In the context of knowing what it was like last time there were mass street protests in Iran, and with regard to events of the past two weeks in Egypt, I think we have been presented with the rare opportunity to consider certain actions ahead of time.
Assuming there will be mass street protests (and not asking for anyone's opinion on the likelihood of that) what can we, outside of Iran, put in place NOW that might be of immediate and urgent need in Iran before, during or after 25 Bahman?
Some examples:
@Speak2Tweet numbers and volunteer translators in case internet is cut off but landlines are working
Safe email addresses / sources of anonymous email/SMS services
Safe video upload service/s
Video editing and subtitling volunteer teams
Where & how to record information about incidents, in case of arrest, disappearance, injury etc
Curators and translators of information from different timezones to provide cover on Twitter & FaceBook 24/7 and fact-check info as it comes in, get it translated and disseminated efficiently and with a few errors as possible
Media liasons - again different time zones and countries, preferably with at least Farsi language skills
What else can you think of? Should we try to be better organised and prepared to offer support? If so, how can we organize ourselves and facilitate this support network?
If you really like this idea and want to help, this post needs translating!
If you hate this idea, please keep your comments short and to the point, no one has time to deal with criticism unless it's meaningful and constructive.
Short answer - yes.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see if we can get in contact with @speak2tweet in the next day OR get an alternative established ASAP.
As always, our main concern is the safety of those on the ground and any liaisons.
Would anyone be interested in a Skype session about actions tomorrow or later in the week?
Agreed on Skype call to finalize details once we get some feedback and any additional suggestions/ Have emailed @Jan25Voices for info/advice on Speak2Tweet.
ReplyDeleteLet me know what time (& timezone) & I'll try to be there! -MWforHR
ReplyDeleteMore msm coverage (ajenglish, CNN, etc.), world is now listening more than in 2009
ReplyDeleteOne fb page with latest updates
Call for strikes
Amplitude of dem likely to grow over days - continuous coverage needed for long period to go from protests to protests
Iran is not Egypt or Tunisia
In addition to more msm coverage, how about
ReplyDelete1) organized appeals to media twitter accts? I'll search #Iranelection and #Egypt to compile a comprehensive list (I can also pull together U.S. officials' twitter acct, but someone else would have to do Euro officials)
2) calling for tweeps to call/e-mail the media: you prob already saw @SLSiri's tweet to IranNewsNow with an e-mail list, but it's at http://tinyurl.com/4rjhead
3) tweet appeals to call the white house switchboard to urge action - that # is readily available, I'll grab it today.
DM me if I'm duplicating what's already out there, ok?
-Ember29
One of the biggest problems of past demonstrations was that the regime had an advantage of overhead view of area. They used knowledge of where people gathered and cordoned them into alleys and such. If we had others on the likes of google maps that could identify bottlenecks and regime movements that information could be passed to people. There is an iPhone app that reports traffic in Tehran. I have know idea of it's accuracy though. It is called Tehran traffic fin.
ReplyDeleteThis is initiative is GREAT idea. Cheers for that.
ReplyDeleteLet us be realistic. The events on the streets of Tehran and elsewhere can not be influenced from outside the country. In fact, it would rather be harmful, since authorities would then have wonderful excuses to say "it was a foreign" plot. Having said that, the best thing we can do is to forward what we see in the web to news outlets who prove to be willing to cover everything as it happens. Choose a few news outlets and feed them with Videos, pictures and texts you find. By doing that, we draw the world's attention to what Iran's protesters are doing - we mirror the real events instead of trying to shape them. That is genuine support.
Absolutely as Ramin says, this is NOT about telling people inside Iran what to do or when to do it. The choice to hold street protests can only be theirs.
ReplyDeleteWhether on 25 Bahman or any other day, our best efforts are in creating a solid organised support structure NOW, rather than everyone scrambling on the day, creating confusion and duplicating effort, losing precious time.
One area worth debating is how to engage the media: many people contacting using all available methods or single points of contact per country/group of outlets/type of outlet (TV, print, web, etc) with established methods.
This is something perhaps best discussed in a conversational discussion, so a good item for a Skype conference call.
translating your text in Italian. Paolo Merolla (@Paolme on Twitter)
ReplyDeleteThank you antidarwin !
ReplyDeleteDear Ramin:
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, but even if foreign individuals and governments do not get involved, abusive and dictatorial governments will place guilt on a foreign conspiracy. That is their mindset, and in fact, it is one of the first things they have said. They manipulate and place themselves as victims. Sovereignty should be respected, but there should be a very strong approach towards exercising pressure on these governments to respect human rights. They are keeping their own citizens hostage. Besides, people must know that they are not alone. It is not us, sympathetic foreign individuals who are asking for democracy, it is Iranians. What we are doing is listening to them and lending our support (within what is legal and respectful of their own choices).
regarding crowd-sourcing info to mapping, this might come in handy:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ushahidi.com/
it's good as an archiving tool, but also pushing info out via sms. it was used to great effect in haiti during their earthquake last year.
--N0LSD (http://twitter.com/N0LSD)