Dr. Farhad Meysami
Power of the Powerless against Tyranny is the Narrow Corridor of freedom
So let's read!
Outrage and support has been pouring since pictures of an emaciated Dr. Farhad Meysami was published in the social media. Farhad has been in incarceration since 2018 (without a single day of furlough) when he was arrested for having pin badges with slogans against mandatory hijab. He has been on hunger strike on several occasions during the last 5 years but it is the first time we have seen him this frail.
Those who know Farhad personally would testify that he would not approve of even this page about himself. While with a Ghandi-like feature, he has turned into an icon for peaceful resistance, he does not want to be a hero. Instead, he asks us to look away from his finger, and look towards where he is pointing to.
It is not his frail body but his strong message: “‘The Power of the Powerless’ against ‘Tyranny’ is ‘The Narrow Corridor’ of freedom”, a message that has been wittingly created by putting together the titles of three books. These books are: The Power of the Powerless by Václav Havel, On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder and The Narrow Corridor by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson. The first book has been translated to Persian by Abdorrahman Boroumand Center and available for reading and download in PDF.
Dr. Farhad Meysami believes in nonviolent resistance and is on the view that freedom for the people of Iran from tyranny comes by all strata of the society engaging in nonviolent resistance based on the learnings from these three books. He himself said to his contacts that the idea for his recent episode of hunger strike came from these books.
Farhad has clear demands for his hunger strike. After contacting him through various channels, it became evident that despite our worries for his health, besides having no effect it would be a disrespect to his aim and sreadfastness to ask him to stop it. And instead, we need to focus on his message for us, his rightful demands and spread the word on those books. This is the letter he sent from Rajaei-Shahr:
For days of pain and pain and more pain
In days that in all three security fronts of body and life, income and livelihood, and dignity and self-worth, the rulers have left nothing for the people of this land but pain and suffering, I on my own humble efforts, started something that might turn this overflowing poison into an antidot. In the next 10 days, I will turn the water I drink bitter, as a symbol of dark and bitter days they have created for us. I still stress on my three demands (stopping death penalty, release of 6 political prisoners and stop harassing women for mandatory hijab) - the same mission impossible - may soon and as a result of mass effort become possible. I will stay... and I will ride... someone calling in the far...
In days that in all three security fronts of body and life, income and livelihood, and dignity and self-worth, the rulers have left nothing for the people of this land but pain and suffering, I on my own humble efforts, started something that might turn this overflowing poison into an antidot. In the next 10 days, I will turn the water I drink bitter, as a symbol of dark and bitter days they have created for us. I still stress on my three demands (stopping death penalty, release of 6 political prisoners and stop harassing women for mandatory hijab) - the same mission impossible - may soon and as a result of mass effort become possible. I will stay... and I will ride... someone calling in the far...
Farhad Meysami
February 2023 - Rajaei-Shahr prison
Dr. Meysami’s three demands are:
- Stopping the death penalty
- Release of six political prisoners
- Stopping the harassment of women for mandatory hijab
About Farhad and his extraordinary abilities we can keep writing, from becoming top 10 in the university entrance exam at the age of 17 to securing a position in pathology to making one of the most successful educational institutions for preparing for university entrance exam to his sport and chess achievements. But he is not interested in himself. He wants one thing: that we read those 3 books. So let’s read.
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