A Sri Lankan Beat

Although pop culture and the media are often charged with things like “brainwashing the youth” or providing meaningless entertainment, those mediums can also be very effective in facilitating political and cultural discussion. We see a prime example of this with the very public debate between two Sri Lankan hip-hop artists: MIA and DeLon.
The debate began when DeLon released an “MIA Diss” remake of her popular “Paper Planes” video, claiming that she supports the LTTE (which, as a reminder, has been called one of the deadliest terrorist groups in the world by FBI). MIA responded that she does not support terrorism but preferred to leave the meaning of the video ambiguous.
MIA was born Maya Arulpragasam in Britain, but moved to Sri Lanka at the age of six months so that her father could “help fight for an independent Tamil homeland,” according to the New York Times. Her family traveled around northern Sri Lanka, fighting for the Tamil cause, until her mother and sisters moved back to London and her father remained in Sri Lanka.
DeLon, on the other hand, is Sinhalese.
The two artists’ personal ties to the conflict have sparked some debate as well. A blog entitled “Brooklyn Vegan” calls DeLon’s “Diss” an “educational video” and credits him with standing for “unity, positivity, and human causes that plague our society.” However, the 77 comments on this blog are anything but unified. It is interesting to see who has commented and what they say, depending on which side they are coming from. Many say that MIA is simply using her pro-LTTE stance to gain the spotlight, dubbing it “terrorist chic.” They cite the Tiger logos used in her videos and on album covers. Others take the other side, enumerating the violations of Tamil rights by the Sinhalese government and saying that DeLon is hiding the real facts, such as the fact that the LTTE government pulled out of a peace agreement in 2007. They also cite DeLon’s desire for fame as a reason for his anti-MIA stance.
For another blogger “DJ Jojo,” MIA represents simply a weirdly catchy, energetic artist. She states that she is bothered by the way that MIA creates a dichotomy between good and evil, but doesn’t know a lot about the conflict. But, MIA is a hit because she is flashy and draws attention to the issues in Sri Lanka.

“That’s part of the brilliance of M.I.A.’s whole persona. Her music, and the visual effects in her shows, and even her voice, are so flashy and noisy and chaotic. But I mean that in the best way possible. She seems to represent our
generation of media-saturated, globalized, de-sensitized minds. And she is somehow able to shout over all the noise.”

Taking such a distanced, artistic approach did not float well with some viewers. One angry Sri Lankan said,

“May be for you MIA represents your generation of media-saturated, globalized,
de-sensitized minds. For us, she represents the killers who brutally killed my
neighbour, a mother of two who had nothing to do with politics. She was
returning from work, and was killed when the Tiger killers started shooting down
the civilians after missing their main target (a politician).”

For these Sri Lankans, the debate between MIA and DeLon is more than artistic, as these bloggers remind us. It is a real struggle with real people and the media can provide a great outlet to educate people and bring awareness to the issue, as we saw when DeLon visited Elon University in November. One student said that she hadn’t known that much about the situation, but the DeLon show made her want to learn more. In this way, the debate can raise awareness and hopefully therefore grassroots advocacy to end the situation.

The World Capital of "Brain Drain"

The basics of the Iranian education system are fairly similar to those in the United States. Children attend a mandatory kindergarten (Pish Dabestani) at the age of five, and then attend five years of elementary school (Dabestan) and three years of middle school (Rahnamayi). At the high school (Dabirestan) level, only the first year is mandatory and the school is divided into theoretical, technical/vocational, and manual programs. After high school, students can attend various universities, institutes of technology, and community colleges if they pass the national university entrance exam (Konkoor). University students can achieve different levels of diplomas, again similar to those available in the United States: a Fogh-Diplom (Baccalaureate in technical engineering) after two years of study, Karshenasi (or license, roughly equivalent to a Bachelor’s degree) after four years of study, a Fogh License (or Master’s Degree) after two more years of study, and finally a doctoral program (“Education in Iran”).

A History of Education in Iran
The tradition of education on the university level in Iran goes back to the early years of Islam in the seventh century. By the 20th century, however, the system had become outdated and was in the process of being remodeled along Western lines. In the early 1970s, Iran was making efforts to improve the school system by updating curriculum, introducing modern textbooks, and training teachers more efficiently (“Education in Iran”).

