Iqan is also gone. Iqan Shahidi has been sent to Evin Prison. The same Evin that these days accommodates the best. And Iqan was one of our best. I know Iqan. Of course, I have not yet met Iqan face to face; I saw Iqan only once, and that was in a dream. That same night I wrote what I had seen and what I had felt on his Facebook wall.
It is not hard to love someone without having seen him; we love so many things without seeing them. Like the heat of the fireplace in the thick of the winter. Iqan was this warmth. Many of us owe a lot to Iqan. I’m talking about myself. Pity that I can’t describe how one day everyone will know how great a man Iqan was; though even now we know that he is a great man.
Great men are not few. Sama Nourani [another detained Baha’i youth — see http://www.facebook.com/notes/human-chain-project/one-year-prison-sentence-of-sama-nourani-upheld-in-appeals-court/164913790240005] is another great man; great men who have great plans and hope to accomplish their goal. Yesterday, while reading the following posting on Iqan’s Facebook page my heart sank:
‘ I am checking my belongings for the last time. I am heading out to Evin in one and a half hours. I hope the next time I post something on Facebook, noticeable ease and freedom for my countrymen will have been established through your efforts, my precious ones…’
At the time we had company. Perhaps if I had been alone, I would have burst into tears. I read Iqan’s Facebook posting out aloud to our guests. We fell silent for a while, only silence; a silence that probably Iqan is also experiencing.
Normally, I am not used to talking about someone in this fashion; especially in public. I believe if we love someone like Iqan, we should follow their path. Placing his picture beside ours and bemoaning the misery of his conditions is no help for Iqan, nor for other Iqans, nor for ourselves.
But I write this just for Iqan, because I love him deeply. Long live dear Iqan; awaiting your release.”
—
Translation by Iran Press Watch
Source: http://freedomofpen.blogspot.ca/2012/04/blog-post_09.html
