Neda and Ramin

Ben Bernanke made some key moves in 2009, but my vote for persons of the year goes to Neda Agha Soltan and Ramin Pourandarjani.

Neda--the young woman who was shot during demonstrations against last June's fraudulent election in Iran (and someone took and circulated a cell-phone video immediately afterward).

Ramin--the young doctor who refused to falsify the cause of death of three students beaten to death in prison in July in Tehran (see my comments on him yesterday).

These two for me symbolize the ongoing struggle between democracy and totalitarian rule in 2009.

Peace and justice--they stood for both, risking their lives, unwilling martyrs.

If the conflict between fundamental Islam and Western imperialism is the story of the decade, these two call us to the path of peaceful protest.

Peace and justice--they stood for both, risking their lives, unwilling martyrs.

Both Neda and Ramin were in their twenties, hoping for long life under a just government in Iran.

Instead their names are now torches lighting the way toward that goal.

As a mother, I grieve with their families and with the Grieving Mothers who now march each Sunday in Tehran, carrying photos of their murdered children, like the mothers still marching in Argentina.