However, the 1979 Revolution had huge ramifications on the education system in Iran. With the wave of conservatism, the education system was Islamized and the Cultural Revolution Committee was put in charge of inserting Islamic values into education. All students were segregated by sex and within six months of the revolution, new lesson plans based on Islam were introduced. By 1983, a wing of the Cultural Revolution Committee, the Center for Textbooks created 3,000 new college-level books with Islamic views. The country’s 16 universities were closed and gradually reopened between 1982 and 1983. In the meantime, professors were investigated and dismissed if they followed Marxism, liberalism, and any other “imperialistic” ideology. They were only allowed to reopen with Islamic-based curricula (“Education in Iran”).

The education system today is mostly free for both public and private schools at all levels, elementary through university. However, university-level students are required to either serve in the government for the same number of years that they study or pay a low price (“Education in Iran”).

Issues in the Educational System Today
Surprisingly, women make up more than 50 percent of enrollment at Iranian universities, and some fields in science and engineering have faculties of 70 percent women. This progressive feminism was one good result of the 1979 Revolution (“Education in Iran”).

Literacy is a problem in Iran. According to the 2007 edition of the CIA World Factbook, 77 percent of the population over age 15 can read and write. This includes 83.5 percent of the male population and 70.4 percent of the female population (“Iran”). Before the Revolution, the government had concentrated on literacy training. A literacy corps was established in 1963 to send educated conscripts to villages, and helped 2.2 urban children and 600,000 adults become literate in its first 10 years. However, the corps was shut down in the 1979 Revolution (“Education in Iran”).

The phenomenon of “brain drain” is also a major problem in Iran. In fact, the International Monetary Fund concluded that Iran had the highest rate of “brain drain” in the world after a survey of 61 countries. Each year, more than 150,000 educated young people leave the Iran in hopes of finding a better future somewhere else. According to journalist Golnaz Esfandiari, there are several factors driving this exodus. Youth cite reasons of economics- even a well-paying job is not enough for a really comfortable life, and students can easily earn as much or more abroad. Young people are also looking for more social freedom than is available in Iran- one Iranian PhD student in Canada cited not being able to listen to his favorite music in his car in Iran, as well as facing barriers to free speech. Also, the education system is Islamized, which limits how much students can really learn. For example, the Internet is censored by authorities and libraries lack modern books. It may be difficult for students to attend conferences or submit papers to professional groups. One professor said that another reason for “brain drain” was that society has not been able to absorb new young people and respond to their needs. The unemployment rate in Iran is around 20 percent, and even higher for young people. Ideally, about a million new jobs should be created each year, but in reality, there are only about 300,000 new jobs. This forces young people to take jobs below or outside of their qualifications. The cost of “brain drain” is expensive- economic loss mounts to $50 billion a year or more (Esfandiari).

The Minister of Education
The current minister of education in Iran is Mr. Ali Reza Ali-Ahmadi. He was recently approved into his position in February 2008 and was previously the chancellor of Payam-e Nour University. He replaces Mahmoud Farshidi, who resigned in early December of 2007 (“Education Ministry Nominee Okayed”).

Iran

So, I’ll be shifting gears a little this week to talk about Iran.

Iran, also known as Persia, is one of the world’s oldest continuous civilizations, dating back to 7000 BC. The first dynasty was formed in the Elamite kingdom in 2800 BC but Iran wasn’t unified for many more years, until the Iranian Medes in 625 BC. For the next 1000 years, Iran was governed by a succession of dynasties which expanded the Persian language and culture throughout the Iranian plateau. Iran was re-unified in 1501 by the Safavid dynasty, which promoted Shiite Islam. In 1925, the Pahlavi dynasty took over until it was overthrown in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. This revolution surprised the world because it was not the result of a military defeat, economic recession, or peasant revolt, and it happened remarkably quickly. As a result of the revolt, a theocratic republic was established and Ayatollah Khomeini returned from exile to rule. Sorry if this is boring, but the history major in me just feels it necessary to go over this stuff. :)

Following the Revolution, Iran-US relations deteriorated quickly as a group of students seized the US embassy in Teheran in November of 1979 and held it with hostages inside until January 1981.

In the wake of the Iranian Revolution and the occupation of the US embassy, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein decided to capitalize on the chaos in the region and expand his country’s access to the Persian Gulf. On September 22, 1980, Iraqi forces invaded Khuzestan, a province in West-central Iran, beginning the Iran-Iraq War. Although Iranian troops pushed out the Iraqis by 1982, Ayatollah Khomeini dreamed of expanding the Iranian Revolution into Iraq and so pushed it until 1988, when he reluctantly agreed to a truce engineered by the UN. During the Iran-Iraq War, there were between 500,000 and 1 million Iranian casualties, largely due to Iraq’s use of chemical weapons, which they later denied.

