We are on in a shelter for homeless women in a western neighborhood of Tehran. Tehran municipality built and equipped this place with the help of donors.
One of the early challenges facing almost all cities all around the world was the shortage of face masks. And this was no exception for the shelters. In fact, given that most of the homeless suffer from long term conditions, becoming infected with the virus could have severe consequences for them. So, the shelters started to produce their own masks; thousands of them every day.

Roqiyeh Beigzadeh, Social worker: Chitgar homeless shelter for women has a bed capacity of 450. Currently around 150 people – mainly addicts and those rejected by their families- between the ages of 18 to 60 reside here. The center is open 24/7, and aside from providing three hot meals, it also offers medical and psychiatric services and consultations to individuals, and works to reunite them with their families.

Beigzadeh said: Coronavirus made our work much harder since we had to check the residents’ symptoms and disinfect the facility on a daily basis, as well as providing prevention training for them.

She added: A face mask production workshop was assembled with the help of the residents to produce, disinfect and package between 500 to 1000 masks daily.

Aida, 37 years old: The safe space this center creates, as well as the possibility of staying around the clock and, of course, the excellent rapport with social workers are some of the more important reasons convincing me to stay here for a long time. Here we have everything a woman needs. We were quarantined after the emergence of the outbreak. Our symptoms like fever were checked, and thank God I had no problem here. I go out with my friends here from time to time to take care of my personal and sometimes administrative work. There is a theater, a library and sports equipment, and I use these facilities.

Tanaz Amini, Emergency medical technician & paramedic: During this time we only had one suspicious case who was then sent to the hospital and later diagnosed with an overdose. Aside from that, we have had no other suspicious cases in the three months since the start of the outbreak. In the early days, the homeless would not accept the new health protocols and resisted them. But with the passage of time and some training, they would come to us to have their symptoms checked and make sure they did not have the disease.

This is Khavaran Shelter in southeast of Tehran with a 600 bed capacity. Until before coronavirus, its sleeping capacity was never even nearly full in spring and summer. But now, the capacity has been increased to 1000.

Abbas Nejad, Technical assistant, Khavaran shelter: The shelter has a capacity of 450 people, and it admits people from 18 to 80 years old. With the spread of coronavirus and the closure of other addiction treatment centers, there’s been an increase in the number of referrals. Following the announcement of health protocols, our job became harder. Accordingly, we disinfect the complex several times a day. Before admission, we disinfect the individuals. They have seperate beds.

Pirouz Hanachi, Tehran mayor : The 21 shelters of Tehran host about 66,000 people every month. The individuals receive three meals a day as well as medical care. Despite the fact the shelters are often crowded, we have not recorded any covid-19 since the start of the outbreak.

Tehran mayor said: We achieved this feat with help from the individuals themselves – after receiving proper training and equipment like face masks- and following the implementation of strict health protocols like constant disinfection of the facilities.

Tehran was one the first and worst-hit cities in the world. The early days of the pandemic were chaotic with people panic buying sanitary products and staple food items. But even back then, the municipality never seized its services to the most vulnerable and the needy. And that’s why no one -not a single soul- in the homeless population has contracted the disease so far; a truly remarkable feat.
We are a strong nation. We have experienced all sorts of ups and downs in recent history only to come on top successfully every single time. So, I’m sure we will put this crisis behind us with flying colors. But this doesn’t mean we should relax precautions.

The post Exclusive video| Homeless but not hopeless: No to outbreak at homeless shelters in Tehran appeared first on IRAN This Way.

“Iranian director Majid Majidi has made some of the most visually stunning and emotionally stirring films in world cinema about the plight of under-privileged, exploited and abused young people, and Sun Children (Khorshid) is one of his very best. The story of street boys commissioned by a local boss to dig for a treasure unfolds around an urban schoolyard and the clever, freckled face of 12-year-old Ali (Roohollah Zamani), a stereotype-buster of non-stop courage. The movie won best film, best screenplay and best production design kudos at this year’s Fajr Film Festival and should be a frontrunner in Venice competition,” Deborah Young wrote.

“Majidi’s Children of Heaven (1998) was the first Iranian film to be nominated for an Academy Award in the foreign language category. Though Sun Children lacks the visual lushness and poetry that made Children of Heaven so seductive, its condemnation of child labor and the inaccessibility of basic education to the poor comes across with great force,” she added.

“Post-revolutionary Iranian films have often drawn from the well of children’s problems to outflank the censors and score their social critiques. The screenplay written by Majidi and co-scripter Nima Javidi (Melbourne) pins its outrage to a swift-moving, high-stakes plot that undercuts sentimentality and the conventions of the exploited-child genre,” Deborah Young went on to say.

