How Reading Can Resolve Issue of Air Pollution

Marziyeh Boroumand, a well-known Iranian filmmaker, has written an article about air pollution in Etemad Newspaper. Here’s IFP’s translation of her solution:

Read to avoid air pollution, to stop environment destruction, to keep the trees green, to keep the soil healthy, to let the rain drop, to improve our wisdom, to be grateful for our gifts, to understand the relationship between natural resources, to be aware that all natural elements are linked to each other, to consider “us” and not “me”, to think as a group and not be individualist, to be more of a farsighted, deep thinker.

Read to use others’ experiences and not to repeat them. If our people and officials read, they would learn that by building towers in lieu of trees, they block Tehran’s breathing roots and prevent the wind from blowing. If they read a book before any activity, our country’s environment wouldn’t have such a disastrous condition.

Books affect our lives considerably. If our officials and citizens read, they would have more foresight and could have a long-term perspective on things. As they make houses for their children, grandchildren, and descendants to ensure their comfort in future as they do now, they would also pay attention to future conditions of environment and climate; they could understand that the issue of air pollution affects all: poor and rich, educated and ignorant, grand and little; because all people live in such air and this is a common pain. But we don`t learn our lessons; the wind stands in same quarter for years, and in the last minute, when the air pollution is most critical than ever, we remember that we had to do something about it.

It seems that we, the artists, are more sensible to this case than our officials. Mr. [Dariush] Mehrjui and I noticed the environmental crisis years ago. I made “Ab-Paryia” TV series and he made “Narenji Poosh” many years ago; however, it seems that no one hears us. How much should we shout that we are committing a crime against our own people? That they are dying gradually in this air? It is really painful that people live in this polluted air. It is not a matter of today; we have faced this crisis for years, but we got used to it and it looks normal to us. Our words and repetitions don’t solve the problem. For many years, we have no fall and winter, we just hear the name of these seasons and live with their memories. I used to love them and in recent years I lost my interest. Now they are the seasons of air pollution; the seasons of snow-less mountains, even it doesn’t rain anymore. It hurts me.

In the excessive air pollution of these days, not only people’s bodies are at risk, but they experience this crisis with their minds and souls. I wish we understand that there is a direct relationship between people’s mind and soul and their living conditions. We, alongside officials, haven’t refined our body and mind, though, and we faced such misfortunes as air pollution. Believe that all things are linked!