Ultimate political authority in Iran rests with the Supreme Leader, currently Ali-Hoseini Khamenei. This position is appointed for life to a religious scholar by the Assembly of Experts. The head of government is the president, currently Mahmud Ahmadinejad, who was elected by popular vote in 2005 for a four-year term.

Previous to Ahmadinejad, since 1997, the president was a reformer by the name of Mohammad Khatami. He advocated freedom of expression, a free market, and a tolerant society. However, conservative elements in society coalesced and so the movement was largely unsuccessful and actually culminated in the 2005 election of Ahmadinejad.

Geographically, Iran is the 18th-largest country in the world, just a little larger than the state of Alaska. Its mountainous terrain is divided into 30 separate provinces, with the national capital located at Teheran. However, the most important things about Iran’s geography are its vast oil deposits and its strategic location on the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. Both of these things contribute to its status as a major oil producer and exporter.

In the past, high oil prices have allowed Iran to expand its economy greatly, amassing over $70 billion in foreign exchange reserves. However, now that oil prices have dropped, the government is facing difficulties because of its extreme dependence on oil. Both inflation and unemployment have expanded uncomfortably, at the same time as increasing “brain drain” as young professionals leave to work in the West. Part of the problem is that the state is very in control of most economic activity, leaving only small-scale workshops, services and farming to the private sector. Additionally, the economy is weighed down by various price controls and subsidies, which President Ahmadinejad has been trying to reform. However, his previous measures have been met by resistance.

Unfortunately, the economy of Iran provides a hotbed for corruption and informal market activity, including trafficking of heroin from Afghanistan as well as trafficking of women and children who come to, through, and from Iran.

Socially, Iran is relatively homogenous. The population is about 65,875,224 (as of July 2008) and is ethnically 51% Persian and 24% Azeri, with the remaining 25% made up of a few ethnic groups including the Kurds, Gilaki and Mazandarani, Arabs, Lur, Balochs, and Turkmen. 58% of the population speaks Persian and Persian dialects, and 26% speak Turkic and Turkic dialects. As a theocratic state, it is religion which most unifies Iran, however- 98% of the country is Muslim, with 89% of that number being Shiite. The remaining 2% includes Zoroastrians, Jews, Christians, and Baha’i.

Iran has one of the highest urban growth rates in the world. Seven million people, a full 11% of the population, live in the capital city of Teheran. Throughout the rest of the country, 60% of the population lives in cities such as Isfahan, Ahvaz, and Qom. The UN predicts that by 2030, 80% of the population will be urban. This has led to some environmental issues, however, such as heavy air pollution over Teheran. To cope with this problem, the Iranian government announced in July 2007 its intention to no longer produce cars that run solely on gas; but rather Iran will only produce gas/electric cars. Iran is party to the Kyoto Protocol.

In terms of military, my impression of Iran is that although there are no overt, outright problems, the state is certainly a potential threat. Their military spending is only 2.5-3% of the GDP, the lowest of any Persian Gulf nation. Also, Iran has not invaded any country in two centuries; their military doctrine is based on deterrence. However, GlobalSecurity.org estimates that the Iranian government could mobilize an army of a million men.

They also have nuclear ambitions and have refused calls from the US and UN to halt their uranium enrichment program. In August 2008, the informal deadline set by the West for the end of Iran’s nuclear program passed unheeded; in September, the UN passed new resolutions prohibiting its uranium enrichment program. Nevertheless, no new sanctions were imposed, so the program continues.

It is the fact of Iran’s belligerence in Israel and Lebanon that worries Western powers. Iran refuses to acknowledge Israel as a state, and the situation was made worse in July 2008 when Iran announced the test-firing of a new long-range missile called the Shahab-3 that can hit targets in Israel. Iran has also been designated as a state sponsor of terrorism in Lebanon and elsewhere. So although the government is relatively peaceful at face value, it is the under-the-table forces in Iran which present a problem to world security.

To sum up Iran’s foreign policy, Wikipedia says:

“Iran’s foreign relations are based on two strategic principles: eliminating
outside influences in the region and pursuing extensive diplomatic contacts with
developing and non-aligned countries.”

On the whole, Iran is a very interesting country. It seems to have always been an anomaly- in the past, its literature, philosophy, mathematics, medicine, astronomy, and art have been major influences in the Middle East and around the world. Today, it is a regional power with an unstable economy, under-the-table economic and military activity, and potentially lethal capabilities- and yet pursues policies of deterrence (at least officially) in its relations.