Iran's "Joan of Arc"
So wrong - so horrible and so profoundly sad.
By JENNIFER FERMINO
The young Iranian woman whose gruesome killing has become a rallying cry for the nation's opposition movement eerily predicted her violent death by gunfire -- but was determined to protest against "the injustice of it all," a friend said yesterday.
As the violence continues to escalate on the streets of the embattled Middle Eastern nation, the beautiful philosophy student, Neda Agha-Soltan, 26, who had been engaged to be married, is being hailed as Iran's Joan of Arc.
The government yesterday blocked a wake for her in a central Tehran mosque for fear that the outpouring of grief would lead to more anti-regime protests, her fiancé, Caspian Makan, told the BBC.
"The authorities are aware that everybody in Iran and throughout the whole world knows about her story," Makan said.
"They were afraid that lots of people could turn up."
The 40-second video of Neda's death has not been aired on Iranian state-sponsored TV, but many in the country -- and worldwide -- have seen it on the Internet.
It captures Neda, shot in the heart, in her last moments of life, bleeding to death on the street as a friend wails, "Don't be afraid! Neda, dear!"
As the life leaves her face and blood pours from her nose, a white-haired man, her music teacher, yells, "Stay with me!"
Since the video made shock waves across the Web, her photo has been held aloft at demonstrations all over the globe.
But to her relatives, she is more than just an icon of change.
She loved Persian pop songs and her piano lessons, was the second of three children, and was passionate about travel.
In turns mischievous, smart and caring, Neda studied to become a tour guide and took Turkish language courses in the hopes of leading Iranian tourists on trips abroad, friends and relatives said.
On Saturday, the day she was killed, her friend told The Los Angeles Times that she had tried to persuade Neda to stay away from the massive march.
"I told her, 'Neda, don't go,' " the friend, who gave her name only as Golshad, told the paper.
But Neda was adamant.
"She said, 'Don't worry. It's just one bullet and it's over,' " recalled Hamid Panihi, the music teacher and friend who was with her when she died.
"She couldn't stand the injustice of it all," he told the paper.
Neda, Panihi and other friends were stuck in traffic on their way to a demonstration when she decided to leave the car and get fresh air.
He heard a crack -- and realized his friend was shot.
"For pursuing her goals, she didn't use rocks or clubs," Panihi said.
"She wanted to show with her presence that, 'I'm here. I also voted. And my vote wasn't counted.'
"It was a very peaceful act of protest, without any violence."
SOURCE
By JENNIFER FERMINO
The young Iranian woman whose gruesome killing has become a rallying cry for the nation's opposition movement eerily predicted her violent death by gunfire -- but was determined to protest against "the injustice of it all," a friend said yesterday.
As the violence continues to escalate on the streets of the embattled Middle Eastern nation, the beautiful philosophy student, Neda Agha-Soltan, 26, who had been engaged to be married, is being hailed as Iran's Joan of Arc.
The government yesterday blocked a wake for her in a central Tehran mosque for fear that the outpouring of grief would lead to more anti-regime protests, her fiancé, Caspian Makan, told the BBC.
"The authorities are aware that everybody in Iran and throughout the whole world knows about her story," Makan said.
"They were afraid that lots of people could turn up."
The 40-second video of Neda's death has not been aired on Iranian state-sponsored TV, but many in the country -- and worldwide -- have seen it on the Internet.
It captures Neda, shot in the heart, in her last moments of life, bleeding to death on the street as a friend wails, "Don't be afraid! Neda, dear!"
As the life leaves her face and blood pours from her nose, a white-haired man, her music teacher, yells, "Stay with me!"
Since the video made shock waves across the Web, her photo has been held aloft at demonstrations all over the globe.
But to her relatives, she is more than just an icon of change.
She loved Persian pop songs and her piano lessons, was the second of three children, and was passionate about travel.
In turns mischievous, smart and caring, Neda studied to become a tour guide and took Turkish language courses in the hopes of leading Iranian tourists on trips abroad, friends and relatives said.
On Saturday, the day she was killed, her friend told The Los Angeles Times that she had tried to persuade Neda to stay away from the massive march.
"I told her, 'Neda, don't go,' " the friend, who gave her name only as Golshad, told the paper.
But Neda was adamant.
"She said, 'Don't worry. It's just one bullet and it's over,' " recalled Hamid Panihi, the music teacher and friend who was with her when she died.
"She couldn't stand the injustice of it all," he told the paper.
Neda, Panihi and other friends were stuck in traffic on their way to a demonstration when she decided to leave the car and get fresh air.
He heard a crack -- and realized his friend was shot.
"For pursuing her goals, she didn't use rocks or clubs," Panihi said.
"She wanted to show with her presence that, 'I'm here. I also voted. And my vote wasn't counted.'
"It was a very peaceful act of protest, without any violence."
SOURCE
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