Entry tags:

human rights, internet, politics, social media, technology, world

I am Neda: Revolution, Social Media, and the Tiananmen Square Connection

...She lies in the Tehran street with her headscarf half-off, blood pooling around her jeans and white sneakers.

"Don't be afraid, Neda dear, don't be afraid," a white-haired man says desperately in Persian. Another man presses on her chest, trying to keep her alive.

Scarlet blood gushes from her nose and mouth and courses across her pale face. Men and women scream in horror as they realize she is dead or dying. - AP, 6/22/09

The murder of 27 year old Neda Agha-Soltan at a protest in Tehran likely by Basij militia or Revolutionary Guards has become a tragic yet equally powerful symbol for Iran's struggle for freedom and given her a martyr's status in Iran.In less than 48 hours, the 40 second video was all over YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter with over a million impressions (An aside: Social media has finally justified its otherwise navel-gazing existince). Old media followed soon after, spreading the video world-wide and into the mainstream consciousness. Nearly a week after the video was recorded it is still one of the most-searched terms on the web, and today alone over 14,264 blog posts and news articles have been written about her.

YouTube: Iranian woman killed June 20, 2009 by Ali Khamanei [WARNING: The preceding link contains the real and graphic death of a human being.]

But it didn't take long for comparisons of Tiananmen's Tank Man to start rolling in. I am not sure how accurate these comparisons are given many differences between the two examples, but as powerful symbols of the struggle for freedom they are close. One such difference is that images of the Tank Man have near-universal familiarity and meaning to the rest of the world; In China, however, the powerful imagery of the Tank Man, is largely baffling to the younger affluent and educated generation many of whom had parents at the protests. On the other hand, the images of Neda's death have become a rallying cry for protesters in Iran, and despite complete media control, seems to be having an impact on the greater Iranian population to the detriment of the Islamic Republic's authority.

Furthermore, while the unprecedented protests in Tiananmen Square failed to liberalize the government of China, as the protesters had hoped, they did lead to economic reform. These economic reforms were still a far cry from the freedoms and accountability originally sought and that are still far out of reach. Meanwhile, Iran by some accounts is still fluid situation - although the edge still certainly remains on the side of the Islamic Republic. But the facade is nonetheless cracked and Ayatollah Khomeneican no longer take his power for granted in light of a younger generation that overwhelmingly seeks reform.

I really want to hear what some of you are thinking about all of this.

What do you think of the comparison of Neda to the Tank Man from Tiananmen Square?Is this a fair comparison? What do you think will be the ramifications of the poignant, public display of Neda's sacrifice? Is she the Tank Man of the Internet-generation?

Originally published at Blueblooder.com.