Iraelia
TNPer
"So the people went in
And possessed the land;
You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land,
And gave them into their hands,
With their kings
And the people of the land,
That they might do with them as they wished."
-The Book of Nehemiah; Chapter 9, Verse 24
May 26, 2023; 3:32 PM
Sarazed, Iraelia
Yakmeni bet Mashda tapped his thumb nervously against his thigh. As Il'Paia of the Arbila Arminun [1], he was seen as a deeply stoic and wise figure. This was a false assessment. Ever since he could remember, he struggled with anxiety. When he was a student at Betdrasa [2], it was because of the exams which he hadn't prepared for; before he took his vows, it was because of the women he was too nervous to talk to; and now, having spent the last seven years of his life in between holding cells, it was the anticipation of this very moment which was the source of his anxiety.
The court room where his future would be determined was somber. A rarity over the course of his trial. He had technically had over 7 trials to this date, and each one of them appeared to be more contentious than the last. He had to routinely be brought into the courtroom through the backdoor, with armed guards, and a disguise. And even then, he could not avoid the throngs of sympathetic protesters and angry Iraelian nationalists who seemed to track his every move. At first it gave him hope: watching hundreds of thousands take to the streets in his defense made him proud to be Ainshari, proud to be a Shaivan. It convinced him that, despite everything that was said about him, his actions were for the greater good. Now it simply made him tired. He had tried to focus on his ascetic discipline while incarcerated, but the truth is he was never the monastic his father was. The 2016 Kinsa [3], which had named him de facto leader of Shaiva's hundreds of thousands of Ainshari believers, had not chosen him for his religious devotion. They chose him for his ability to inspire passion. The podium was one of the few places where he was able to overcome his fear of other people, and his passionate speeches in favor of Shaivan Republicanism had won him much love from the left-wing of the Ainshari National Caucus (AIK). It didn't hurt that his father, Mirza bet Mashda, was one of the most revered religious teachers and community leaders in recent Ainshari memory. The problem with relying on family name is that only the Ainshari seem to care that you're related to Mirza bet Mashda.
As Yakmeni anticipated the decision of the jury, he thought back on the circumstances which brought him to where he was. His friend Palkha, an active organizer for the left-wing of the AIK, had put him in contact with three Lakhic Messianist men. He explained that they were Shaivan Republicans, under surveillance by the Iraelian government, who needed a temporary shelter for the time being. Yakmeni knew this was a half truth, he wasn't naïve. He knew the kinds of people Palkha associated with, and the tactics they utilized in the struggle for independence. But he also didn't care; if he could assist their efforts, all the better. What he did not know was that the three men had a sophisticated, military grade explosive device in their luggage. The men had stayed with him for less than a week before they left in the middle of the night, with much haste. This itself was not odd; what was odd was the fact that he was not informed of this until the following morning. He had known of their departure for less than a day before he turned on the news to see the following headline: "Shaivan Republicans perpetrate bombing of the office of the Iraelian Office for the Administration of Greater Shaiva." It wasn't long before Iraelian police stormed the Arbila Arminun, and took him out in handcuffs.
His rumination on the past was interrupted as a line of twelve Iraelian citizens entered the room and made their way to the jurors bench. The already silent court room grew even quieter. As the jurors took their place, the judge called the trial back to order.
"It is now time to hear the decision of the jurors," his voice echoed, "Will the representative of the jury please come forward?"
A Shaivan woman stood up, and Yakmeni's heart sank. He feared he knew what the verdict was.
"On the charge of domestic terrorism, we, the jury, find the defendant guilty on all counts."
The world around Yakmeni seemed to fade out, piercing static drowning out all that was around him. He turned to see members of the audience in outrage, shouting at the jury before being escorted out of the room by the bailiff and his deputies. He also saw families of some of the victims of the attack. Husbands, wives, and children meeting the decision with solemn silence. The chaos in the room simmered as the bailiff sought to maintain order, his deputies dragging rowdy members of the audience out of the courtroom. Yakmeni turned back towards the stand. He knew already what the verdict would be... Nevertheless, he stared at the judge in anticipation. As the world around him slowly came back into focus, he could hear his sentence.
