foucault-and-the-iranian-revolution-janet-afary
foucault-and-the-iranian-revolution-janet-afary
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190 Appendix<br />
But a little fur<strong>the</strong>r away, <strong>the</strong> artisans <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> farmers rebuilt <strong>the</strong>ir own town,<br />
in opposition to all <strong>the</strong>se official plans. Under <strong>the</strong> direction of a cleric, <strong>the</strong>y<br />
collected <strong>the</strong> funds, built <strong>and</strong> dug with <strong>the</strong>ir own h<strong>and</strong>s, laid out canals <strong>and</strong><br />
wells, <strong>and</strong> constructed a mosque. On <strong>the</strong> first day <strong>the</strong>y planted a green flag. 6<br />
The new village is called Islamiyeh. Facing <strong>the</strong> government <strong>and</strong> against it,<br />
Islam: already ten years old.<br />
Who will rebuild Tabas today? Who will rebuild Iran after <strong>the</strong> earthquake<br />
of Friday, September 8,7 right under <strong>the</strong> treads of <strong>the</strong> tanks? The fragile polit<br />
ical edifice has not yet fallen to <strong>the</strong> ground, but it is irreparably cracked from<br />
top to bottom.<br />
In <strong>the</strong> torrid heat, under <strong>the</strong> only palm trees still st<strong>and</strong>ing, <strong>the</strong> last survivors<br />
of Tabas work away at <strong>the</strong> rubble. The dead are still stretching <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
arms to hold up walls that no longer exist. Men, <strong>the</strong>ir faces turned toward<br />
<strong>the</strong> ground, curse <strong>the</strong> shah. The bulldozers have arrived, accompanied by <strong>the</strong><br />
empress; she was ill received. However, mullahs rush in from <strong>the</strong> entire re<br />
gion; <strong>and</strong> young people in Tehran go discreetly from one friendly house to<br />
ano<strong>the</strong>r, collecting funds before leaving for Taba. "Help your bro<strong>the</strong>rs, but<br />
nothing through <strong>the</strong> government, nothing for it, " is <strong>the</strong> call that Ayatollah<br />
Khomeini has just issued from exile in Iraq.<br />
The earth that shakes <strong>and</strong> destroys things can also bring men toge<strong>the</strong>r;<br />
it divides <strong>the</strong> politicians <strong>and</strong> demarcates <strong>the</strong> adversaries more clearly than<br />
ever. The state believes that it is possible to divert <strong>the</strong> immense anger from<br />
<strong>the</strong> Black Friday massacre-anger that is now congealed into shock, but not<br />
disarmed-toward this natural disaster. It will not succeed. The dead of Tab as<br />
will lie down next to <strong>the</strong> victims of Djaleh Square <strong>and</strong> make dem<strong>and</strong>s on <strong>the</strong><br />
latter's behalf. A woman posed <strong>the</strong> question publicly: ''Three days of national<br />
mourning for <strong>the</strong> earthquake, that's good; but does it mean that <strong>the</strong> blood<br />
that was shed in Tehran was not Iranian as well?"<br />
In Tehran's hotels, journalists coming back from Tabas <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r night<br />
were confused. Evidently, <strong>the</strong> soldiers stOod by impassively <strong>and</strong> let civilian<br />
men <strong>and</strong> women dig up <strong>the</strong> earth <strong>the</strong>mselves in order to turn up <strong>the</strong>ir dead.<br />
Instructions? Incompetence? III will? The enigma of <strong>the</strong> army, here as everywhere.<br />
On Monday, September 4, <strong>the</strong> crowd throws gladiolas at <strong>the</strong> soldiers; <strong>the</strong>y<br />
fraternize <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>y cry. On Thursday, September 7, <strong>the</strong> immense demonstration<br />
rolls into <strong>the</strong> streets of Tehran; a few centimeters away from <strong>the</strong> machine<br />
guns, pointed at <strong>the</strong>m but silent. On Friday, September 8, machine guns <strong>and</strong><br />
perhaps bazookas were fired throughout <strong>the</strong> day; <strong>the</strong> troops sometimes had<br />
<strong>the</strong> methodical coldness of a firing squad.<br />
From <strong>the</strong> first days of Islam, <strong>and</strong> especially for <strong>the</strong> Shi'ites ever since <strong>the</strong>