"Tell them I'm safe"

the message said.

I had been vaguely aware that one of the aid workers had a colleague who was in Iran. His colleague is Iranian by birth but left the country as a babe in arms. Like many other people this man was curious about the country of his birth and had gone on holiday to the place of his birth. He had sent a message to the office he works in to say it was "interesting". There were some photos. It all looked like a holiday experience he was enjoying. Then there was silence.

It is very clear that there is massive civil unrest in Iran right now. His colleagues were concerned, very concerned. Somehow he managed to get to Kuwait and was waiting for a flight back to where he now lives. The message was sent from the airport. It was good to know. He will be late back from his holiday but his employers are apparently just relieved he is safe.

There were no marches in the street demanding his safe return of course. Only a very few people even knew where he was. Most people will just shrug and say things like "he was silly to go in the first place".  But one of the people who was informed of his safety said something interesting to me.  "Why aren't all those people who are so keen to march for Palestine every weekend out there protesting about what is going on in Iran? It's just as bad.Why aren't they marching against what Russia is doing to Ukraine? "

There is a very active and often very well organised protest movement in this country. They like to see themselves as the guardians of "human rights". They are also remarkably silent right now. There have been no rallies, no marches, no protests on the steps of parliament house. I heard someone I know very well being asked about this. Protesting is something he does often. It is almost a way of life for him. He simply shrugged and said, "None of our business." Really? 

His questioner looked at him and asked, "Why do some people matter more than others?" 

It's a good question.