"The world is watching"

I've been watching, with a measure of horror, the unfolding events in Iran. Twitter is amazing at keeping one informed, with up to the minute tweets from Iranians at the site of various protests. YouTube has several video clips of protests. The Big Picture is a site of photos collected from all over the world, which has several pages of photos from Iran, some posted at great risk to the photographer.

Several things have struck me as I've contemplated these events:

1. The world really is a small place. Here I sit at the tip of Africa, watching and listening to and reading about events taking place on another continent, AS THEY HAPPEN. In many respects, I feel the same level of shock & horror as I felt when I was watching the events of 9/11. Back in 2001, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The axis of the world tilted for me that day. This past week or so has left me with a similar impression.
2. I'm used to seeing protesters who are black. That's a product of living in South Africa. These protesters are not. I'm not the protesting type - I sign petitions, I write letters. I don't protest. I try to keep at arm's length at all times, because protests in SA traditionally become violent and I'm too scared of getting hurt. But there are people just like me, on the Iranian streets, willing to get shot at, be killed, exposed to tear gas, arrested, beaten up or otherwise putting themselves at risk. There's a photo of a blonde woman wearing a face mask to avoid identification - a very pretty blonde, if I say so myself. It doesn't fit my stereotype of a typical protester.
3. Does anyone really know the truth about the election? Ballot boxes were reportedly burnt. If they hadn't been, would the outcome have been any different? Will any good come from holding another election? Will any good come from trying to suppress the protests? Is the idea of democracy the West holds to necessarily the ONLY way to govern effectively? Is it not possible that the Supreme Leader is correct in wanting to just get on with life? Is it right that Ahmadinjad (spelling?) is in power if ballot boxes were burnt? No matter what is said, who can believe the speaker? Both sides are so wound up about this election, so emotional about it, that it's hard for them not to exaggerate. Exaggerations ultimately lead to lies, and lies can't be believed. Who can judge where and when a fact is merely exaggerated, and when it's become a lie?
4. It is already going to be tough to pull Iran back from civil war. If civil war does erupt, what does that mean for the rest of the world, if anything?

The world is watching, but then, the world watched as Rwanda self-destructed. It watched as Zimbabwe was destroyed. It watches as Tibetans continue to be stripped of their culture and faith. It watched as Apartheid in SA stripped people of their dignity and worth. What does it matter that the world watches (as Obama recently reminded the Supreme Leader)? It doesn't look like anyone is going to do anything about it, so what does it matter that we're watching? I continue to watch, with a mixture of morbid fascination and increasing cynicism. Is it merely voyeurism, or a penchant for violence buried deep in each of us? How does it change us, this watching business? Does it inure us, or mobilise us?