“Sun Children” is one of the 18 feature films selected for the competition section and will compete for winning the festival top prize, the Golden Lion.

The 77th Venice International Film Festival will take place at Venice Lido from 2 – 12 September 2020. This will be the first major international film event to take place physically since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

Street kids are ‘whole world’s problem’: Iran filmmaker at Venice

It took Majid Majidi four months and nearly 4,000 auditions to find the dynamic street children stars of Khorshid (Sun Children), the Iranian director’s latest movie premiering Sunday in Venice.

But the five kids lucky enough to be cast – one of whom accompanied Majidi to the prestigious Venice film festival on the Lido – are just a handful of the world’s 152 million street children who face a grim future without society’s intervention, the director said.

“Many of these kids are selling items in the streets, or underground. They have the worst conditions but it’s not limited to Iran, it’s everywhere, unfortunately.”

Despite the heavy subject matter, an adventure story plot and Majidi’s ability to find humanity and humour in the face of adversity help highlight the spirit, intelligence and potential of Majidi’s young subjects.

In the film, 12-year-old Ali [Rouhollah Zamani] and his three friends help support their families through odd jobs, even stealing a tyre or two. One day, they are told a hidden treasure is buried underneath a school for street children. To dig for it, they must enrol.

Majidi said he deliberately sought a light touch, even including unexpected moments of humour that had the audience cheering at a press screening.

“The topics are already very sad, very heavy. So in order to be able to keep the viewers engaged, you don’t need to force them into a heavy, sad situation,” Majidi told AFP, speaking through an interpreter.

“I wanted to do a mixture of light and heavy and play between those so people can stand to watch this misery.”

The film is one of 18 in competition for the festival’s top prize, the Golden Lion.

Working at five

Just before departing for the festival, lead actor Zamani tested positive for coronavirus and could not travel, Majidi said, adding that the youngster was fine, though disappointed.

Actress Shamila Shirzad, 13, made the trip, however. In the film, Shirzad and her younger brother played roles that differed little from their actual lives. As Afghans without papers in Tehran, they worked selling items in the subway while living under the constant threat of their family being sent to a refugee camp.

“I was born in Iran and started working when I was five and went to school,” where Majidi found her, she said at a press conference.

Some three to four million Afghans are currently living in Iran, their situation worsened by their illegal status and the prejudice they face, said the director, whose 2001 film, Baran focused on Afghan refugees in Iran.

Majidi warned that the plight of street children was not limited to one country or region, saying the world could not afford to ignore these kids’ potential.

“These [children] are supposed to be the future of humanity, and what is happening to the future of humanity is disastrous,” Majidi said.

Responsibility goes “beyond the state,” he said.

“The responsibility is to understand and be aware of the children’s situation, and that concerns us all, not just those who govern us.”

Majidi and a number of crew members are on the Italian Lido to promote the film at the major international film event.

“What is portrayed in the film is a global issue that is not limited to one country, but the damage some West Asian countries are facing due to wars is more serious,” Majidi lamented.

“Our country has been under severe sanctions imposed by the U.S. government over the past 40 years, and at present, since coronavirus is a mutual affliction all over the globe, one of our most serious problems is that these sanctions threaten access to certain medicines,” he added.

He said that children and families are most vulnerable to wars and political upheavals, and added, “Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey and our other neighboring countries are always suffering from wars and political crises.”

One of Iran’s serious problems is that people have illegally emigrated from these countries to Iran as a result of the wars and regional crises.

The cast members of “Sun Children”, Shamila Shirzad and her brother, Abolfazl, are two children born to an Afghan family in Iran.

These two, as well as other child members of the cast, were selected through auditions that Majidi held among the children making a living from peddling in the Tehran metro.

“A key topic the film intends to emphasize is the social responsibility people have in their societies,” Majidi said and added, “Governments are not my problem in this film, but I want to say that people should fulfill their own social duties and responsibilities on each issue.”

In their Twitter accounts, Cinema Organization of Iran director Hossein Entezami and Fajr Film Festival president Ebrahim Darughezadeh praised Majidi’s remarks during the press conference at the Venice festival.

“An artist is the voice of the people,” Entezami commented, while Darughezadeh wrote, “Majidi used the opportunity at the Venice festival to condemn the oppression of the Iranian people and violation of their rights.”

Celluloid Dreams, a major French film production and distribution company, is handling international sales. “Sun Children” premiered during February in Tehran at the 38th edition of the Fajr Film Festival, which honored it with the Crystal Simorgh for best film.

