Expediency or Truth?!

And once again, regarding the recent letter from Ms. Hashemi from prison:

Personally, I have no affinity with Ms. Faezah Hashemi in terms of her ideological spectrum or civil activities; however, this lack of affinity does not prevent me from acknowledging a truth that I experienced firsthand in Evin Prison. I cannot deny or conceal it just because it has emerged from her pen.

Should I conceal it just because she is the daughter of a certain individual and aligned with a specific faction of the government? I hear the voice of the suffering, which is not just Ms. Hashemi's; it is the voice of the voiceless who, like many political prisoners we call "prominent prisoners," have no voice!

Are we in pursuit of truth or expediency? Let us clarify our position with ourselves! Those prisoners you call prominent—who are they? What is our criterion for deeming someone prominent? Media propaganda or the privileges that define human rights awards?

Yes, you believe that Ms. Hashemi has not been devoid of privilege! That is correct; but have those prominent prisoners been devoid of privilege? Privilege is privilege, whether from this side or that side, whether eastern or western!

Which Baloch prisoner do you consider "prominent"? Which Baloch prisoner has had the media and hegemony and propaganda supporting them as those prominent prisoners do?

No, what really measures this prominence? These "prominent" individuals have psychologically tortured us in the women's ward of Evin Prison to the brink of death! Not all of them, but certainly most of them! Good and bad exist everywhere.

I have no news from the men's ward until the time it still existed, but regarding the women's ward, during the time I was there, the conditions were exactly as described by Ms. Hashemi.

As long as we think that speaking about problems will harm our struggles, the situation will remain the same; we will not reach democracy! Are we genuinely seeking truth and democracy, or are we seeking expediency and the preservation of a front? A front composed of political prisoners against the government!

The problem lies in thinking that exposing truths will damage the struggle; no! If criticisms were heard, there would be no need for exposure! They do not listen! They do not want to listen! The discussion, dear friend, is not about individuals; it is about a movement and a system! What causes the situation to remain unchanged even after three years and many changes in personnel? So, the discussion is about a movement and a system!

We must accept that we and our society have a great capacity for producing injustice and creating a binary atmosphere of superiority and inferiority! Again, I emphasize: setting aside Ms. Hashemi as a person, her family background, her ideological and party affiliations, her intentions, and the timing of this letter—what she has mentioned about her fellow prisoners and the environment in the women's ward of Evin Prison aligns with the bitter truth based on my lived experience!

— Mojgan Kaousi, 2024/9/14