For Those Times When Moral Aid Isn’t Enough
By Mitch Berg
Does anyone know of a way to send financial help to the dissidents in Iran? Back in 1980, Solidarnosc took donations (and I got one of the cool T-shirts out of the deal).
Anything like that today?
June 17th, 2009 at 6:53 am
Terrific question. Wish I had an answer.
Orthogonally — answering the unasked-at-the-moment-but-I-know-you-want-to-ask-it question of, “How can I do something really cool to help another bunch of freedom fighters?” — you can send a pizza (no pepperoni, for obvious reasons) to IDF soldiers at http://pizzaidf.org/ . (I always buy some pizza for them on my birthday; it’s one of my favorite gifts to give myself.)
I think it would be ‘way, ‘way cool to be able to do the same thing for those folks pushing for democracy in Iran. Even cooler if you could get a t-shirt, too.
June 17th, 2009 at 9:27 am
Joel,
I’ve sent a pizza (I forget what toppings, but I think I avoided all possible kosher komplikations). I’ll have to do it again.
Back in high school, I sent something – $20, I think, which was a TON of money for me – to Solidarności. I did get the T-shirt, which happened to be just about the coolest political T-shirt in history (take that, all you “Che” droogs).
June 17th, 2009 at 9:28 am
As much as I am against corrupt vote counting and stealing elections. The Iranian opposition is not much different from the “winner”. Both Ahmadinnerjacket and Mousavi ran in the same radical islam circles and where contemporaries all the way back to the Embassy Hostage crisis. This so called revolution is far from the solution we in the west are looking for.
June 17th, 2009 at 11:36 am
Dave H,
I don’t think the support is so much for Moussavi as for helping empower the Iranian people to dissent from, and ultimately shed, the mullahcracy.
If they can set the precedent now, they can run with it sooner than later.
June 17th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Mitch, I know you were MOSTLY joking, but in all seriousness, you can’t -they are defined as a terrorist state and ANY dealings you might have with them, except in some sort of personal aid, or through an aid organization allowed to work there – would at least potentially run afoul of OFAC rules on Iran – meaning, they are considered an enemy, and NO US citizen or business can provide any sort of non-humanitarian aid (as far as I know).
June 17th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Er, Pen, I may have written unclearly – although in re-reading my post, I see that I did explicitly say, I’m talking about sending money to Iranian dissident and reform groups.
Not the government; not in Iran any more than in 1980, when I dug deep and sent a few bucks to Solidarity.
June 17th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
More importantly, Mitch, it is the thought that counts.