Iranian Conflict Hits Home in Denver

Iranian immigrants are more visible in the crowds broadcast from Los Angeles, but passions are also flaring here in Denver and throughout the United States. Concern for relatives, hope for change, and thoughts of how their birthplace will be transformed by the events unfolding all are on their minds.

Many of the Iranian immigrants I have met here in Denver's diverse population have been women and highly educated. Although higher education is available to women in Iran, restrictions mean that they are limited in what they can do with their degrees. One friend found herself unable to participate in research, for example. In Iran, they also risk drawing unwelcome attention as they test the limits of their society, with many official and unofficial organizations making it their business to enforce attention to 'traditional' values and behavior.

Before the election, the possibility of change that my Iranian friends expressed was similar to the passions surrounding the campaign of Barack Obama. As here, the challenger in Iran still came from within the political system, but would represent the voice of the people more. When the election suddenly turned to suspicions of fraud, the people felt it directly. When authoritarian voices declared the winner and the escalating consequences for challenging the results, the tide shifted.

In Iran, as in many other tightly controlled countries, people seem not to be surprised by government limiting their freedom and rights. What caused such a strong reaction among people I know is the awareness that the will of the people was strong enough and passions high enough that the government might be caught off guard - and no one could predict how that would progress.

My Iranian friends have varied in their responses, with older ones talking passionately among themselves while younger ones find Internet connections and Persian chat rooms and ask for news, rumors, anything that makes it through the censors and filters. External telephone service was quickly cut as the election turned controversial, so even 'health and welfare' information has been as hard to obtain as it would be during a natural disaster. Satellite TV and news provide some information, and Iranians here watch to catch clues of how the tide might turn, thinking both of the future of their country and how it might be transformed, as well as whether their loved ones are at increased risk or even in the middle of violence.

In public in America, my Iranian friends have told me, they have to be careful about revealing their nationality. Americans associate them with their government, and even the women are asked about their guns and anti-American sentiments. One friend calls herself 'Persian' when asked, and apparently that is quite common. One hopeful outcome of the events in Iran is letting the world understand that Iranians are not their government, they are individuals as we are. Some in Iran may have violent dispositions or regressive thinking, but their grasp on power may be weakening. An episode of Rick Steves' travel show on PBS showed a journey through Iran which enlightened many Americans with a very different side of Iran, skiing and partying, enjoying family life and extending profound kindness as Steves explored a very ancient country facing some modern troubles.

Our media and government tend to show a short-term, adversarial view of world events, but Iranians have been pointing back to the 1950's when the U.S. was involved in establishing the Shah, and the 1970's when we again sought a change in the government there which led to the current leadership. In fact, the handling of American hostages held by Iran in the late 1970's may have led to Ronald Reagan's first term, replacing Jimmy Carter.

Barack Obama faces a similar challenge, as some local Iranians as well as those in Congress criticize him for his 'masterly inaction,' expecting the usual U.S. intervention. If in whatever actions he takes he recognizes Iranians' passion and their right to self-determination, the new generation in Iran may learn that they have the right to make their own choices, even if that right is purchased, as America's was, with bloodshed.