Co-written by Majidi and Nima Javidi, the film also won the award for best screenplay.

The post “Sun Children”: chance of winning in Venice 2020 appeared first on IRAN This Way.

The swiss FM first destination was Isfahan; land of culture & UNESCO world heritage sites. The reason why he travel to Iran is to mark the centenary of swiss-Iran diplomatic relations so he stayed one day and two nights in Isfahan, visited seven monuments (including mosques,cathedral,royal palaces,Persian garden,carvansaray changed to 5-star hotel,traditional house changed to a hotel and UNESCO world heritage square.

Ignazio Cassis tweet:“Visit to the city of Isfahan, a pearl in the Middle East. Knowing the culture and people of a country…”

Video Report: Nafiseh Hajati

Isfahan is in the 50 Most Beautiful Cities in the World

The traveler  Mag introduce the 50 Most Beautiful Cities in the World and Isfahan is one of it.

Isfahan by Traveler

We seek beauty in many forms: through art and architecture; from water views and mountain highs; in its people and its history. This list circles the globe, finding the most beautiful cities in the world from Italy to Iran. Vote for your favorite cities in the 2016 Readers’ Choice Awards survey.

Once one of the largest cities in the world, Isfahan had such serious cosmopolitan clout in the 16th century that it inspired the phrase Isfahan nesf-e jahan, or “Isfahan is half the world.” Today, it’s is one of the country’s largest metropolises, and has wide, tree-lined boulevards, significant Islamic architecture, and hidden Persian gardens, all perfect for exploring.

cosmopolitan clout in the 16th century that it inspired the phrase Isfahan nesf-e jahan, or “Isfahan is half the world.” Today, it’s is one of the country’s largest metropolises, and has wide, tree-lined boulevards, significant Islamic architecture, and hidden Persian gardens, all perfect for exploring.

The post Video| Swiss FM visited Isfahan appeared first on IRAN This Way.

Production and distribution of face masks and other protective gears
Disinfection of public places and cars
Distribution of essential food supplies and cash handouts
Volunteering at hospitals and other medical facilities

Tehran’s Autism Charity distribute over 80,000 packs

Since the early days of the corona covid19 pandemic, the Shokoufeha Charity for children with autism, In one of the Tehran’s eastern neighborhoods halted most of its activities and instead had these volunteers prepare and distribute for free sanitary packages.

Behrouz Khosravan CEO of Shokoufeh Charity for Autistic Children said: “The Charity was founded in 2017. It has taken 70 kids under its wings, providing them with food parcels and medicine. 30 kids receive monthly pensions while we provide rehabilitation services to 45 kids at the charity’s central branch.”

Director of Shokoufeh Charity added: “The activities of the rehabilitation center were halted soon after the start of the outbreak. Therefore, our psychotherapists and occupational therapists provided families of the autistic kids with educational content online. We also prepared sanitary packages and distributed them among the families. We have managed to distribute over 80 thousand packs among supported families and across the city.”
Haniyeh Abbasi is social worker in Shokoufeh Charity for Autistic Children said: “In early February 2020, after the outbreak, the charity decided to prepare and distribute sanitary packages that include a face mask, gloves and a hand sanitizer gel among the needy to help lighten the load for hospital staff and officials alike. We hope the recipients of these packages can use them in good health. We also gave these packages to the families of autistic children under the charity’s protection since most of them are financially challenged. So we decided we could prepare these packages with the help of donors to lighten the load for them.”

Hanieh mention that: “After outbreak we started to reduce the number of the classes and instead offered online sessions. We also pay their families some cash handouts every month to help them with their medical and other daily expenses.”

Retired teacher who is member of Charity member also said: “Whoever has to deal with autistic children inevitably becomes kind and compassionate. Therefore, all these people here have been doing voluntary work without ever once complaining.”

The volunteer who took the corona

Firouzgar Hospital has been one of the main coronavirus treatment centers in Tehran, and also where Meysam Ameri was working voluntarily until he contracted the disease.
Meysam Ameri is a 35-year old graphic designer working out of his home studio in north of Tehran. Since the early days of the outbreak, He began his voluntary work by handing out free face masks and gloves in Tehran subway, and disinfecting the Grand Bazaar.
In early April 2020, he volunteered to help the fight against coronavirus at Firouzgar hospital where he finally contracted the disease 20 days later.

