Happiness on the Streets

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA, 24 Jun 2013

Nasim Banaei – TRANSCEND Media Service

After the presidential election in June 2013, millions of Iranians took to the streets not to demand a re-run like in 2009, but to celebrate the victory of the new president. It was just a few hours after Hassan Rouhani was named Iran’s new president. A lot of people wearing purple, Rouhani’s election colour, came to the main streets honking their horns to celebrate the victory of the middle-of-the-road presidential candidate, Rouhani, in the presidential elections.

There were many among the crowds who were not there to celebrate the election. They had not even participated in the election. They didn’t believe Rouhani could bring about any changes. Some of them were even against the government. Why did they rush to the streets? There is only one reason, They Were Happy! They were celebrating with other people but not celebrating the victory in the election; they were celebrating a mass happiness on the streets!

It was only two days after this street party that a second feast broke out. “Brazil here we come!” Iranian fans sang on the streets, their faces coloured green, white and red (the colours of Iran’s flag). Iran’s national football team entered the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Tournaments! Only a few hours after the team brought “happiness” to the people, hundreds of joyous Iranians flooded the streets.

Again, among those Iranians celebrating Iran’s qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil were some who weren’t football fans. But they were dancing and chanting and waving flags. After a long time, the nation was experiencing a very sweet week. Wild celebrations broke out on Iran’s streets.

There was a big difference between these street parties and those held before. This time there were no water cannons and tear gases. There was no harsh clash between the police and the people. The police was right there with the people. “Police Officer, Thank you, Thank you!” shouted the happy crowd. And the police proved to be happy that people were happy. The absence of the conflict between the people and the police was the reason many families dared to step on the streets. Man, woman, young, old; they were all there, on the streets.

“Happiness” is one of the basic needs of humankind. This need is felt even more in the modern societies. Sociologists believe that expressing happiness is good for overall social health especially for the younger generations. They believe that the government should create more opportunities to let people express their happiness. If the government follows this policy and controls the flow of happiness, it might even help decrease the social problems and increase some sort of social consensus and it could cost them no dime at all.

Almost five years ago, England encountered a problem and the people rushed to the streets like they needed to release their bottled up emotions! It could have ended in violence but instead ended up being a happy event due to the Olympics ceremonies and the marriage of Price William, the Queen’s grandson. These ceremonies helped people to express their feelings without causing any damage or turning violent.

Precisely four years ago, Iran faced the same problem as England did. The people took to the streets to demand a re-run of the presidential election. But what they received was a violent reaction from the authorities. Their emotional outburst was suppressed for four years. And now after those four years, they rushed to the streets two times in less than three days without any prior planning. The police did not interfere so the people could release their emotional charge and go back to their homes after spending a happy night on the streets with other people.

Parviz Ejlali, the Iranian sociologist and professor at Tehran University, believes that it’s the government’s duty to bring happiness to people’s lives. “A wise government must create chances of happiness e.g. big concerts, carnivals and competitions” he says, “if people create these chances themselves, the government must be vigilant to avoid violence so that people can express their happiness without any fear or stress”. He notes that the event must be devoid of any pressure or limitation. The limitations could lead people towards anger and violence. As a result, the chance to be happy will turn into an expression of violence!

If the government make plans for such events and determines a specific time and place for these ceremonies without putting any pressure or limitation on people, the result will be a peaceful celebration that can help those people to express themselves. This natural expression of feelings may affect the society positively. The side effects may decrease to a minimum if it is planned and controlled by the government. But when celebrations break out spontaneously, the government and the police need to control the situation without unnecessary interference. This way the ceremony will end without any clashes.

According to Sayyed-Hossein Serajzade, an Iranian sociologist, these spontaneous street parties can breed strong feelings of friendship among people and may also help them become aware of their conscious identity. “it is better that the police do not interfere except when the crowd is causing trouble for other people; for example, the police can warn them not to damage the stores or can monitor the traffic jam” he says, “but the people should be left free to dance and chant peacefully without the forceful interference”.

The psychologists believe that when people celebrate events together, intimacy increases among them because every individual and every group is trying to add to the happiness. “Even if an individual tries to cause trouble or act improperly, the group will prohibit it” says Mousavi Chalak, an Iranian psychologist, “we should create situations to bring happiness to people’s lives as our ancestors did, let’s say, in Nowrouz”.

The streets could be a good place for people to share their happiness and spend time with each other. A government with a wise policy and plan can create this Happiness on the streets.

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Nasim Banaei, MA in mass media and communication studies, and a member of T:AP network (Transcend: Art and Peace).

 

This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 24 Jun 2013.

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11 Responses to “Happiness on the Streets”

  1. zahra zare says:

    dear nasim
    you are the best and i know that you always do your best and this essay is the best one

  2. Well done Nasim! Never give up writing, you have great talent. We need to remind ourselves that thousands of people are perfectly capable of going in the streets and celebrate without anyone being injured. “Do you hear the people sing?”

    • Nasim Banaei says:

      Thanks for your kind comment Dr.Urbain. This is really nice of you.
      I entirely agree with you, and I think that’s an Art to hear people singing!

  3. mojdeh says:

    thank you very much for this article, I really enjoyed it :) you have noticed very good points regarding the importance of integrity among people ans its effects on them.

  4. hossein says:

    Woooow..please learn us some to write:d
    Very good

  5. mahmoud says:

    I hope that this happiness continues.
    i’m proud of you.