curlyosh

Hey people.
As a persian/puerto rican/italian girl I definently see this war as getting to the point to were neither side will be pleased not the american and not the middle eastern.

My parents met in Italy were my father (puerto rican/italian) was in the navy and my mother was studying abroad from Iran.At that time Iran was a dangerous place because the revolution had taken place and it was especially dangerous for those who supported the Shah of Iran. When my mother found out she was pregnant she returned to Iran to be with her family.
I was born in Tehran, Iran in 83 and i lived there since i was 5. My mother at that time had left me in Iran and she had gone to study. During the five years i lived in Iran, I remember the nights my grandfather would pick me up from bed and bring me down the cold, dark stairwells. In the dark we would listen to the sounds of bombs, screams and cries. After we would go out on the streets and see houses destroyed, fathers,mothers, grandparents, children in pain because of loss of a family member. My grandparents would try to shelter and help those who had lost everything...but they knew that it wasn't enough. As a child, I would hide under beds...trying to clear out the sounds of the bombs...the images of other children lying on the street. I was not allowed to play in parks because of the bombings that occured. My freedom as a child had been snapped away from me.

Now I am twenty one and i still get the chills when i turn on the tv and see the images of children running through the streets and families losing everything they once had-not to a natural disaster-but a man made disaster. What i don't understand is how can we EXPECT these children or people to be grateful when they have lost their family members to this war.How can we expect them to forgive and forget. I will tell you right now-if any 1 member of my family had died because of that was i would stop at nothing to get back at them-it is a natural human reaction.

Growing up with my father, i have seen the difficulties of both sides of this war. Many of my father's friends have lost sons to this war...and the only reason they do not regret this war or do not want to put this war down is Because they do not want to say that their sons died for nothing...it is a very difficult situation. And at this point way too many people died on both sides to forgive and forget. But the children are affected tremoundosly and they will make up the new generations to come and they will act on their grievences. (both sides)

Because of corrupt governments on both sides, the suffering continues and tensions build up. For example, in Tehran i think it two or three years ago were a young woman reporter was trying to get the scoop on what was going in the mideast and she was tortured to death. Or two years ago when students threw a demonstration against the government and were tortured and beaten severely. While these acts of violence continue to cast a shadow over Iran and many other countries...the roses that were once strong and fierce in the sun...slowly wither away.

This is how the world sees the middle east because of the media and tales been told by refugees BUT behind all the sadness lies a culture were the beauty is never-ending. The music ("Tarkan-dudu" try it out) , the dancing, the stories and the food.

In Vancouver, I have experienced more middle eastern pride than i have ever had. When that reported was killed their was a demonstration explaining to non-persians what had happened. In the middle of the whole thing two persians decided fighting about which flag to hold the old one or the new one with the "Allah" on it. I broke out screaming at them-that the point of this demonstration was to unite the Iranians not break them further apart. That was what that reporter was trying to do and she gave up her life because of that.

However, this year during our Persian new year...the people of Vancouver showed me what it meant to be Persian. The music united me to the people and my friends and I were dancing to Kurdish songs-I was having the time of my life. I saw these two non-persians who looked like they wanted to join in-and i grabbed their hands and pulled them in. This experience left me at awe at the wonderful feeling of sharing my culture with others.

I just wanted to share this with you because I have experienced both sides of the situation and to tell you the truth the only side I feel comfortable in is the one were the world in unified and children are left free to play in parks.

I cherish both my cultures-both the puerto rican and persians have the most awesome music ever that makes you want to shake your hips.
I hope that there will be a day one day were countries will unite and we can all experience the beauty of lost hidden cultures.

Peace and may god bless yall,
curlyoshy

MOAMANA

i think that you are expreesing my point of view with better language and words

thnx and i hope for you the happiness you missed as a child

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i am egyptian with 3b black shoulder length hair
islam rules states that 11-9 terroristic attack is wrong....so i m so sorry that there are some lunatics call themselves moslems

lostvendetta

wow. that's a terrifying thing especially for a child to endure. children who grow up in warzones, and mature in warzones, have an embedded hate in them for the opposite side. thats a no-brainer. it's the same with the israeli-palestinian conflict. they're brought up hating each other, so as the generations age, they know nothing else. one thing is for sure. none of these conflicts are at the faults of children. yet children are screaming as they hide in dark cellars, dank corners, and under whatever cover they can find. my heart goes out to you, and to your family, and to all nations and peoples in such predicaments. it seems now.. that especially for Iran, an easy path out of such harsh conflict does not exist. no one wants their sons to have died in vain, no child wants to know that their fathers death was a pointless one. of course not. but somewhere, somehow, fighting has to be stopped, because as the death tolls rise and rise, it really will be in the end that maybe those sons did die in vain, and children must realize that a fathers death couldve have been stopped. for those who have died, nothing can be changed for them. for those who still live, its up to them to decide who has to die next.

you know. sometimes i wonder if the world is just going to get worse and worse until it cant stand itself a eliminates everyone. yes its a morbid way to think, maybe. but in situations like the one you speak of, everything looks so grim, theres no wonder at all, why the people feel so hopeless.

May light soon shine in a world too long hidden under the clouds. Pity, even though clouds hover over head, the sun still sees what is hidden beneath them. And he cries...,
--
Courtney

NetG

curlyosh, thank you for that post.

I think the human beings affected are often forgotten in the bickering over who is right, and your story is exactly the kind of thing many of us need to think about more!


I don't know if I should say I'm sorry you had to live through that-it's part of who you are, and you have turned into a very eloquent writer, so maybe for you it was good overall. But the pain and fear you had-no one should have that!

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The pews never miss a sermon but that doesn't get them one step closer to Heaven.
-Speckla

But at least the pews never attend yoga!

alguma pessoa

Thank you for that post, curlyosh. I know you have posted your story before but it is great to remind people that human beings/innocent civilians are hurt by wars.

It bothers me so much to think of what war does to the psyche of young children. Unfortunately, war is not a problem just for the Iraqi and Afghani children; wars are happening in other places in the world and the children are the ones getting the "raw deal."

Question: Why not post this on the main Non-hair board. That board gets more "traffic" and your story could reach more people.

Take care

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We're all born mad. Some remain so.