Meysam recounted his story of joining Firouzgar Hospital:
It was 25 of us, men and women, who joined the hospital as the first volunteer group. We had an agreement to take care of all the things left unfinished after receiving initial training. For a while, we only did office work and disinfected the exteriors until we gained the trust of the hospital staff, and were then allowed in the Coronavirus ward after receiving appropriate training.
Aside from carrying out duties like taking test samples to the lab, and taking the results back, and going with patients to get CT Scans, we – as caregivers- also helped the patients getting to, using the toilet or changing their diapers.
We would form emotional bonds with patients to make their hospital experience and their battle with the disease more bearable. We would also help patients video call their family members. Other creative things we would do include giving them haircuts and even massage! We would also make fresh fruit juice. It was a favorite with patients and the medical staff alike!
We were later received training for some more technical nursing tasks like taking blood pressure and body temperature, and reading a pulse oximeter that monitors oxygen levels in the patients’ blood.
About 80 other caregivers joined us in the meantime. Still anyone who desired could leave. So on my last day at the hospital, there were about 20 of us volunteers there.
One other interesting thing we did was to throw a surprise birthday party for one of the nurses whose wedding had been cancelled due to the pandemic. We also held a ceremony to celebrate the birthday of Imam Mahdi on Mid-Sha’ban. Just like our other expenses like the cost of gowns and face masks, the cost of holding the event was paid through donations.

Meysam told us the hospital work was heavy and stressful. He would start working after performing his prayers at dawn, and would not go to bed until well after midnight. He believes his extreme physical fatigue contributed to his disease: One night, after twenty something days at the hospital, I realized I had a temperature and I was breathing heavily. At first, I thought it was just fatigue from working long hours. I went to the emergency department and underwent a CT scan just to realize my lungs were affected. I stayed there for three days until I could breathe easier. Then I spent 20 more days at home self-quarantining.
Coughing was not one of the symptoms. Instead, the symptoms were a high fever, and severe muscle and chest pains. Three weeks after the quarantine, my breaths are still short and heavy.
But none of these pains hurt Meysam as much as the pain of not seeing his family, he mentioned: I could not see any of my family members for 45 days, from the night I was admitted to hospital to the last day of my quarantine. I have a 9-month old son and a 5-year old daughter. My son had started crawling and grown his first teeth when I got to meet him again. Separation from my wife, kids and parents was my toughest experience.

Tehran municipality and volunteer work in Corona pandemic

Tehran Municipality, with extensive coordination, provided the possibility of volunteer groups. Groups that produced and distributed masks and hygiene items, groups that disinfected places, and groups that distributed food packages to the needy were able to provide their services with the help of the Tehran Municipality.

Pirouz Hanachi Tehran Mayor during the visiting thousands of food packages prepared for the needy said: All donors, volunteers, Tehran municipality and Basij forces are working to create a database so that the process of distributing food and health packages could be done fairly.

Faezeh Dolati is cultural deputy of Tehran 7 district municipality mentioned:
The municipality of borough seven, as one of the twenty-two boroughs of Tehran, provides various services to the citizens such as:
⁃ holding entertainment activities like street carnivals in the neighborhoods. In this way, people by respecting social distance, can watch and enjoy from their homes.
⁃ Managing and coordinating voluntary services, for example We produced around 2 million face masks with participation of local volunteers.
⁃ Preparing and Distributing nonperishable food packages for impacted families in collaboration with local businesses In order to participating in social responsibility.
⁃ Transforming neighborhoods centers into covid-19 service centers for monitoring and screening to help health care system
⁃ and finally, identifying vulnerable people and those who lost their jobs due to Corona virus crisis while distributing health packages

Mehdi Shirzad headquarters office of organizing social participation in Tehran mucipality about about Tehran’ voluntary work during the lockdown said: Fairly speaking, they did absolutely great with the fight against the coronavirus outbreak, and with collecting donations. So did mosque Imams and all who do social work there. Youth volunteer groups also helped a lot in the neighborhoods. This proved that urban crisis management is almost impossible without citizens’ help. The municipality’s most important achievement was the creation of a platform to connect NGOs to volunteers. So citizens can upload their resumes on this platform and then join events organized by NGOs, or even hold their own charity events.

Tehran Volunteer group preparing 3500 hot meals every day

Mostafa Foroutan who is Heydaraneh Campaign Manager said:
A number of Volunteer groups joined forces and created the Heydaraneh movement to be able to produce more comprehensive work during the coronavirus outbreak. In the beginning, like many other groups, and since we didn’t know how to exactly combat the virus, we began our activities by disinfecting public places, and later produced and distributed face masks.
In the next phase, and on the recommendation of hospitals, we started making a gravy-like puree from quail meat extract and medicinal herbs.
The movement also managed to prepare and distribute about 4000 essential food parcels for needy families.
We also collected donations for those directly impacted by the outbreak.

