Of its many failures, social media is let down by the speed of its news cycle, and the fickleness of its followers. We’ve all seen it happen… A flash-in-the-pan story blows up overnight, catches fire, and captures the eyes and ears of the online world. A groundswell arrives, ‘this is it’ you hear, whispered, and then as fast as it arrived… it’s gone. Nothing changes. All that knee-taking, and placard waving. All that chest beating, and fist shaking. All those buckets of icy water dumped on heads, and black squares slapped onto Instagram feeds. The endless clapping, and clattering of pans on doorsteps. After all of it; the performative grandstanding and slack-tivism… and nothing. So we look around, blinkered, confused and deflated, shuffling home like a washed-out trip head, coming down from last night’s high. The words we yelled are a rapidly fading dream, to be wound up, stored away and cringed over, in years to come. The party is packed down, but don’t worry, the next ‘this is it’ moment is right around the corner. Two years ago, we saw scenes of historic bravery and sacrifice in Iran, we saw strength, unity and heartbreaking loss. We saw the familiar response from social media, and heard the same promises made, as they always are. And again, nothing. But Iran never stopped, and the revolution rolls on, quieter now, and away from the watchful eyes of the world. The ‘women-lead revolution’ and the colossal sacrifice it’s built upon, falls on the deaf ears of fair-weather activism, too busy indulging in its next great battle. But we cannot afford for Iran, and the thousands killed, to be consigned to the history books, or forgotten about, as tomorrow’s chip paper. Because the violence continues none the less, and the deaths stack up. So why is nobody talking about Iran? And does it need our help now, more than ever? What do you think? ~ Images by Hasan Almasi and Mohammad Alizade. Annual Report  Iranian Executions

2024-05-15