Activist Sets Up Telephone Talks Between U.S., Iranian Citizens

[Hissyspit]

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/11/14/making_connections

Making connections
Activist sets up telephone talks between US, Iranian citizens

Most people passing the Boston Common's Park Street T stop shrugged at the display: a red telephone with a retro design, symbolic of the hotline established between the White House and the Kremlin during the Cold War. It sat on a small table with a white table cloth and a sign out front, which proclaimed "Direct Line to Iran." An MIT student stood to its left, listened in on headphones and provided English-Farsi translation.

The activist, Nick Jehlen, had connected the display phone to a cellphone, which he used to dial the numbers of people in Iran he had met online. The idea was that random Bostonians could chat directly with Iranian citizens.

At times, it looked better than it worked.

Several times, the calls were dropped, leaving one particularly animated Boston Common caller to assume that he had insulted the Iranian with his direct question: "What do you think about your leader there?"

"He hung up on me," declared the caller, Dave Walsh, 48, a construction worker.

After several minutes, the connection was reestablished, and Walsh got his answer. The Iranian caller - organizers declined to identify the people on the other end of the line - was no fan of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, apparently referring to him with a derogatory term.

"I think ours is, too; George W. Bush. I think they're both idiots," Walsh responded. But the comity dissipated when Walsh switched topics: "What's Iran's problem with Israel?" As Walsh became agitated, Jehlen encouraged him to pass the phone to the next person.

Jehlen, a magazine art director and consultant who helped organize the "Turn Your Back on Bush" protest at the president's second inaugural, said the idea came from conversations he had with Iranians on an Internet discussion forum.

"They wanted to speak to Americans," he said.

Connecting a cellphone to a stationary phone was as much a practical move as it was symbolic. The alternative, handing a cellphone to random passersby in Boston Common, did not seem very smart, he explained.

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[gateley]

1. I was surprised to see an article (complimentary) about Biden in a Tehran

newspaper!

Our government (oops - I just spit) would like us to believe they all hate us (not that I'd blame them).

I would like to dialogue with citizens in Iraq and Iran to let them know that we the people DO care.

This is great -- thanks so much!