Hossein Bolandimonfared director of volunteer group that preparing food said: During the coronavirus outbreak, with the help of other volunteer groups, we have been preparing 3500 high quality hot meals every day.
Making fresh fruit juice for hospitals is another thing our group has done. A supervisor from the health ministry would oversee the whole process 24/7 to make sure the product meets health standards.
I should stress that we received an unprecedented amount of volunteer help for the supply, preparation and distribution of the meals. The level of participation was much higher than during the 2019 floods and Kermanshah’s 2017 earthquake.
Iranians have proven to be people of hard times. While people in other parts of the world were forming long queues outside supermarkets, and even seen fighting, Iranians were standing in line for voluntary work. This is really valuable that people care about one another in this situation.

The 6 months after the coronavirus pandemic, about 360 thousand Iranians have contracted coronavirus, and seven thousands -unfortunately- lost their lives. The first wave of the covid-19 is now behind us.
We, the people of Tehran, have brought this malicious outbreak under control for now, well of course, with the help of the government and municipality. The exact numbers are still to be fully worked out, but estimates show over half a million Tehraners have offered some kind of voluntary service during the first wave of the outbreak.

The post Exclusive video| Tehran: Voluntary work in Corona pandemic appeared first on IRAN This Way.

Nowrouz under coronavirus lockdown meant no family reunions, no gifts and no dinners, but also meant no parks, no cinemas and no concerts. So Tehran’s municipality came up with a brilliant idea to bring some musical joy to Iranian families in quarantine during these hard times; to livestream one concert every single night of the 15-day holiday.

So on Friday April 3, the NowrouzKhaneh campaign was launched. The concerts were live-streamed on 46 different websites and platforms (ipTVs, VODs – Video-on-Demand). They were also streamed live on Instagram.

Before the pandemic closed down businesses and sent everyone home self-quarantining, Milad Tower was one of the main cultural hubs of Tehran, hosting major festivals and holding various other cultural events. So, the venue was rightfully picked to host the online concerts during coronavirus lockdown.
The Milad Tower standing at 435 meters, the world’s sixth-tallest tower dominates the capital’s skyline.

The online concerts in Coronavirus days on Nowrouz 2020 performed by:
Omid Hajili
Mehdi Jahani
Rouzbeh Bemani
Azeri group of Master Vahid Asadollahi
Reza Yazdani
Rahim Shahriari
Hamid Asgari
Gil and Amard Group, Nasser Vahdati
Mehdi Yaghmaei
Kurdish group Zhavana, Sadollah Nasiri
Hamid Hami
Sina Sarlak
Rastak group
Ali Zandvakili
Lian Bushehr Group

Tehran municipality: Initiative aimed for concert-virgins under quarantine

Mohamad Reza Javadi Yeganeh, Deputy of cultural & social affairs of Tehran municipality said: “Since people could not leave their homes during the New Year holidays, we sat together and came up with the idea of online concerts or concerts in empty halls. The idea was to bring the concerts to people’s homes. We also had the concept of fair distribution in mind. Many people in Iran had never been to a concert both due to cultural and economic reasons. Tehran Municipality joined forces with the culture ministry, and Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) [to make this happen] via ipTVs and VODs.”

“Bands selected from pop, traditional, folklore genres to appeal to all”
We selected pop, classical and folklore music bands to appeal to all different tastes in Tehran. Given the unknown risks involved, many of the bands were unwilling to participate. The idea of ‘a concert without a crowd’ was far-fetched to some, director of cultural affairs department in Tehran municipality said.

“Tiva TV broadcast concert signals to over 40 platforms”

Majid Sahaf, channel director of Tiva IPTV about broadcasting the concerts said: “Tiva readily picked up the offer by Tehran Municipality, given its technical capacity and experience in the field. We were required to transmit the signal [of the concerts] to all various platforms and streaming services all around the country. And we made this operational. From the first night on, over 40 different platforms used our services. And this went on for 15 consecutive nights. Most of the people used the easiest mode of access which was through web streaming. Their next choice was applications, android and iOS respectively, and finally smart TVs. Many were doubtful about the internet infrastructure in the country. But we faced no issues in receiving and transmitting the signal. People also had no issues streaming at home. No complaints were recorded in these 15 nights.”

