Memo From the Streets of Tehran

Mehr News, AFP / Getty Images As Iranians dispute the results of Friday's election, Parvez Sharma sends The Daily Beast an on-the-ground dispatch written by a friend enmeshed in the Tehran protests.

Plus, read more insight on Iran's election from other Daily Beast writers.

My friend, Arash Aryan, is a 40-year-old poet who has managed to write beautifully and succinctly about yesterday’s events in Tehran. Internet access is intermittent on proxy servers and he had to send this to me in pieces. Like many of his fellow citizens, he has not slept many nights and his feet continue to pound the pavement. Arash will write more soon, Insha’allah. These are his words, un-edited and as far as I know, unfiltered.

Shoot me in here: Arash Aryan from Tehran

The Iranian people are experiencing one of the widespread civil movements in modern history. Every day, near to the end of the protests, people get informed of the next move and the next venue for gathering. According to the word of mouth which is the only means of communication available, people were supposed to gather in Haft-Tir Square and march toward Valiasr Sq. at 5 p.m. Wednesday 17th June 2009.

A young man had attached a piece of paper on his chest which read: Shoot me in here.

My family and I started our move at three from a relative's home in the poor southern areas of Tehran. We chose the subway as the best way to join the protesters because we predicted heavy traffic in the central parts of the city. As soon as we entered the subway station, we felt a heavy and intense atmosphere. People looked puzzled and talked to each other in small groups. The violence of the previous days has made people more cautious when in small groups. Only one of us had a small green ribbon attached to her dress button. Many young people who saw the sign reacted by making a victory sign with their fingers. We entered the subway and rode toward Haft-Tir Square. The population grew more and more people could be seen clad in black as a sign of mourning and carrying green badges as the sign of reformists. When we got out at Haft-Tir Station, we found ourselves among the familiar crowd. Huge masses of enthusiastic people revealed their identity all at once. While onboard the train, faces were grim and we didn't know who is with us. As soon as these people got off, suddenly all unveiled their hidden masks and showed their true identity as people determined to fight for what they want. It took us about 15 minutes to come out of the subway because of the density of crowd. Outside, masses of people could be seen stretched all over the Square and into Karimkhan Street.

Part of my observations and remarks:

1. Nearly everybody was carrying a piece of paper in hand. They included pictures of the young men and women killed during the past days of the movement. Many carried papers with sentences expressing grief or pieces of poetry showing solidarity with the dead. Pictures of some of the members of the secret police were distributed among people. These shocking pictures had identified some of the Ahmadinejad supporters and members of the Islamic Guard Corps among the militia known as "Non-uniformed" who perpetuated acts of violence and put fire on buildings and damaged public and private properties. One such instance is the picture and salary statement and the residence address of a man with a dagger in hand attacking the peaceful protesters. His salary statement identifies him as Mohammad Javad Farahbakhsh, a colonel in Islamic Revolutionary Guards and a member of Sarallah Base in Tehran. His residence address and mobile phone number were also disclosed. Another picture showed a group of six of the militia beating an elderly woman. This picture was very shocking to the people. Because in the Iranian culture, women and especially older women should be respected in any occasion and according to Islamic teachings, which these people claim to subscribe, a man should not touch a woman or disrespect her.

2. The protest was very peaceful. No word or utterance was heard from the people. Having learnt from previous experiences, they were told to go home before dark because at dusk, the militia come out like hyenas and commit any crime under the veil of the night. So, people scattered at the end of Keshavarz Blvd., although a large group had already marched to Enghelab Square and were in Azadi Avenue.

3. A man wearing green and riding on wheelchair attracted much respect and support. His both legs were cut from knee and he was riding his wheelchair with both hands up in sign of victory and with a green smile on his lips. His resoluteness and his determination inspired all around him.

4. A young man was carrying the picture of his brother: 16-year old Meysam Ebadi who had been killed by the militia. He said that the dead body of his brother has not yet been delivered to him.