Our Spark: September 2022

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After the murder of Mahsa Jinnah Amini, Iranians all over the globe showed up in the streets of D.C., Houston, London, Toronto, and more. We demanded that this time, the world pay attention to the people of Iran. Some of us were born here and felt the push from privilege and the pull of compassion that something must be done for those in our motherland who have never enjoyed the rights we have. Some of us had family or friends abused or lost to us at the hands of the authoritarian regime that does not respect basic human rights. Some of us have personally suffered threats, imprisonment, or worse by the regime and still bear the scars. All of us were confident that the numbers and sizes of protests meant something, that the pictures of those imprisoned and executed that we lifted for the world to see meant something. Then…months passed. The protest crowds shrank. The list of imprisoned and executed Iranian dissidents grew. 

While the sense of hope and possibility seemed to wane among the diaspora, we were determined to keep it alive. We planned the next steps that should follow the protests. We met in sometimes hours-long meetings to plan how we could get into Washington D.C. offices where decisions were made. Then, we made it there – and we will keep going back. We educate lawmakers, policymakers, and others with power on the human rights abuses Iranians face and the importance of a secular, democratic Iran. We amplify the narratives that uplift the values of democracy and human dignity. We work among our fellow advocates and educators to build connections and share resources in our pro-democracy diaspora movement. We, members of a community unaccustomed to much political involvement, are organizing to realize a vision where Iranians have the fundamental civil, political, and social rights every human deserves.

This time is different. We are here, and we will be here until the people of Iran are free.