Tehran mayor: Online concerts well received by people

Pirouz Hanachi, Tehran Mayor said: “It’s definitely been a positive experience because the world is also following suit. Many famous musicians are performing online these days. I think we set a record [of viewers]. We exceeded the five-million mark in mid-holidays. People well received the concerts.”

Gholamhossein Mohammadi an advisor to Tehran’s mayor wrote on twitter that:
“A brilliant idea enabled five million people who’d joined the StayHome campaign to fight the spread of coronavirus to watch live the first-ever online concert broadcast from Milad Tower. Tehran’s municipality feels compelled to protect the health and wellbeing of citizens.”

“Iranians, expats watched online concerts”

Javadi Yeganeh mentions that: “Level of participation was beyond our expectations. Part of this came from Tehran and the rest from outside Tehran and even overseas. The President Rouhani expressed his gratitude.”

“Over 30 million unique IPs streamed online concerts”
Director of cultural affairs department in Tehran municipality informed: “According to the numbers we received daily from the association of IPTVs, over 30 million unique IPs watched the concerts in these 15 nights. The biggest achievement of the online concerts was making culture and music accessible to all walks of life in the country during the difficult quarantine days”.

But did the concerts truly attract people’s attention or was this remark an empty official rhetoric?

“The first time I watched an online concert was about 30 something days into my home quarantine. Although I had kept myself busy with different activities, I was feeling depressed and in low spirits. It was quite a surprising scene; the concert was being held in an empty hall but apart from that it was like a normal concert with the stage and props and things like that. After performing each song, the singer would call up and introduce one of the band members who then would bow to the camera. In normal circumstances, the crowd would applaud him but since the hall was empty, there was no applause, and the artists would only bow to a quiet hall. It was a strange and surreal experience. Nonetheless, the experience felt very real to me. Although I was at home in my PJs and drawing while watching the concert, every time I enjoyed a performance I would clap to it as if I’d actually been there in the concert hall. So it was a really interesting experience.”
Fatemeh Tehrani, Tourism Activist

“In these monotonous and boring quarantine days, watching live an hour-long concert by Reza Yazdani was a big surprise for my wife and I. I’m sure its memory will stay with us for years to come.”
Mohsen Saemi, Construction Project Manager

“I always thought going to concerts was an expensive activity, and given the inadequate infrastructure, only a few people could experience it, maybe not more than 2% of the population. But when I was watching these online concerts with my family at home, I felt that now with these concerts, many people can experience -at least to some extent- how live concerts really feel.”
Seyed Milad Nazemi, Journalist

“In these times while some still haven’t grasped the gravity of the situation and think all these safety measures and home-quarantining are nothing but an unnecessary obsession, with others panicking and getting depressed from staying home for long periods, the municipality’s introduction of the initiative only shows the gravity of the situation and the halt in normal day activities. On the other hand, it shows it cares about people and has plans for their lockdown days to make them more tolerable.”
Mahsa Mousavi, Neurologist

The musicians also welcomed the municipality’s initiative:

Rastak Singer: Online concerts in coronavirus lockdown ‘innovative idea’

Farzad Moradi, Singer, Rastak Music Band Emphasized: “I think Iranians are culture and art-loving people who enjoy going to concerts; something that has been missing from their lives [as a consequence of the coronavirus lockdown]. We are glad to see the Municipality organize the events despite all limitations. It was an innovative idea. I hope artists can use this platform for as long as the disease is among us. Our performance is audience-oriented. To be honest, we have never had any such experience before, and It was really difficult. During our concerts, given our considerable experience, our main concern is not music but the emotional give and take between us, the musicians, and the audience.”

First time experiencing concert in empty hall

Also Sina Sarlak, Singer said: “This is the first time in my whole musical career that I am performing in an empty concert hall.”

It could be really disappointing to see the concert that you have been counting days for postponed or cancelled altogether.
Both for fans and the artists themselves. That’s why musicians of all stripes and sizes from all around the world are taking to social and streaming platforms these days to play live for their fans from their homes or empty venues.

This might be an intuition, or a false hope. But I strongly believe we will ultimately win the fight against COVID-19. The virus, however, is likely to stay among us for quite some time. So for the time being we have to learn to adjust to this new reality of life. This might come with some complications but also with some fortunate by-products like the virtual concerts. In the meantime, keep your safe distance with others and follow health guidelines.

Tehran Review
Episode 1, Online concert during coronavirus
Editor in Chief and Producer: Sadeq Hosseini
Reporter: Farbod Khalili
Cameraman: Saeed Naeeni
Edit: Amirhassan Saadati
Production: Iran This Way
In Cooperate: Shahr news agency and Commutation center of Tehran Municipality
www.shahr.ir
www.tehran.ir
Iranthisway.com

The post Exclusive| Online concerts bring musical joy to Iranian families in coronavirus lockdown appeared first on IRAN This Way.

