FOR's Peacemaking Delegation to Iran: May 2007

 

Report Two, Part 2: The Need for Dialogue -- Political Observations

 

Seyed Rahim Bathaei: Misinformation -- Why We Need Civilian Diplomacy

Some of the delegates have questions, like whether Iranian women must have their husbands’ permission to stay in a hotel, if they are staying alone or with their family members. I was shocked by this question. We don’t have that system. Women need their husband’s permission to get a passport, but not to stay at a hotel. A lady in the delegation said she’d heard that women can’t stay in a hotel room with sisters or brothers or even a son. That was strange to me – why should people think that way? When I asked more, the person said it came from a book she read about Iran. That piece of information came from an Iranian who had fled the country some years ago after the revolution.

I have heard similar questions, that they might get hurt or get arrested because a man and a woman shake hands. Not on this delegation, but I have heard foreigners say, they shook hands out of habit and suddenly remembered, “Oh no, we are in Iran” and asked “Will they cut off our hands because of this?” Where does it come from? When I heard that question, I took that lady’s hand in my hand and kept it in my hand for two or three minutes. I explained that it has never happened in this country. No one has even said such a thing.

It shows how people are getting misinformed. I wondered to myself: How can we eliminate these misunderstandings? There are so many, too many misunderstandings. Maybe there are better ways, but what I think of now is this civilian diplomacy. Even if we can’t meet each others’ leaders or politicians, we can meet ordinary people. By this very ordinary and everyday practice of life, like shaking hands and greeting each other, we can find out what some parts of reality are.

I think it’s good to have these delegations coming and going. It’s not useless. It’s not all politicians in high positions, and we can’t do anything because these things are being decided behind closed doors. If we understand each other, then we can affect politicians. I don’t think politicians come from other galaxies. These are brothers, sisters, fathers, sons, daughters, who come from the same city or state we come from. Somehow they will listen to us. They are hearing us. [Ed.: Seyed Rahim Bathaei served as a local guide and Farsi interpreter for the delegation.]

 

John Lindsay-Poland: Dialogue Is the Foundation

Many Iranians I spoke with were interested in politics, and brought it up themselves. A fabric merchant in the Yazd bazaar said that President Ahmadinejad is an honest man, and that Bush should sit down with him to talk. While in Esfehan, known as a conservative city, the president was speaking near the main square. When asked what was happening, a policeman said, “That lunatic is talking again.” One man said that Ahmadinejad is determined to develop nuclear power, even if he loses his head, while another man said Ahmadinejad has no power, is just a spokesperson.

I am still impressed by the positive attitude of a man attending a seminar on banking who said that the governments of our two countries are the problem. When asked how we should deal with our governments, he said that Americans must pressure from their side and Iranians from their side to elect leaders who favor dialogue. He didn’t talk about whether they should favor nuclear power or disarmament, but about dialogue as the foundation for all other change.

 

Kay Fields: Soldiers and Poets

Since our first days here, we have traveled by bus and plane and bus again from the Caspian Sea in the north to Shiraz, 600 miles farther south, over to Yadz in the desert, and west to Esfehan. Wherever there was water for irrigation, there was rice or wheat or orchards. Unfortunately, as we have done more sightseeing, it seems harder to bring up international relations with the people we meet, because our conversations are shorter.

I have encountered perhaps dozens of Iranians, and not a single person has yet mentioned hating the United States or being threatening or resentful in any way. Perhaps they are too polite to express such reactions to an American?

There have been many people in uniform in Esfehan these two days, but they seemed benign and were even reassuring, saying that we could call on them for any help we needed. I immediately thought of being lost in the bazaar, but I imagine they were thinking of pickpockets or the like. They seem to be out in force because their president is here giving speeches and attending meetings.

Whatever is going on, we certainly have not seen demonstrations or banners condemning U.S. policy. The newspapers have run articles saying that diplomatic contacts and dialogue are long overdue, and that the United States will need Iranian cooperation to extract itself from the mess in Iraq. We even saw a report about an Iraqi minister saying that they will make deals for their oil resources with Iran or whoever they want, without outside (i.e. U.S.?) interference. I thought: good for them!

What most impressed me was the good humor of the four or five out-of-uniform soldiers that I met at the Tomb of Hafiz, a Persian poet of Chaucer’s era. I could not help but ask myself: How many of our active-duty infantrymen on a day’s leave would approach a poet’s marble memorial, place two fingers on the coffin, have their picture taken and hang around chatting to foreigners? They were most emphatic that our group should come back to the Caspian Sea area, which seemed to be their base and a source of great pride to them. I can’t really remember why the joking came around to my karate kicks (very rusty), but we parted on excellent terms and in total agreement that our leaders should pursue peaceful means of settling our differences.

 

Go to Part 3 of the Second Report