Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Iranians in Fresno Pay Tribute to Uprising's Heroes, Offer Support to 'Crumble the Regime'
By admin
Published 2 years ago on
September 15, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

It’s been nearly a year since the death of a young Iranian woman sparked a growing wave of women-led protests challenging the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Mahsa Amini became the symbol of the protest movement that spread from Iran to around the world, including Fresno, where hundreds gathered Thursday night at Fresno State to honor the uprising’s heroes and victims.

Shima Afshari

Those who continue to protest, even in countries far from Iran, risk retaliation for themselves and their families in Iran. But they’re not giving up, Shima Afshari said.

“Oh, we want it to happen. But it’s essential for foreign people to know that none of the dictatorship is going to be overthrown within a year,” she said. “It takes much longer than that, especially the regime that for 44 years got power and they have nothing to do except they’re getting stronger and stronger for suppressing people, torturing, violating their rights, harassing them. And by the slightest protests, people get in jail and they’re executed.

“But definitely history (shows) that no matter how powerful the dictatorship is, the voice of people is much stronger … and we know that very soon we would crumble the regime.”

Afshari and Mojgan Sadeghi told GV Wire prior to Thursday’s event in the Satellite Student Union that they have lost close friends and relatives to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard who still hold power in Iran 44 years after dethroning the shah and imposing strict, Islamic-based laws that include requiring women to cover their heads with the hijab.

Death Sparks Worldwide Protests

Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, had been taken into custody in Tehran by the morality police who said she was wearing her hijab incorrectly. Witnesses said she was severely beaten in a police van and suffered a head injury that led to her death three days later, on Sept. 16, 2022, just five days before her 23rd birthday. The Iranian government denies that she was beaten and said she suffered a heart attack.

Beatings by the morality police are frequently recorded and shared on social media, and they were among the videos displayed at Thursday’s event in the large auditorium in the Satellite Student Union. The event, which drew more than 200 people, included speeches by Mayor Jerry Dyer and Fresno State professor Leece Lee-Oliver, short plays, and traditional Persian and contemporary music.

Mojgan Sadeghi

Mojgan Sadeghi said she came Thursday in support of the Iranian people. Sadeghi said she left her homeland because she is Baha’i, and the Iranian government was forcing Baha’i people to convert to Islam or face consequences.

When the first protests erupted last year, Sadeghi said she hoped that change finally would be forced on the Iranian government, which is controlled by Islamic clerics. Women were burning their hijabs, Iranians were turning on the morality police, and the Iranian people were rising.

Although the protests have continued, they have become more subdued in recent months as the government has cracked down and jailed or killed protesters. Sadeghi said one of her younger cousins, the father of two children, is now in prison.

Showing Support

Participating in protests and remembrance events like Thursday’s is how Sadeghi shows her support for the movement.

“I’m so sorry for my people of my country and it’s so sad to see they killed so many young people,” she said tearfully. “But I can’t do anything, unfortunately. And the only thing I can do just for them and whatever I can do in here, I do for my people of my country.”

The crowd listens intently to a speaker during the Woman, Life, Freedom Iranian Tribute on Thursday, Sept.14, 2023, at the Fresno State Satellite Student Union. (GV Wire/Jahz Tello)

What can America do for the people of Iran? Stop releasing money that the U.S. has long frozen, and which will be used to support the Iranian regime as well as terrorism, Afshari said.

The U.S. recently announced plans to unfreeze $6 billion as part of a prisoner swap that will lead to the release of five Americans being held by Iran and five Iranians held by the U.S.

“One thing is, stop helping terrorists. Stop helping dictatorships. They’re killing kids on the street, torturing them, raping them. We have 26,000 kids in the jail right now, and they get raped, they get harassed, they get tortured. And every single day there are people that get killed under torture,” she said. “And the anniversary of our uprising, America sends $6 billion to Iran. And their reasons is for humanitarian reason. Are you serious? Do you think dictatorship cares for humanitarians?”

The funds that are being released won’t be used to buy medicine or food for the Iranian people, Afshari said. Instead, the Iranian government will buy more guns to kill people, and support terrorists overseas, she said.