“Khonyagaran-e Mehr” is a female musicians band with a brilliant background, led by Behzad Abdi,that performs various concerts in persian music.
“Khonyagaran-e Mehr”, consists of twelve musicians, formed in may 2017. In August 2017 they held a successful concert at the Vahdat Hall with Mohammad Motamedi as a singer.

In October 2017, “Khonyagaran-e Mehr” performed at the “Eimehestan” festival in Armenia and received award from Culture Minister of Armenia.
In February 2017, “Khonyagaran-e Mehr” performed at the Fajr Festival with Vahid Taj as a singer.This performance was appreciated by the audience.
In july 2017, two music videos of Khonyagaran-e Mehr were displayed for a month in Expo of Kazakhstan.
In August 2018, “Khonyagaran-e Mehr” held a concert for Iranian ladies in Niavaran Cultural Center with a singer named “Sayeh Sodeyfi”.
In November 2017, the soloists of “Khonyagaran-e Mehr” held a concert with the Organizal Orchestra in Kostiol church in kiev, Ukraine.
In February 2018, “Khonyagaran-e Mehr” and Vahid Taj performed in Philharmonic Hall of kiev, Ukraine.

In February 2019, they performed at the Fajr Festival with Navid Norouzi as a singer.They also performed in closing the Fajr Music Festival.
In March 2019, they held successful performances in three cities of Germany : Berlin, Hamburg and Frankfurt.
In April 2019, they performed at the “le Magie des Hirondelles du Printemps” festival in Paris,France.
In April 2019, held concert in Bern,Switzerland.
In October 2019 held concert in Womex festival in Tampere, Finland.

WOMEX 19 is one of the world’s largest music events which hostd publishers, independent musicians, organizers, and state organizations in music every year from over 90 countries.

‘Khoniagaran-e Mehr’ founded and led by Behzad Abdi.

Mehrnam Rastegari (Kamancheh),
Samaneh Barouti, Nazanin Rousta (Qichak Alto),
Neginzadeh Vakili (Qichak Bass),
Hila Feyzpour (Tar),
Torgol Khaliqi (Tar and Rabab),
Seda Sedifi (Qanun),
Rokhsareh Rostami Daristani (Oud),
Bahareh Heydari (Tar Bass),
Sheida Ghazi (Ney),
Mehrnaz Dabirzadeh (Tombak and percussion instruments)

Behzad Abdi (born 1973, Tehran) is an Iranian composer of opera, film and television music

He came to international attention in 2006 with his “Nuclear Symphony”, commissioned by the government to celebrate Iran’s nuclear achievements.

The IMDb database cites film and television music for no less than 43 productions between 2010 and 2018.

Abdi studied setar and Iranian traditional music and also Western classical music at the Tchaikovsky Academy in Ukraine, beginning his studies there in 2003.

He has been described as “the first composer to write Iranian traditional opera fusing Iranian traditional and Western classical music.”

His opera “Rumi” from 2009, based on the life of Rumi, with libretto by Behrouz Gharibourm, and with Mohammad Motamadi, has been released on a UK label, Naxos.

Abdi is currently based in Kiev, Ukraine.

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Each year many practicing Muslims fast from dawn to dusk for the whole of the lunar month either 29 or 30 days depending on the moon sighting as part of the ritual of dedicating oneself to contemplation and prayer.

This year because of the deadly cornavirus, almost all Muslim-majority countries including Iran have closed mosques and asked people to pray at home to limit the spread of the disease.

In Ramadan, Muslims try to spend more time praying, reciting the Quran, and doing other religious social activities like helping the poor. Fasting is intended to bring the faithful closer to God and to remind them of the suffering of those less fortunate.

Unlike previous years this year Muslims in Iran cannot mark the “Nights of Glory” at mosques and religious sites as religious leaders have called on people to hold praying ceremony at home to stay safe. Muslims believe the holy book of Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad almost 1400 years ago on the Nights of Glory.

During Ramadan, Muslims fast as an effective way of practicing self-discipline. They are also expected to strengthen their character through self-restraint charitable donations and introspection.

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Iran coronavirus fatalities drop to double figures for first time in month

Iranian Health Minister Saeed Namaki says the number of fatalities from the novel coronavirus pandemic has dropped to double figures for the first time in one month.

Speaking to the Iranian people on Instagram live on Tuesday 14 April 2020, Namaki hailed the country’s “proper” fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that 98 deaths from the disease were registered in the past 24 hours.