"This court sentences the defendant to death, by lethal injection."
1=The custodian of the holiest temple in the Ainshari Faith, often considered the de facto leader of the Ainshari faithful
2=A religious school for teachers of the Ainshari faith
3=A meeting of representatives of every Ainshari community; the 2016 celebration was the first in over three hundred years, and highly political
May 26, 2023; 6:02 PM
Sarazed, Iraelia
Eilram bet Sarhad stood before the crowd gathered outside the building that housed the National Court of Iraelia, Jurisdiction of Old Shaiva. Before him stood a crowd of thousands. Some carried signs, many carried candles. All of them were gathered in outrage at the decision of the National Court of Iraelia to convict Ainshari community and religious leader Yakmeni bet Mashda. A line of riot police held a firm perimeter around the building, enduring verbal abuse from the crowds which thronged against them. Eilram approached the vanguard of the crowd with a bullhorn. He began to speak.
"My fellow Shaivans, our allies, and all those gathered here today in pursuit of justice. Behind me stand the militarized police that represent the State of Iraelia. They are here because the constitutional promise to open engagement in the political process of Iraelia does not apply to us Shaivans! Because when we organize for a peaceful demonstration in defense of the wrongful conviction of a beloved community leader, they see us as little more than a threat. Because in their eyes, we are the enemy!"
"Why is that? Because for the past 400 years they have treated us as nothing but that. They have stolen our land! They have demolished our Umra [1] and Maqdsa [2] without ceremony! And they have denied us the basic dignity owed to all people! All Shaivans know this. From its inception, the Shaivan Republican Front has been formally committed to our independence. But what has this meant in practice? It has meant participation in elections. It has meant lengthy talks about the details of separation. It has meant formal negotiation with the Iraealian government. A government, mind you, which they acknowledge is fundamentally opposed to its political goals! In these terms, independence doesn't mean liberation. It means subservience."
"Liberation doesn't happen in the future. It is not a redemptive event which will fix all things. It is a struggle! It begins right now! In this very gathering! It means what our waffling, incompetent political leaders in the Organization for the National Liberation of Shaiva used to believe in: Liberation By Any Means Mecessary! Already the people of Shaiva have taken these steps. Today, we are joined by protestors from Arbila to Efa to the other neighborhoods of Sarazed in saying enough is enough! I know the struggle will be long and hard. It will require much work. But there is no other option. To remain subservient is to endorse more evictions, more forced demolitions, and a heavier boot pressed against our neck. My fellow Shaivans, be brave. It is all that is left available to us. Huiada!"
The gathered crowd joined in chants of Huiada [3], with the abuse directed against the police intensifying. The cry became louder until, in a flash, it was over. A rock? A fallen officer? Spit in the eyes of the riot police? It didn't matter what caused it, a wave of rubber bullets flew into the gathered crowd as the protest turned violent.
1=Esdari word for Church
2=Esdari word for an Ainshari place of worship
3=A slogan roughly translating to "Solidarity!" but which equally means "Freedom!" and "Liberty!"
May 28, 2023; 9:48 PM
Arbila, Iraelia
The assembled delegates of the General Trade Union of Workers in Shaiva (ABPS) filled the chambers which were intended to host their plenary session. President Eliyah Lazar looked over the results of the vote placed before him. A year ago, he was a shop steward for the dockworkers local in Efa. Now, he was President of the entirety of the organized labor movement in Shaiva.
He was a part of a much larger development in the Shaivan labor movement. Since the 1970s, the Socialist Organization in Shaiva (ADS) had adopted a policy of "boring from within" the Shaivan labor movement. Picardists entered workplaces, identified worker-leaders, supported their political development, formed reform caucuses, and worked to win over labor to their vision for a new Shaiva. Democratic, socialist, and independent from Iraelia. For years, they had worked to win control of the labor movement. Now, their efforts had finally paid off. In 2022, following an unprecedented dockworker strike in Shaiva, the old guard was swept away and a militant new administration was ushered in.
