As Iran welcomes the arrival of spring with the countrywide celebration of Nowrouz - the ancient Persian festivity marking the commencement of New Solar Year - Iranian youths talk about their admirations, aspirations and concerns.
Near to 30 percent of Iran's 70 million-strong population are the under-25 youths which constitute the dominant majority of country's social body. Undisputedly, such a large host of young population can be an effectual and substantive factor in the prosperity and scientific progression of the society, provided that a prudent mobilization of these forces is taken into account.
Iranian youths perpetually deal with a trilogy of different cultural prototypes offered to them. First of all, there is their nationality which forms a major part of their characteristics and should be preserved steadfastly; secondly, they have Islamic backgrounds, which they inherit from their parents as a religious legacy and should be dealt with constructively, and finally they are exposed to the spates of western culture targeting them through mass media, internet etc.
Actually, nationalistic feelings are considerably significant and remarkable among the youth generation of Iran. Arsalan, 18, who is a freshman of civil engineering, believes that being Iranian is a source of pride and honor: "Our historical backgrounds date back to at least 5000 years ago, where the ancient kingdoms of Egypt and Persia (the old name of Iran) dominated the whole world, so I'm personally honored of being an Iranian, the son of this ancient and cultured soil."
One the other hand, religious beliefs also contribute to the formation of Iranian youths' identity immensely, and most of Iranian youths practice their religious rituals enthusiastically: "we worship the Almighty God, believe in the Holy Quran and pay tribute to our beloved Prophet Muhammad. Islam is a religion of peace and equality in its very nature and I have no doubts it will gain more followers all around the world if the mass media portray it accurately and reveal its truths to the public opinions without bias and distortion" says Arsalan.
Nevertheless, a responsible attentiveness toward nationality and religion is not much prevalent among some certain layers of Iranian youth society; and this apathy has been on a surge over the past two decades, given the widespread increase of western cultures' influence on the social environment of Iran through the new generation of media outlets.
Particularly, such trends are rampant among those who come from affluent families and live opulent lives. They are indifferent toward the current affairs of their country and the moral borders of the society; propensity to the western cultural symbols, which the majority of society denounces as "deviant", is ubiquitous among them, instead.
"I like to listen to heavy metal music, dress up fashionably and be up-to-date" claims Babak, 20, riding a milk-white Mercedes Benz, wearing a black T-Shirt with the picture of an American singer printed on it.
"I don't care about what they say. Let them decry me for the way I wear or the way I behave. I want to be myself, with my own interests and beliefs" says Babak, "Le them scramble with their own frontiers. I'm young and want to enjoy life."
"There are many decent ways to enjoy one's life", states Amin Mohajeri, a young singer of Iranian folk music in respond to me quoting him the viewpoints of Babak, "you can attend the cultural festivals, concerts, movies, theaters, sport matches and even scholar lectures. For me, reading the books is a valuable joy. So enjoying life is not to immerse yourself into the outlandish cultures blindly; however, everybody has its own views and I respect to them all, yet I believe that those who are captivated with the twinkle of western culture should revise their way of thinking."
Kiomars Ahmadi who has recently started teaching arithmetic in high school after graduating from the university, believes that Iranian youths are prestigious and glorious, while they need to be "guided appropriately when they are being deviated."
"I have been dealing with young people of the ages 15 to 20 over the past years, and have discerned that they are essentially laudable people with positive ambitions and great talents," he explains, "actually we have a large number of highly gifted youths in Iran which are considered to be exemplary for the rest of youths, and I can count a few of them for you."
"Ehsan Ghaem Maghami, the 26-year old chess Grand Master who has recently defeated Anatoly Karpov, the world-renowned Russian champion; Erfan Esmaeili, the 17-year old astronomer who won the excellence medal of International Astrophysics Olympiad of Indonesia and Saeed Kamali Dehghan, the young journalist who has already interviewed some 5 Nobel Prize Laureates of Literature for the Guardian newspaper are some brilliant examples of outstanding Iranian youths who perpetually seek progression, advancement and perfection," elucidates Kiomars, "However these are just few samples which I know in person. Actually, there are thousands of others whom remain to be mentioned."
"Nonetheless, nobody could deny that there is a minority of young people whom I call rebels, and are flooded in their unusual and extraordinary entertainments and hobbies, and would not be changed so easily, which is due to various societal and psychological reasons," he believes, "however, it should be noted that they are our compatriots and their deviation is a deficiency for us per se, so their problems should be addressed precisely and some solutions should be adopted to reinstate them to the healthy body of the society."
Tahmineh is a sophomore of economy. She almost gets good marks in her class and says: "I want to be a prosperous academician, write books and articles, teach in university when I finished my studies and become a template of perseverance one day", yet she longs for having "proper leisure and recreations such as Persian music, cooking, shopping and reading short stories of classic British authors."
Fundamentally, the matter of intellectual properness and normality deals with the values, cultural backgrounds, customs and standards of a given society and there is no absolute pronouncement, so making hasty value judgments is inadmissible. Something that is a virtue in the west may be considered shortcoming or transgression in the east, or vice versa and that's why the dossier of each society should be studied independently.
Despite the fact that it's almost impractical to judge and give scores to the ambitions, desires and lifestyle of people because of their personal reflective differences, reaching to a comprehensive conclusion, however, is nearby.
"Social layer and cultural identity of the Iranian youths leads to the emergence of various concerns for them, and hereby, some pivotal concerns and perspectives may well be picked to be addressed exhaustively" says Nasrin Pourhamrang, a lecturer of social studies at the Scientific and Applicative University of Rasht, northern Iran.
"Firstly, academic studies is now a major concern for the Iranian youths who spend the high school or pre-university grades," she says, "and most of the families are in consensus over the necessity of persuading their young children to pursue academic studies, as the scientific progression and industrialization of modern societies is underscoring the importance of university studies and specialization in a certain field more than ever".
Pourhamrang subsequently stresses the pervasiveness of economic and financial concerns among the Iranian youths: "Young people need to be employed properly once they are graduated. Unemployment is now a chief obstacle for our educated youths."
She goes on to say that: "due to internal deficiencies, the private sector is not effectually capable of providing much job opportunities to the young people, and the strict official regulations in the state parties also hinders the employment of numerous applicants at a time and that is what makes employment a major concern for the young people."
"Marriage and earning a life is also a widespread apprehension," she spots, "and the young people who wish for establishing their independent life, must have already gotten ahead of employment, housing matters, financial supplies and such things which are concerns and hurdles by themselves."
"However, we hope to see the hurdles are removed and Iranian youths can fulfill their constructive and positive ambitions provided by the improvement of societal freedoms, the betterment of economic situation and the effective endeavors of youth-related organizations and NGOs."
Pictures: Master Mahmoud Farshchian
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