“We are implementing smart distancing and have announced protocols for it. We want to say that we are currently at a more appropriate situation,” he said.

Namaki, however, warned that the country will face new challenges if health protocols and smart distancing are not observed properly.

Meanwhile, Health Ministry Spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said the new deaths brought the total number of fatalities to 4,683 since the outbreak of the coronavirus in Iran in late February.

Jahanpour added 1,574 new infections had been recorded over the past 24 hours, taking the overall number of confirmed cases to 74,877.

He noted that 48,129 of hospitalized patients had recovered and been discharged, and that 3,691 people are in critical conditions.

Iran’s successful response to the virus comes despite the illegal US sanctions, which are hampering the country’s efforts to rein in the virus.

Iran has been employing strict precautionary measures since the virus surfaced in the country. It has heavily ramped up the required health services, including by increasing the number of hospital beds, and shot up the production of disinfectants and relevant sanitary items.

The Health Ministry reported Monday that new cases of coronavirus infections and deaths from the viral outbreak had been declining across most of the country’s 31 provinces.

President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday that Iran has handled the novel coronavirus outbreak better than Europe and the United States, assuring that the country’s stocks of basic commodities are replenished better than ever, unlike the scenario unfolding in the US and many other Western states.

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In an edict to Major General Baqeri on Thursday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei emphasized the need for the establishment of a “health and treatment base” to prevent further spread of the ongoing epidemic in the country.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has issued an edict to Iran’s top general, emphasizing the need for the establishment of a “health and treatment base” to prevent further spread of an ongoing coronavirus epidemic in the country.

In his Thursday edict, which was addressed to Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri, Ayatollah Khamenei first commended the services, which have been so far rendered to the people of Iran by the Armed Forces in their drive to hamper further spread of coronavirus.

Kianoush Jahanpour, the head of the public relations and information center of the Iranian Ministry of Health, said Saturday the new coronavirus has claimed 97 lives in the past 24 hours, taking the overall death toll to 611.

Jahanpour added that 1,365 fresh cases have been added to the number of the confirmed infections during the period, bringing the total to 12,729.

More than 4,300 of those with confirmed infections have recovered so far, he added.

Iranian medical staff cope with coronavirus with dancing

Iran asks IMF for $5bn in emergency funding to battle coronavirus as cases spike

Iran asks IMF for $5bn in emergency funding to battle coronavirus as cases spike

The Central Bank of Iran has asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for $5 billion emergency funding to fight a coronavirus pandemic as the number of infections keeps growing in the country.

In an Instagram post on Thursday, Abdulnaser Hemmati, governor of the Central Bank, said he had written to the IMF’s head, Kristalina Georgieva, last week to stress Iran’s “right to benefit from the fund’s $50-billion Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI).”

In the letter, the official highlighted the “widespread prevalence” of the virus — called COVID-19 — inside Iran and the need for the country to take measures to prevent further spread, treat the patients and counteract the economic aftermath of the disease.

“Given the size of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s quota in the fund, it calls for the use of the RFI fast financing facility of around $5 billion,” he added.

In a tweet on Thursday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also called on the IMF to extend support to Iran, who is a member state of the Washington-based lender.

Zarif said the IMF managing director “has stated that countries affected by COVID19 will be supported via Rapid Financial Instrument. Our Central Bank requested access to this facility immediately.”

WHO: Iran doing its best in COVID-19 battle despite lack of equipment

Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) says the Islamic Republic of Iran is doing its best in fight against the novel coronavirus despite a lack of sufficient equipment and facilities mainly caused by the US sanctions.

“We know that Iran is doing its best, all it can … that’s what I appreciated,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference at the organization’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday.

“They need lots of supplies, and … we have tried to support as much as we can, but there is still a shortage,” he added.

“We’re trying to mobilize more support for Iran,” Adhanom said.

The WHO chief’s remarks came a few hours after the Iranian Foreign Ministry slammed the United States for blocking the entry of foodstuffs and medicine into Iran through its unlawful sanctions.

Asked about the impact of US sanctions on Iran’s fight against the virus, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said Wednesday, “The oppressive and illegal American sanctions, which [have been imposed on Iran] within the framework of the ‘maximum pressure’ campaign, have affected public welfare and health in Iran.”

“Although medicine and medical equipment should be exempt from the sanctions…the course of relevant transactions has been blocked,” he told media representatives via video-link on Wednesday. “However, they brazenly claim that medicine and foodstuffs are not subject to the sanctions,” the official added.

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