Wow... Just One More...

[WillyT]

Tuesday, June 16, 2009
What I Have Witnessed; An Account From A Medical Student in Iran

<snip>

I found this on Nico Pitney's live blog on Huffintong Post that he's been running since the Iran election fallout began. It has been the best source of news other than Twitter. I choose this piece because as a medical professional, I find this both heartbreaking and very powerful.


6:03 PM ET -- "What I have witnessed." A powerful note from a female medical student in Iran, translated from Farsi by a trusty reader.

Hello,

It's painful to watch what's happening.

I don't want anything to do with what has been said this far, as I neither have the strength nor the resilience to face all these unfathomable events.

I only want to speak about what I have witnessed. I am a medical student. There was chaos last night at the trauma section in one of our main hospitals. Although by decree, all riot-related injuries were supposed to be sent to military hospitals, all other hospitals were filled to the rim. Last night, nine people died at our hospital and another 28 had gunshot wounds. All hospital employees were crying till dawn. They (government) removed the dead bodies on back of trucks, before we were even able to get their names or other information. What can you even say to the people who don't even respect the dead. No one was allowed to speak to the wounded or get any information from them. This morning the faculty and the students protested by gathering at the lobby of the hospital where they were confronted by plain cloths anti-riot militia, who in turn closed off the hospital and imprisoned the staff. The extent of injuries are so grave, that despite being one of the most staffed emergency rooms, they've asked everyone to stay and help--I'm sure it will even be worst tonight.

What can anyone say in face of all these atrocities? What can you say to the family of the 13 year old boy who died from gunshots and whose dead body then disappeared?

This issue is not about cheating(election) anymore. This is not about stealing votes anymore. The issue is about a vast injustice inflected on the people. They've put a baton in the hand of every 13-14 year old to smash the faces of "the bunches who are less than dirt" (government is calling the people who are uprising dried-up torn and weeds) .

This is what sickens me from dealing with these issues. And from those who shut their eyes and close their ears and claim the riots are in opposition of the government and presidency!! No! The people's complaint is against the egregious injustices committed against the people.

<snip>

Link: http://www.inicotone.com/2009/06/what-i-have-witnessed-account-from.html

That's it... I'm done for the night.

[magellan]

1. Thank you for sharing that

Heartbreaking. I'm bookmarking.

K&R

[StrictlyRockers]

2. Wow, I had no idea it had gotten so bad there.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but I thought a lot of the hype about the totalitarian regime was just that, hype and propaganda. The Iranian people will hopefully find a way to unite with the American people and help each other attain freedoms. I want to help them. And I think we need to change course here from increased surveillance and wiretapping and such, too.

[drm604]

3. So in their attempts to suppress dissent, all they're doing is causing resentment and more dissent.

The part about spiriting away the bodies, and not letting the medical personnel gather personal information is telling. It shows that they know that what they're doing could create even greater dissent and are therefore trying to suppress evidence of their crimes.

Fortunately, their attempts at information suppression are failing dismally.

[chill_wind]

4. Nico Pitney on Rachel Maddow:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x325480

[Kaleko]

5. Can you edit your headline to make it more hard-hitting

as is the rest of your post? I want more people to see this OP.

A coup has taken place in Iran. This concerns everybody on earth whether they know it or not.

[ColbertWatcher]

6. Thank you for posting this. k+r, n/t

[DaveinJapan]

7. heartwrenching. n/t

[jeanpalmer]

8. What did these people do to end up in the morgue or the hospital?

I think that's a legitimate question. If they were peacefully demonstrating, then the actions of the authorities come into question. But from what I've seen, many of them went beyond peacefully demonstrating. Some of them engaged in rioting. And some of them engaged in assaults on police officers and others. There are laws regarding how authorities can respond to those kinds of activities, and use of force is allowed. If the actions are serious enough, deadly force is allowed.

So it's unfortunate that injuries and deaths occurred, to the extent they did. But that by itself does not determine cuplability. You really do have to look at the actions of each individual. And in this kind of environment, that's hard to do. Hopefully one side or the other has pictures or videos that will help make a determination. But until that is done, it is innacurate to place blame on one side or the other. The fact that you believe you were defrauded in an election doesn't give the right to riot and assault. But if the ultimate determination is made that you really lost in a fair election, well then you really had no right to engage in those kinds of unlawful activity.

[Wednesdays]

9. K&R

:kick: