Dear Editor,
Like many Iranian-Americans on this campus and around the country, I have spent the past weeks caught in a cycle of anguish, hope, despair and anger. Across Iran, millions of brave men and women, young and old, took to the streets to demand freedom and change. The scope of these protests is historic. Tragically, so is the scale of violence the regime has unleashed to suppress it under the cover of near-total internet and communications blackouts.
Estimates of those killed range from a conservative 5,000 to well over 12,000. Investigative reporting based on doctors’ accounts places the toll at more than 16,000 dead and 300,000 injured, mostly over just two days on Jan. 8 and 9. Victims were shot at close range with military-grade weapons, targeting the head, neck and chest. The picture that is emerging is not one of crowd control or even a bloody crackdown, but one of indiscriminate mass killing that amounts to crimes against humanity.
The regime feels emboldened in committing these atrocities by a long history of impunity. For 47 years, the world has stood witness as Iranians who dared to demand their rights and a better life were beaten, arrested, tortured, killed and executed. While negotiations and sanctions have focused on dealing with the regime’s nuclear ambitions, support for the human rights of the Iranian people has been limited to empty words.
In the face of a massacre, silence and inaction are unconscionable. This should not be a partisan issue. Everyone stands to benefit from an Iran whose people can choose their own future. A free Iran will be a force for stability, progress, prosperity and peace in the region and the world.
There are concrete ways you can help. Check in with Iranian friends, students, and colleagues. This simple act has a tremendous impact, especially because they are unable to contact family in Iran. Join their rallies and vigils. Support organizations like NetFreedom Pioneers that work to spread satellite internet access in Iran. Write to your representatives to be the voice of the people of Iran. Amplify the voices of Iranians inside the country and the leaders they are calling upon, notably Prince Reza Pahlavi, to initiate the transition to a democratic and accountable government.
History is being written right now. One day soon, Iran will be free. And she will remember her friends with gratitude.
Sincerely,
Babak Seradjeh
Professor
Department of Physics
Indiana University
