The Conformist Generation
Behnam is 25 years old and has no job relevant to what he learned at the university. He studied industrial design and now works as a photo archive employee at one of the newspapers. Now he is preparing himself for emigration and a new life in Canada.
"I was ready to do a lot in my field and my grades were first-rate, but I never succeeded in getting a job, because every door required an 'open, sesame'," Behnam mourns. He needed someone to get him in, but he never had the right connections.
"You need someone from inside the system to get you through. Although they have quite a number of people sitting in their offices and not doing much because they simply don't know what to do. They just got in because they were related or connected to some one inside the system", Behnam adds.
The "in-crowd", and the "out-crowd"
The Iranian administration is based on family networks and friendships. It is a historical problem which has persisted for the past hundred years. People in government always tried to surround themselves with people whom they could trust, rather than selecting them for their professionalism, their expertise or experience.
This was the case during the monarchy of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, just as it is in the Islamic Republic with its cleric-dominated system.
People like Behnam and many other young people who have no ties to the system remain outsiders. Azita, who also lacks connections, says that if there had been no revolution, she would be better off. With a father who was a high-ranking military leader in the former regime, she would have been able to land a fine career. Now, at 28, with a bachelor's degree in foreign languages, her only choice is small private business.
Jennifer Lopez and the "decay of the west"
On the other hand, when you have connections to the system, you have an easier time of it, but you have to stick to some rules. Yasser, 24, is still a student and has not yet done his military service, but he has excellent connections through his father, an Islamic Republic Revolutionary Guard General.
Yasser worked in the news office of a state-run television station – a sensitive job – under the reformist government of president Khatami. He then joined the campaign of the current president, Mahmud Ahmamdinejad.
Now he has made it to the top, earning five times more than a well-educated person with a PhD in hand. He writes press bulletins for the president's office, works as a journalist for one of the most important newspapers and is also involved with secret research for the government's intelligence service. He enjoys watching Jennifer Lopez, but says "I am allowed to see the corruption and decay of the west, but for the rest of the population it's a sin and it's forbidden because they are watching for pleasure".
Abolfazl, 23, operates the same way. Without any editorial training, he runs several important news websites and online magazine. He is an insider, someone who is trusted. He pretends to be religious and loyal to the system, dressing simply like the system's loyalists, praying at the right times and acting like a religious man. But secretly he listens to Chris De Burgh and Marilyn Manson, watches satellite television and enjoys trips to Europe. He says, "I am loyal to the system, take advantage of it, criticize and let myself be criticized; other western-oriented young people have no rights".
Interested in the degree, not in knowledge
People with family connections, about 20 percent of the population, have everything in hand. Another 20 percent of the younger generation just stick to their profession and focus on small projects. If they are lucky, they study hard and get a scholarship at a US or European university, or save their money and leave the country. About 60 percent are the people I call the conformist generation.
The conformist generation has no connections, like Yasser, nor do they stand outside the system, like Azita. They never attend the university, and if they do, they are interested in the degree, not in knowledge. They are looking for a way to find their place in the system and survive.
Reza is an ordinary young man who at the age of 22 joined a friend inside the system, the son of a member of parliament, who was involved with the illegal import of computers. Now 26, he has two houses and drives fancy cars. At the age of 25, Moosa made a deal with the Revolutionary Guards to get the contract for construction work on the hallways in their bases.
Lack of commitment
According to the law, these kinds of contracts are supposed to go through a public tendering procedure, but Moosa knew the ropes and offered the government a good price.
Reza and Moosa never read papers, and they have no clue about global changes. They are not interested in religion, either. They make their money, and once a year they go to Dubai and Istanbul to spend it all on all kinds of fun.
In the event of a military strike against Iran, only 20 percent of the people would protest against the system. The rest of the population would not do a thing, thus effectively defending the system. Under different circumstances, Moosa would have to go the university and make an honest effort to achieve in 20 years what he has now achieved in 5. The only people to earn so much money so fast are drug dealers.
Kambiz Tavana
© Zeitschrift für Kulturaustausch 2007
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