Gouya Roshan From Darkness to Light

When the Problem Is Not Only the Child, but a Society That Does Not Accept Differences A child with autism, cerebral palsy, or another disability is not only facing a physical or psychological challenge; they and their families often face a much greater challenge: society’s perception. Many people believe that the biggest difficulty in the lives of these children is autism itself or their disability. However, in reality, the greater pressure often comes from somewhere else: from ignorance, prejudice, and a lack of social acceptance. A child with special needs is, above all, a child. Like every other child, they have the right to play, laugh, go to the park, participate in social life, make friends, and feel that they belong in this world. Yet sometimes, society’s behavior causes families to distance themselves from these simple and natural rights. I did not only see limitations in the faces of these children; I saw children who, like all children, need love, attention, play, and recogn...

Is hatred the greatest danger facing the world? From childhood, we have been taught that hatred fuels war and violence and pushes people toward crime. But the deeper we look into history and the more we try to understand humanity, the more frightening the truth becomes. Hatred has not always been humanity’s most dangerous enemy. Sometimes, suppressing emotions and remaining silent can be more dangerous than hatred itself. Those who carry hatred in their hearts are still feeling something. Their emotions may be unhealthy, unjust, or destructive, but their hearts and minds are still responding. What threatens the world more than anything else is the moment when humanity becomes numb and cruel in the face of suffering, shame, injustice, and merciless death. No great tragedy in history has ever occurred without the involvement of a few criminals. Criminals have always been a minority. They gained their power from ordinary people who gradually became mere spectators — people who saw, heard,...

Those Who Light Fires from Afar I despise those who live safely in Western countries, the United States, or any other peaceful place, yet encourage people inside Iran to revolt, engage in conflict, and bear costs that they themselves would never be willing to pay. Courage from behind a safe curtain has no meaning. Courage is not urging others to step into the battlefield from thousands of kilometers away. True courage is being willing to bear the very same price you expect others to pay. History has repeatedly shown that during every political crisis, there are those outside the country's borders who call on people to take to the streets with fiery slogans. Yet when bullets are fired, prisons fill up, families are left mourning, and the future of an entire generation is shattered, they continue living comfortably in their safe homes, issuing nothing more than another statement. No nation has ever been saved by momentary emotions. Real and lasting change requires reason, organizatio...

  The Most Dangerous Prison Is the One Without Walls When we hear the word  prison , we imagine high walls, iron bars, locked doors, and armed guards. We think of a prisoner as someone who has lost the freedom to move. Yet the most dangerous prisons in the world often have no visible walls and no locks on their doors. Many people walk freely, work, laugh, shop, travel, and even speak about freedom; yet they have spent years living inside an invisible prison—a prison built from fear, habit, prejudice, attachments, propaganda, and the judgments of others. Fear is one of humanity's greatest jailers: the fear of failure, the fear of being judged, the fear of being different, the fear of losing one's status, the fear of being alone, and even the fear of thinking. Many people do not live according to what they truly believe; they live according to what others expect of them. They are not free—their chains are simply invisible. Prejudice is another prison, one in which the prisoner f...

What If Everyone Told the Truth for Just One Day? What if everyone told the truth for just one day? Would the world collapse, or would it finally be saved? At first glance, this question seems simple. But if we imagine a single day in which no one is able to lie, the world would no longer resemble the one we know today. Many marriages would fall apart because words that had been hidden for years behind smiles, silence, and compromise would suddenly be spoken. Friendships built on politeness, convenience, or mutual benefit would come to an end. Politics, business, advertising, and even many professional relationships would be forced to confront truths they had avoided for years. But does that mean the truth is dangerous? Perhaps not. What is truly dangerous is our habit of living among countless small and large lies that have been repeated so often they now seem perfectly normal. We sometimes lie to avoid hurting others, conceal the truth to protect our position, or wear masks simply to...

  When the Word "Terrorism" Becomes a Political Tool  In today's world, one of the most dangerous developments is when weighty words are judged before they are defined. The word "terrorism" is one of those terms that carries enormous moral and political weight. When this label is given to an individual, a group, or an organization, it does not merely signify a political opposition; Rather, it constitutes a very serious accusation regarding that entity's conduct, objectives, and methods.     For years, there has been extensive debate about Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Some politicians and opponents of the Islamic Republic consider it a terrorist organization and strongly criticize its actions inside Iran and across the region, including its military and political role. Others, however, argue that the use of this label is primarily a political decision and that it should be assessed according to the same standards applied throughout th...

Can a Conscience Grow Old? We usually recognize old age by wrinkles, gray hair, or slow footsteps. But perhaps the oldest part of a human being is not the body, but the conscience. A conscience once cries out. It is troubled by lies, disturbed by oppression, and burns at the sight of injustice. But if its voice is ignored again and again, it gradually grows weary. It does not die—it grows old. An aged conscience no longer cries out; it simply watches. At first, a person suffers over telling even a small lie. Later, that lie becomes a daily habit. There was a time when seeing a hungry person stole their sleep, but today they scroll past thousands of images of war, famine, and death with nothing more than the swipe of a finger. This normalization is the most dangerous sign of an aging conscience. A society, too, can have an aging conscience. A society that hears about corruption every day and is no longer surprised; that talks about injustice every day and is no longer outraged; that wit...