Tehran’s Eternal Youth

Dubai

IN the days leading up to the Iranian presidential election today, the world has watched as voters in the streets of Tehran rallied for the reformist candidate, Mir Hussein Moussavi, demanding “a government of hope.” Yes, Iranians have demonstrated this kind of passion before. But young Iranians now seem more likely to fight for their rights and die trying, rather than abandon their country and seek asylum abroad as so many of us have done over the last 30 years.

I remember the giddiness that my 16-year-old brother and I felt during Mohammad Khatami’s 1997 presidential campaign. Tehran was abuzz with excitement. Almost everyone seemed to despise his opponent, Ali Akbar Nategh-Nouri.