing a free internet, suddenly the game has changed.  Suddenly we’re using social media, things like Twitter and Facebook to actively resist oppression and to help people actively resist government oppression.

The news about this situation in Iran has died down a lot, does that mean it’s over?

It got harder and harder to get the world’s attention as the protests waned, as time went by, as Michael Jackson died and took over the news cycle.  You know it’s unfortunate but things like that are more interesting than a possible revolution in Iran.

So what do you think will be the final outcome of this election?

Wow, I really wish I had my crystal ball handy.  What will be the final outcome of the election?  All I can say is I’ve known Iran as long as I have been alive, I was born the year of the revolution and I’ve seen the fallout of that Islamic revolution every day ever since.  I know one thing with certainty and that is, Iran will never be the same.  This is not just an election.  I think it’s important for people to understand that this was a turning point in Iran’s evolution as a society.

A big thank you to Nassim for giving us her time.  If you want to get involved with the democracy movement in Iran, you can join Nassim and many others July 24 at the Federal Plaza in Downtown Chicago.  I’m Jessica Harbin and that’s your Mid-East Meets Midwest report.