Thirty thousand deaths, 30,000 injuries, 75,000 left homeless,
131 schools damaged or destroyed, 85 percent of buildings
destroyed, and the loss of one of the world’s historical
treasures. These are the dreadful statistics from the city of Bam,
Iran caused by the earthquake on Dec. 26, 2003 that measured 6.6 in
magnitude.
Weeks later, we try to dig up something positive from underneath
the rubble left by the earthquake in Bam. Many all over the world,
from individuals to interest groups and corporations, donated their
time and money to relief efforts. Immediately, we noticed a sense
of international connection that does not exist elsewhere, namely
the political playing field.
The basis for this connection transcends the ubiquitous
political tensions and restricted dialogues between hostile nations
such as Iran and the United States. The attention the Bam
earthquake has received from worldwide media has consequently
garnered the empathy of people worldwide, regardless of their
political affiliations. This philanthropy instills a revitalized
optimism that progress can be made toward improved understanding
between cultures that seem so foreign to each other.
In the case of Iran and the United States, hostilities have been
extant for more than two decades. In fact, tensions have hardly
loosened in the wake of American accusations that Iran is
developing a nuclear weapons program. Nonetheless, only a few days
after the earthquake, teams were sent by the United States to Iran
to aid the nascent rescue efforts.
Fortunately, tragedy is not the only way to inspire such a
connection between people of different nations, even hostile ones.
In the 1998 World Cup, for instance, a mere soccer match and the
preceding gift exchange marked one of the first significant
interactions between these two estranged states. Or similarly,
after the September 11 terrorist attacks, Iranians held a
candlelight vigil in Tehran, Iran’s capital.
Although little progress followed in political spheres, the
people of the United States caught a glimpse of one of the facets
of Iranian culture and vice versa. Amid a storm of differences, the
two nations found some common ground, which may foster change
outside political discourse.
Cultural differences, if not well understood, can be used as a
justification for the hostility that motivates dreadful acts of
violence ““ as we in the United States have experienced
through the hands of terrorism. And it would be in our best
interest if Americans, as well as people across the world, seize
opportunities to establish connections that look beyond political
divides.
In situations where transcultural bridges do not exist and the
people of two nations are isolated from one another, the political
battles will be more likely to escalate. Thus, we must work to
create these transcultural bridges now so political duels will be
more likely settled through dialogue and mutual understanding in
the future.
It is very satisfying to see people around the world come
together to support the victims in Bam in light of the tragic
earthquake. It would be even more satisfying to see if the
connections established in the last several weeks remain strong,
because we hope that these are the seeds that will grow and outlast
the incessant political differences.
Iradjpanah is the Iranian Student Group events chair and
Kalbasi is the ISG education chair.