Eliyah Lazar hadn't started as a socialist. His family had worked the docks in Efa for generations. It was in 1992, during the strike which had followed the retreat of GASU from the strategy of liberation by any means necessary, that he became involved in both the union and socialist politics. While not a member of the ADS itself, he had long been adjacent to their politics. He also shared their goals. It was his firm conviction that only a democratic, independent Shaiva could realize an environment which actually benefited its workers. And only the workers of Shaiva could realize this goal. He had dreamed of a general strike of Shaivan workers for decades. For years it had been a fringe position. The conviction of Yakmeni bet Mashda changed things. Shaiva was abuzz with news of police violence against protesters, and now the rank-and-file were fully prepared for a political strike. And in an instant, a several decade long political strategy came to fruition.
As he counted the last of the votes, Eliyah Lazar addressed the convention on the decision that had been made.
"The resolution placed before the floor calls for a general strike of all workers in the occupied nation of Shaiva. The duration of this strike shall be indefinite. It shall terminate on the realization of the following demands. First, immediate clemency for Yakmeni bet Mashda and all other prisoners wrongfully imprisoned by the Iraelian state. Second, trial of these individuals by a jury of their fellow Shaivans. Third, the immediate withdrawal of Iraelian law enforcement and military personnel from Old Shaiva, Efa, and the New Shaiva Autonomous Region. Fourth, the immediate dissolution of Iraelian governmental authorities in this territory. Fifth, the full recognition of a provisional government, to be elected by the people of Shaiva, as the sole, sovereign authority of these territories."
Eliyah Lazar read the results once more before continuing.
"By a vote of 629-51, the resolution carries. Effective tomorrow, all workers represented by the ABPS are to cease work and form pickets at their worksites and key government buildings. The executive committee shall send further instructions. Until then, this emergency convention is to enter recess."
And with the bang of his gavel, the assembled representatives began to leave the plenary.
And possessed the land;
You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land,
And gave them into their hands,
With their kings
And the people of the land,
That they might do with them as they wished."
-The Book of Nehemiah; Chapter 9, Verse 24
May 26, 2023; 3:32 PM
Sarazed, Iraelia
Yakmeni bet Mashda tapped his thumb nervously against his thigh. As Il'Paia of the Arbila Arminun [1], he was seen as a deeply stoic and wise figure. This was a false assessment. Ever since he could remember, he struggled with anxiety. When he was a student at Betdrasa [2], it was because of the exams which he hadn't prepared for; before he took his vows, it was because of the women he was too nervous to talk to; and now, having spent the last seven years of his life in between holding cells, it was the anticipation of this very moment which was the source of his anxiety.
The court room where his future would be determined was somber. A rarity over the course of his trial. He had technically had over 7 trials to this date, and each one of them appeared to be more contentious than the last. He had to routinely be brought into the courtroom through the backdoor, with armed guards, and a disguise. And even then, he could not avoid the throngs of sympathetic protesters and angry Iraelian nationalists who seemed to track his every move. At first it gave him hope: watching hundreds of thousands take to the streets in his defense made him proud to be Ainshari, proud to be a Shaivan. It convinced him that, despite everything that was said about him, his actions were for the greater good. Now it simply made him tired. He had tried to focus on his ascetic discipline while incarcerated, but the truth is he was never the monastic his father was. The 2016 Kinsa [3], which had named him de facto leader of Shaiva's hundreds of thousands of Ainshari believers, had not chosen him for his religious devotion. They chose him for his ability to inspire passion. The podium was one of the few places where he was able to overcome his fear of other people, and his passionate speeches in favor of Shaivan Republicanism had won him much love from the left-wing of the Ainshari National Caucus (AIK). It didn't hurt that his father, Mirza bet Mashda, was one of the most revered religious teachers and community leaders in recent Ainshari memory. The problem with relying on family name is that only the Ainshari seem to care that you're related to Mirza bet Mashda.
