The deafening sound of silence

[Sahand Sahebdivani]

Hi there,

Today I read in an article a friend had written that her mother was once arrested and sent to jail when the Soviet secret police found her stash of jokes. They were a typical example of Samizdat. Forbidden writings that people hand typed and secretly exchanged. Her favorite joke had been: Once a district attorney sees a judge leave a court laughing. He asks him what's so funny. The judge says, I just heard the best joke, but I can't tell you. I just gave a guy a five year sentence for telling me the joke. 

I wish I could tell jokes like this today. But there's something deafening about the silence of our loved ones being stuck in a country with communication being cut for over 80 hours. The little bit of news that does reach us is one of thousands of people being killed in horrific ways and the families having to pay a "bullet" price to the government to get their bodies back.

But, such is life. What we can do from the outside is very limited, other than amplify the voices of Iranians and their demands, create a space where we can meet and share stories of shared hope, pain, and yes also tell the occasional irreverent joke.

- Tomorrow we find inspiration in our Tuesday storytelling event Off the Page. Where stories meet literature. Doors 19.00, event 20.00. Free entrance.

- On Thursday we find togetherness in the global jazz music concert of the Mamar Quintet. Read and listen here to what they do and buy your tickets.

- Saturday is the day of forgetting the world by laughing at the absurd. The Alt Comedy night is for everyone who wants something other than the standard comedy routines. Tix here.

- On Sunday we hold hands at the social dance (balfolk). An event that makes us dance together on live music and the European repertoire, which will be taught during the day.

Then in the coming week I will host the Samizdat Tuesday (Jan 20) myself. I will share stories of Iranian resilience in the face of hopelessness, as well as bringing tellers from different parts of the world.  

That's it for this week. Be well. Speak to one another if you can. If you want to vent or share some beauty, hit me up here or come and hang out in the Mez.

Sahand & Team

PS, the pain Iranians feel isn't exclusive to us of course. Just in the tiny Mezrab cosmos there's much shared pain. If, however, as an Iranian you feel like meeting people in a Persian language environment, instead of staying at home, glued to your phone, come to the Other Mezrab (de Wittenstraat 27) on Moday Jan 19. Doors open at 19.00. We will share stories and perhaps share a joke or two (in Perian, please sit this one out if you don't speak the language).