Rooftop Diplomacy

I'm trying to do my small part to keep up foreign relations...recently I headed to several rooftop parties held by Europeans working and studying here in Delhi. One night we went to a gathering near the main University here (JNU). Our host had cooked up some decent Indian food and was playing the sitar when we got there, and there was a very relaxed, college-like atmosphere to the place. People were on the terrace drinking beer, quietly conversing. I was the only American there, and soon after arriving I walked over to the cooler to grab a Kingfisher (India's Bud Light) and was introduced to a young Iranian couple sitting nearby. "Where are you from?" they asked. It took me a second to reply, an involuntary smile creeping over my face at the tension I knew was about to arise when I answered. Slurping up the foam dripping off my beer, I grinned, "The United States, have you heard of Virginia?" Like taking cues from a script, we immediately had to start talking, as if not to would be avoiding the obvious....."Wow, you're from the States? What are you doing in Delhi? What city are you from? What do the American people think of Iran, have you heard of my home, Isfahan, yes?"

I explained my background, the work I was doing with microfinance, how yes, I knew where Isfahan was, I had been lucky enough to have a Middle East politics class back in school (by the way, Isfahan also happens to be the site of one of Iran's experimental nuclear power plants). They had plenty of questions about the U.S., the elections of course, who Barak Obama was and what Americans thought of Iran. I tried to give the most impartial explanation I could of the U.S. Congress, how the three branches of government work, and I did my best to diplomatically answer their question about where the average American's concerns and fear of Iran stem from - "Hmm, yeah, you're probably right, axis of evil was not the best choice of words, although to be fair, I don't think he had a thesaurus nearby, and to be honest, he's not much of a wordsmith...but you see, on the other hand, we get more than a little concerned when your president disputes the Holocaust and mentions wanting to push Israel into the sea...see...?"

They seemed surprised and very pleased that I knew enough about Iran and Middle East politics to have a fairly detailed conversation and we were able to agree on a few things: spicy food is good, the story of Alexander the Great chasing Darius through ancient Iran is really interesting, they should try and come visit America and I should try and come to Iran sometime (I think I'll wait a few years, thanks). Although they certainly had a different perspective than I did on Hamas and Hezbollah, we had a good exchange which ranged from the oh-so-subtle nuclear issue to what a tour of Alcatraz in San Francisco is like. Apparently the movie "The Rock" was a big hit in Tehran. Note to the White House - take a lesson from the Cold War - we might be better off trying to influence Iran with McDonald's and MTV than our current cold shoulder policy. American pop culture and free trade usually do a better job of furthering our interests than political blustering and empty sanctions.

Though they were proud of their country, their culture, and very passionate about the Palestinian cause, they also expressed clear frustration with their own government (they're not the only ones...). They suggested that a few years ago when the reformer and popular President Khatamei was elected, there was great hope that things would change and Iran would begin normalizing relations with the U.S. When the ruling Supreme Council in Iran (a group of religious leaders put in place by Ayatollah Khomeini back in 1979) blocked all of his reforms and banned progressive candidates from running for office there was great disappointment and disillusionment with the political process. Apparently the populace, tired of political fomentation and revolution, didn't respond with protests to ratchet up the pressure on the government and subsequently they lost their momentum instead of forcing a conflict, and potentially, getting change. As a result, the conservatives in Iran took over and the progressive movement waned for a time. While the U.S. invasion of Iraq and world opposition to the Iranian nuclear program are not helping the reformers win support in Tehran, despite this, the couple suggested that there is continued frustration with the limits on political freedom, and in their words, the current regime there will have to open up the political process or face very serious popular unrest within the next five to ten years. They suggested that the events in Iraq and the nuclear issue have simply given cover to President Ahmedinejad for the time being. And as is widely reported, they confirmed that there are thousands of political prisoners currently in jail in Iran, that some have been there for as long as 10 - 15 years for such subversive crimes as leading student protests and waving controversial political banners.

I have some good pictures of us, and they were a very photogenic couple, but given the political opinions they shared with me, and given that one of them is a journalist who goes back to Iran regularly, I didn't feel comfortable putting their photos up on the web. I'm probably being unnecessarily cautious but I have no desire to test the prowess of the Iranian Internet police.

The photo at the top is of our host that night jamming on the sitar. On the right is my Danish flatmate and partner in crime here in India, Peter. Next blog to appear shortly (hopefully tomorrow). I'll be writing about my first Indian Thanksgiving and celebrating my 25th birthday overseas. And did you notice? I finally managed to insert paragraphs. Sincere thanks to my sister-in-law in San Francisco for her help.