As Yakmeni anticipated the decision of the jury, he thought back on the circumstances which brought him to where he was. His friend Palkha, an active organizer for the left-wing of the AIK, had put him in contact with three Lakhic Messianist men. He explained that they were Shaivan Republicans, under surveillance by the Iraelian government, who needed a temporary shelter for the time being. Yakmeni knew this was a half truth, he wasn't naïve. He knew the kinds of people Palkha associated with, and the tactics they utilized in the struggle for independence. But he also didn't care; if he could assist their efforts, all the better. What he did not know was that the three men had a sophisticated, military grade explosive device in their luggage. The men had stayed with him for less than a week before they left in the middle of the night, with much haste. This itself was not odd; what was odd was the fact that he was not informed of this until the following morning. He had known of their departure for less than a day before he turned on the news to see the following headline: "Shaivan Republicans perpetrate bombing of the office of the Iraelian Office for the Administration of Greater Shaiva." It wasn't long before Iraelian police stormed the Arbila Arminun, and took him out in handcuffs.
His rumination on the past was interrupted as a line of twelve Iraelian citizens entered the room and made their way to the jurors bench. The already silent court room grew even quieter. As the jurors took their place, the judge called the trial back to order.
"It is now time to hear the decision of the jurors," his voice echoed, "Will the representative of the jury please come forward?"
A Shaivan woman stood up, and Yakmeni's heart sank. He feared he knew what the verdict was.
"On the charge of domestic terrorism, we, the jury, find the defendant guilty on all counts."
The world around Yakmeni seemed to fade out, piercing static drowning out all that was around him. He turned to see members of the audience in outrage, shouting at the jury before being escorted out of the room by the bailiff and his deputies. He also saw families of some of the victims of the attack. Husbands, wives, and children meeting the decision with solemn silence. The chaos in the room simmered as the bailiff sought to maintain order, his deputies dragging rowdy members of the audience out of the courtroom. Yakmeni turned back towards the stand. He knew already what the verdict would be... Nevertheless, he stared at the judge in anticipation. As the world around him slowly came back into focus, he could hear his sentence.
"This court sentences the defendant to death, by lethal injection."
1=The custodian of the holiest temple in the Ainshari Faith, often considered the de facto leader of the Ainshari faithful
2=A religious school for teachers of the Ainshari faith
3=A meeting of representatives of every Ainshari community; the 2016 celebration was the first in over three hundred years, and highly political
May 26, 2023; 6:02 PM
Sarazed, Iraelia
Eilram bet Sarhad stood before the crowd gathered outside the building that housed the National Court of Iraelia, Jurisdiction of Old Shaiva. Before him stood a crowd of thousands. Some carried signs, many carried candles. All of them were gathered in outrage at the decision of the National Court of Iraelia to convict Ainshari community and religious leader Yakmeni bet Mashda. A line of riot police held a firm perimeter around the building, enduring verbal abuse from the crowds which thronged against them. Eilram approached the vanguard of the crowd with a bullhorn. He began to speak.
"My fellow Shaivans, our allies, and all those gathered here today in pursuit of justice. Behind me stand the militarized police that represent the State of Iraelia. They are here because the constitutional promise to open engagement in the political process of Iraelia does not apply to us Shaivans! Because when we organize for a peaceful demonstration in defense of the wrongful conviction of a beloved community leader, they see us as little more than a threat. Because in their eyes, we are the enemy!"
"Why is that? Because for the past 400 years they have treated us as nothing but that. They have stolen our land! They have demolished our Umra [1] and Maqdsa [2] without ceremony! And they have denied us the basic dignity owed to all people! All Shaivans know this. From its inception, the Shaivan Republican Front has been formally committed to our independence. But what has this meant in practice? It has meant participation in elections. It has meant lengthy talks about the details of separation. It has meant formal negotiation with the Iraealian government. A government, mind you, which they acknowledge is fundamentally opposed to its political goals! In these terms, independence doesn't mean liberation. It means subservience."
