I was called in to substitute for an English class that was studying Persepolis, the graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi. The teacher gave my the book two days ago and asked me to read it because that is what the class was discussing the day I was to substitute. So, thinking I would skim it just to familiarize myself with it, I became entranced! It's the story of an Iranian girl growing up in the revolution. And, maybe I'm behind the times but I'd never heard of a 'graphic novel' before. It was basically a comic book! At first I was completely put-off by the whole thing, but quickly became a huge fan of this genre. There was something incredibly powerful about the pictures with the words from a child. I highly recommend it! Just now looking for a link to the book I'm finding it's a movie too! Though animated, I do not recommend this for under 13. War is a pretty gnarly subject.
So in class today I brought head scarves and long shirt/dress things from Iran for all the girls to wear just to imagine what it would be like if all of sudden one day our government would put forth a mandatory dress code. When I asked the class who would be willing to stay and fight for this country vs. flee, only one student said they would not leave and that they would risk their life for freedom. How about you? Would you be willing to fight for your country or would you pack up and head for the border?
When I was young I would've definitely said, "Stay and fight!" But now as a mom and having visited Iran and seen people fighting for 30 years at this point, I'm pretty sure I'd be one of the first ones out here. I recommend as an experiment to wear a headscarf inside the house while doing regular chores or cleaning for just one day and see what surfaces for you. And then say a little prayer for our sisters in Iran. So many of them want a change from this regime so badly and are risking so much. Adding energy of 'oh, the middle east is a mess!' doesn't help much. So let's just take a moment to send them support, health, energy and wisdom to continue to have strength to keep on fighting for the freedom they so desperately desire.