“Please stop and be the voice of people, not the voice of the terrorists and dictatorship, because you’re going to get hurt,” Afshari warned. “Not only our people — you’re going to get hurt too.”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Virginia Giuffre, Voice in Epstein Sex Trafficking Scandal, Dies at 41

DON'T MISS

California Proposes Allowing Testing of Self-Driving Heavy-Duty Trucks

DON'T MISS

Higher Taxes on Millionaires? Trump Says He’s Open, but Many in His Party Are Not

DON'T MISS

Ex-US Rep. George Santos Sentenced to Over 7 Years in Prison for Fraud and Identity Theft

DON'T MISS

Selma Mayor Charged With Electioneering Violation on Election Day

DON'T MISS

Fresno Air Improves. Where Does It Rank in the US?

DON'T MISS

As Harris Ponders Run for CA Governor, Is She Prepared for the Daunting Job?

DON'T MISS

Stocks Rise With Tech-Related Shares, Notch Weekly Gains; Dollar Up

DON'T MISS

Conflicting US-China Talks Statements Add to Global Trade Confusion

DON'T MISS

Driving Near the Fresno Airport Next Week? Plan for Road Closures

UP NEXT

Selma Mayor Charged With Electioneering Violation on Election Day

UP NEXT

Fresno Air Improves. Where Does It Rank in the US?

UP NEXT

Driving Near the Fresno Airport Next Week? Plan for Road Closures

UP NEXT

Fresno Man Arrested in 2004 Cold Case Rape and Murder

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Willie Ray Butler

UP NEXT

Fresno Ranks Fourth in US for an Affordable Night Out

UP NEXT

Fresno Man Tased, Arrested After Suspected Reckless DUI in Kerman

UP NEXT

Madera Vehicle Burglary Leads to Arrests, Gang Charges for Juveniles

UP NEXT

Beware of Scammers Saying You Won the Publishers Clearing House Drawing

UP NEXT

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

Ex-US Rep. George Santos Sentenced to Over 7 Years in Prison for Fraud and Identity Theft

5 hours ago

Selma Mayor Charged With Electioneering Violation on Election Day

6 hours ago

Fresno Air Improves. Where Does It Rank in the US?

6 hours ago

As Harris Ponders Run for CA Governor, Is She Prepared for the Daunting Job?

6 hours ago

Stocks Rise With Tech-Related Shares, Notch Weekly Gains; Dollar Up

7 hours ago

Conflicting US-China Talks Statements Add to Global Trade Confusion

7 hours ago

Driving Near the Fresno Airport Next Week? Plan for Road Closures

7 hours ago

Misty Her: Push for Fresno Unified Turnaround Starts Now With ‘Boots on the Ground’

8 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest 17 in Domestic Violence Crackdown

8 hours ago

What’s Next for Fresno Smoke Shop Ordinance: Lawsuit, Veto, Override?

9 hours ago

Virginia Giuffre, Voice in Epstein Sex Trafficking Scandal, Dies at 41

Virginia Giuffre, a former victim of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring who said she was “passed around like a platter of fruit” as a te...

2 hours ago

Virginia Roberts Giuffre speaks to reporters in New York on Aug. 27, 2019. Giuffre, a former victim of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring who said she was “passed around like a platter of fruit” as a teenager to rich and powerful predators, including Prince Andrew of Britain, died on Friday at her farm in Western Australia. She was 41. (Jefferson Siegel/The New York Times)
2 hours ago

Virginia Giuffre, Voice in Epstein Sex Trafficking Scandal, Dies at 41

5 hours ago

California Proposes Allowing Testing of Self-Driving Heavy-Duty Trucks

5 hours ago

Higher Taxes on Millionaires? Trump Says He’s Open, but Many in His Party Are Not

5 hours ago

Ex-US Rep. George Santos Sentenced to Over 7 Years in Prison for Fraud and Identity Theft

Selma Mayor Scott Robertson (left) has been charged with misdemeanor electioneering for allegedly campaigning near voters at a polling place during the November 2024 election. (Facebook)
6 hours ago

Selma Mayor Charged With Electioneering Violation on Election Day

6 hours ago

Fresno Air Improves. Where Does It Rank in the US?

6 hours ago

As Harris Ponders Run for CA Governor, Is She Prepared for the Daunting Job?

7 hours ago

Stocks Rise With Tech-Related Shares, Notch Weekly Gains; Dollar Up

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend