In Iran, people are risking their lives fighting the Islamic Republic.
Gen-Z is leading the protests.
The German-Iranian journalist Shahrzad Osterer on a possible future scenario.
Tehran/Munich/Cologne – “Baraye” is the anthem of the current protests in Iran.
In German: "for" or "because of".
The arrest of Iranian artist Shervin Hajipour and his allegedly enforced distancing from the song changed that.
"For my sister, your sister and our sisters.
For changing those rusted heads.
For shame, for poverty.
For the longing for a normal life,” sings the 25-year-old.
"For the sake of dancing in the streets, because of the fear of kissing, for my sister, your sister, your sisters," echoes the streets of Tehran.
It's the anthem of Generation Z, who burn you, cut your hair, risk your life in the fight for freedom.
The message is clear: they want the fall of the Islamic Republic.
A conversation of the
Frankfurter Rundschau
by
IPPEN.MEDIA
with the German-Iranian journalist Shahrzad Osterer (BR) about the youth of Iran, the geriatric apparatus of the mullah regime and the future.
Iran: Journalist Shahrzad Osterer on Generation Z and their role in the current revolt
Ms. Osterer, there have been previous revolutions in Iran, but the current protests have a different effect.
Why?
The current situation no longer corresponds to the term "protest", it is a real revolt, the outcome of which will very likely mean the overthrow of the current rulers and the end of the Islamic Republic.
We see that all social classes, religions and ethnic groups are involved in Iran - starting with schoolchildren, through students to the older generation.
And the revolt has spread to all parts of the country, and the clear slogans are being chanted everywhere: Down with the Islamic Republic.
What else is different?
What is also new is that, as is well known, the trigger was the murder of a woman and the protests began as a feminist movement, but were quickly supported by men as well.
All of this really gives us Iranians hope and also confidence that we can now succeed in eliminating this inhuman regime.
The people of Iran are putting their lives at risk for this.
Activists like me abroad are trying to do what is in our power: draw international attention and persuade our governments to back the Iranians instead of further supporting the regime economically, politically and culturally.
It is mainly young people who take to the streets.
Is Gen-Z bolder than previous generations?
Without a doubt yes!
When I think back to my school days in Iran, I have to admit that we would not have had the courage and courage.
We were far too afraid of the authorities, our teachers and of course the brutal so-called security forces.
What has changed?
Gen-Z didn't see the so-called Islamic Revolution, nor the eight-year Iran-Iraq war.
My generation inhaled the Islamic Republic's propaganda about the war.
Even though many of us grew up in open families that didn't believe in the system, we grew up with the images of martyrs and war stories in school.
We were told more about death than life.
Our normal life took place underground.
But Gen-Z grew up with the web.
She has YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
She knew from the start what normal life could be like.
That's why she's incredibly desperate and no longer willing to compromise.
Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi, who has now been arrested, said: "The new generation is bolder because they have nothing to lose and more violent because they have suffered more." Do you agree?
I agree, very sad but very true.
Desperate people who have nothing left to lose are ready for anything.
Is that why the regime is afraid of them?
Definitely yes, and rightly so, otherwise the regime would not react so brutally and constantly shut down the internet, for example.
In the meantime, you are no longer safe even in your own four walls.
The so-called security forces break into houses and abduct people, young people are also kidnapped from their schools and taken to unknown places.
Groups of people are now being shot at random by snipers.
Private property is being destroyed, my family has also endured raids by the security forces while on public transport.
All of these are clear signs of perplexity and panic on the part of the regime.
However, the attempt to intimidate the people and stop the revolt with draconian measures will fail.
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In Iran, people are taking to the streets against the regime - led by Generation Z.
© Uncredited/dpa
Iran: Generation Z leads protests against Islamic Republic - "no alternative to coup"
It is mainly young women, teenagers, who are taking to the streets against the regime and are risking their lives.
They could be daughter, sister, niece.
Will the regime massacre its own children?
The regime is already doing it, and that's not surprising, it was to be expected.
Even during the war with Iraq in the 1980s, the Islamic Republic sent children over minefields as human evacuation squads.
They were given keys and told they would go to paradise with them.
The Islamic Republic is an inhuman growth, the only goal is to retain power, and people walk over corpses en masse, and if necessary, even over the corpses of their own people.
So far 40 children have been killed.
The dark figure is much higher.
It seems like the old versus young battle.
More than 60 percent of the population in Iran is young.
How can a regime survive whose base is disappearing because young people would rather die than live like this?
It's no longer a battle of old against young or male against female.
It is a struggle of humanity and freedom against the tyranny of the Islamic Republic.
So far, the regime has only been able to hold its ground with brutality and intimidation.
Let's think of the Green Movement after the 2009 elections or the protests in 2018 and 2019. Here, too, there was mass torture and executions.
In the 1980s there was an extreme wave of purges.
This means that whenever the regime got too hot, it reacted with extreme violence.
But one thing must be clear to us - and it is clear to the Iranians anyway: If the regime can hold its own this time, then there will be extremely bloody consequences for the people of Iran.
Therefore, they are actually confronted with a situation
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The German-Iranian journalist Shahrzad Osterer talks to IPPEN.MEDIA's Frankfurter Rundschau about the current revolt.
© Johannes Graf
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Iran: Germany and the West "have to break off all relations" - expert sees point of no return
What can the West and Germany do to support the people of Iran?
I am in daily contact with people in Iran: people living in hiding, relatives of people in prison, others who take to the streets every day and risk their lives and also people who would take to the streets, but are very scared because they and their families are simply being shot at there.
Their demands are clear: the West and Germany must immediately sever all relations with Iran.
Negotiations, trade, town twinning – everything has to be put on hold.
We have reached a point where the question arises as to what exactly serves realpolitik.
And here it is no longer blood-soaked economic interests against the Islamic Republic, which is the world's leading sponsor of terrorism and is pursuing aggressive expansionist policies throughout the Middle East.
The people of Iran are also wondering what else has to happen before Germany, Iran's largest trading partner within the EU, no longer puts its economic interests above human rights in our country.
Can you design a future scenario for us?
I can create several scenarios for you, but no one knows what will happen.
One thing is clear to me: the point of no return has been reached.
The Islamic Republic will fall and we will all see it.
Nobody knows exactly how long it will take, but the fact is that their days are numbered.
If you look at the time since 1979, you can only be happy about it.
I think the transition will be violent and often bloody.
My heart weeps at the thought.
But I also know that the people of Iran have no alternative but to get rid of the Islamic Republic.
List of rubrics: © Uncredited/dpa