"Liberation doesn't happen in the future. It is not a redemptive event which will fix all things. It is a struggle! It begins right now! In this very gathering! It means what our waffling, incompetent political leaders in the Organization for the National Liberation of Shaiva used to believe in: Liberation By Any Means Mecessary! Already the people of Shaiva have taken these steps. Today, we are joined by protestors from Arbila to Efa to the other neighborhoods of Sarazed in saying enough is enough! I know the struggle will be long and hard. It will require much work. But there is no other option. To remain subservient is to endorse more evictions, more forced demolitions, and a heavier boot pressed against our neck. My fellow Shaivans, be brave. It is all that is left available to us. Huiada!"
The gathered crowd joined in chants of Huiada [3], with the abuse directed against the police intensifying. The cry became louder until, in a flash, it was over. A rock? A fallen officer? Spit in the eyes of the riot police? It didn't matter what caused it, a wave of rubber bullets flew into the gathered crowd as the protest turned violent.
1=Esdari word for Church
2=Esdari word for an Ainshari place of worship
3=A slogan roughly translating to "Solidarity!" but which equally means "Freedom!" and "Liberty!"
May 28, 2023; 9:48 PM
Arbila, Iraelia
The assembled delegates of the General Trade Union of Workers in Shaiva (ABPS) filled the chambers which were intended to host their plenary session. President Eliyah Lazar looked over the results of the vote placed before him. A year ago, he was a shop steward for the dockworkers local in Efa. Now, he was President of the entirety of the organized labor movement in Shaiva.
He was a part of a much larger development in the Shaivan labor movement. Since the 1970s, the Socialist Organization in Shaiva (ADS) had adopted a policy of "boring from within" the Shaivan labor movement. Picardists entered workplaces, identified worker-leaders, supported their political development, formed reform caucuses, and worked to win over labor to their vision for a new Shaiva. Democratic, socialist, and independent from Iraelia. For years, they had worked to win control of the labor movement. Now, their efforts had finally paid off. In 2022, following an unprecedented dockworker strike in Shaiva, the old guard was swept away and a militant new administration was ushered in.
Eliyah Lazar hadn't started as a socialist. His family had worked the docks in Efa for generations. It was in 1992, during the strike which had followed the retreat of GASU from the strategy of liberation by any means necessary, that he became involved in both the union and socialist politics. While not a member of the ADS itself, he had long been adjacent to their politics. He also shared their goals. It was his firm conviction that only a democratic, independent Shaiva could realize an environment which actually benefited its workers. And only the workers of Shaiva could realize this goal. He had dreamed of a general strike of Shaivan workers for decades. For years it had been a fringe position. The conviction of Yakmeni bet Mashda changed things. Shaiva was abuzz with news of police violence against protesters, and now the rank-and-file were fully prepared for a political strike. And in an instant, a several decade long political strategy came to fruition.
As he counted the last of the votes, Eliyah Lazar addressed the convention on the decision that had been made.
"The resolution placed before the floor calls for a general strike of all workers in the occupied nation of Shaiva. The duration of this strike shall be indefinite. It shall terminate on the realization of the following demands. First, immediate clemency for Yakmeni bet Mashda and all other prisoners wrongfully imprisoned by the Iraelian state. Second, trial of these individuals by a jury of their fellow Shaivans. Third, the immediate withdrawal of Iraelian law enforcement and military personnel from Old Shaiva, Efa, and the New Shaiva Autonomous Region. Fourth, the immediate dissolution of Iraelian governmental authorities in this territory. Fifth, the full recognition of a provisional government, to be elected by the people of Shaiva, as the sole, sovereign authority of these territories."
Eliyah Lazar read the results once more before continuing.
"By a vote of 629-51, the resolution carries. Effective tomorrow, all workers represented by the ABPS are to cease work and form pickets at their worksites and key government buildings. The executive committee shall send further instructions. Until then, this emergency convention is to enter recess."
And with the bang of his gavel, the assembled representatives began to leave the plenary.
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