Iranian Youth, Skiing is More Attractive Than Voting for Cheats and Liars
February 18, 2004
Reuters
Gulf News Online
Khosro zipped up his ski jacket against the cold wind and made a decision - like many young Iranians he wasn't going to vote in Friday's parliamentary election, he'd rather go skiing.
"What's the point? I voted in the last two elections but these leaders we have are just cheats and liars. I'm going to ski instead," he said, before joining a colourful queue of youngsters waiting to take a chair lift to the top of the run at the Shemshak ski resort about 57 km from Tehran.
Concerned about wide-spread voter apathy, Iran's clerical establishment has made repeated calls in recent days for a big turnout on Friday to send a message to enemies like Washington that Iranians still support the 25-year-old Islamic state.
But even a bitter political dispute over the mass disqualification from the ballot of reformist candidates by hardline clerics has failed to stir young Iranians, many of whom are disillusioned after years of failed promises of reform.
In a country where two in three are under 30 and the minimum voting age is 15, youngsters are a key constituency among Iran's 46 million voters.
Millions of youngsters voted for the moderate cleric Mohammed Khatami when he became president in 1997 and was re-elected in 2001 promising to relax social restrictions, bolster democratic institutions and reform the justice system.
But after seven years of political deadlock during which unelected hardline bodies have blocked Khatami's reform bills and jailed dozens of his sympathisers, many young Iranians now see Khatami as part of the problem.
Khatami on Monday urged Iranians to vote to prevent a conservative landslide. "Khatami had nice words but no actions," said Reza, 24, who is doing military service but wants to be a doctor. "He's part of the system, he doesn't really believe in change."
"Nothing has really moved forward here since the (1979 Islamic) revolution. Look at this ski lift - it was built by the shah. All of this resort was built by the shah. Nothing has changed, and it won't until this system collapses."
Shemshak and its sister resort Dizin are favourite getaways for well-to-do young Tehranis during the winter and spring months. Here in the Alborz mountains, away from the smog-choked streets of the capital, a relaxed atmosphere prevails.
Some girls flout Islamic dress codes by skiing bare-headed. Boys and girls squash next to one another on the ski lifts, ignoring laws that prohibit physical contact in public between unrelated members of the opposite sex.
In Tehran, too, restrictions have eased since Khatami's election. Girls wear make-up and bright headscarves, young couples can be seen holding hands. But few youngsters credit Khatami with these small changes.
"Whatever freedom we have now we earned for ourselves by resisting and no-one can take it away from us," said Kayhan, 29, as he sipped a soft drink with his girlfriend and brother in a popular fast food restaurant in upscale northern Tehran.
The political disillusionment cuts across social class, although for different reasons. For lower class youngsters like Hossein, 27, who works as a gardener for a wealthy Tehrani family, it's the lack of economic, not social opportunities, that drives his resentment against Iran's political leaders.
"Without connections or money you can't get a job or start a business," he said. "Our leaders can't be trusted. Everything here is ruined yet they tell us we're the envy of the world."
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=111326"Our leaders can't be trusted. Everything here is ruined yet they tell us we're the envy of the world."
The lies just don't work any more.