The Wall_Spring 2023_Issue 9

Growing up, I always loved hearing stories of my mother’s childhood. Like every child, I was amazed to imagine my mother at school, or as an infant playing with toys. Often, I’d ask her (and I still do), “tell me about your childhood.” So, she did. She told me about her trips to the beach, her hours spent in parks with cousins and friends. She told me about her favourite music, films and her favourite after-school treats.This sounds quite normal, right? It sounds like a common conversation a child might have with their parents.Though, here’s the catch. Here’s how my version is a little different. My mother was born and grew up in Iran – that is, until everything changed. When I mention Iran, undoubtedly you will begin to think of the oppressed, cruel country run by an Islamist dictator ship.You will think of the recent murder of Masha Amini.You will think of a country in which women have no rights and live in fear.This image of Iran, which so many people have, is represented as the only Iran by the media. But that’s not the truth.That’s not the Iran that my mum knows.That’s not the Iran that I know. It’s not the Iran that Iranians know. In 1978, the Iranian Revolution changed everything. Unsurprisingly, the root cause of the revolution was the uprising of Rhollah Khomeini, an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran. He eventually went on to replace the unpopular Pahlavi dynasty under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahl avi.The Pahlavi dynasty were the Iranian royal family and among the wealthiest and most educated citizens.They were popular. However, the working class opposed the Shah and his ideas.They believed he lived a lavish lifestyle whilst many of them had to struggle financially because they weren’t the wealthiest in society.Their support of the opposition ultimately led to the start of the revolution which changed Iran forever. Without thinking of the consequences, they spearheaded the struggle against the Shah, bringing global attention to Iran through demonstrations and a four-month-long general strike. Nevertheless, it’s not as if Iran didn’t already have this attention.At the time, their economy was booming.With their endless supply of oil, any merchant would have landed the jackpot by working in Iran.This led to agglomeration in many Iranian cities, specifically the capital Tehran. Businesses were opening on every corner. Yeva Kebabdjian (she/her), LVI, describes how the media presents Iran negatively, but this is far from the truth.

Clubs, bars, pubs, theatres, restaurants, cinemas, festivals and concerts were all thriving, with stars from all over the world visiting the capital – as many would do now in cities such as Vegas, Paris and London. My mother’s family were in fact a foreign family who had settled in Iran post-Armenian genocide.Though appearance, religion and heritage may have set my family apart from Iranians, my mother always tells me that there is something very rare about the Iranians. Something not many other nationalities have. It is the warmth and acceptance of the people. My mother’s family were taken in and treated as equals, loved by their neighbours, loved by the country.As a persecuted race,Armenians struggled to find safe places to live, yet Iran took many in with open arms and treated them as their own.This is living proof that different religions and nationalities can unite despite all odds. Even today, many members of the Armenian diaspora in Iran aren’t perse cuted or treated differently by citizens. Why? Because being an Iranian isn’t just something to do with ethnicity. It is to do with spirit. So, to this day, my mother calls herself an Armenian-Iranian with nothing other than pride. It is this same spirit which we see today among all Iranians, no matter where they are in the world. It’s this spirit which is allowing them to resist and fight for their rights. Later, when the monarchy was dissolved, many Iranians realised the manipulation and lies of the man who was supposed to reform their country. Shortly after the change of leadership, things took a turn for the worse. Khomeini began to alter the country in ways which even his supporters didn’t understand. Education became a luxury, and all citizens with any affiliation with the Shah were either stripped of all their livelihoods or became ‘political’ prisoners. Political activists were murdered, beheaded and hanged.Teachers were persecuted for educating the nation. Women were forced to cover their hair and bodies.They were beaten, raped and arrested if they didn’t comply.The military police patrolled the streets, and a new era began. Many Iranians escaped; in fact, an estimated two million people left Iran for exile. Some, like my family, who had heritage in other countries such as the UK, were able to leave. Unfortunately, many didn’t have that choice or were caught trying to leave – my grandfather includ ed – and he was separated from his family for over three years. Iranians collectively suffered, and violence became the norm. Anyone who spoke out against the regime was captured.Anyone they decided was a spy – such as British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – would be forced away

from their families and kept under their control.The new government ignored democracy and became a tyrannical dictatorship. However, that’s not the real Iran. The real Iran is beautiful. It’s brave. It’s full of rich history, breath-taking mosques, Armenian,Assyrian and Roman churches and the oldest architecture. Iran is food, the world’s finest cuisine. It’s saffron, it’s pearly rice, it’s turquoise and colourful. It’s buzzing markets, it’s the home of the most sacred Islamic art.When I went to visit Iran, I discovered hospitality like no other. I saw the humility among people who were living in the world’s most beautiful country. All these wonderful things were new to me because I never knew how magnificent Iran was.The media never showed me.The media has never shown you. I saw the real Iran, and that Iran is worth fighting for. Fast forward to today, we are seeing a new revolution.Whether anything will be achieved or not, this loud, brave noise coming from Iranians is a cry for help.They have often been silenced but the brutal murder of the young, Iranian woman Masha Amini set off a spark across the globe. She was beaten to death by the morality police after refusing to fully wear her veil. Her life, which was only beginning, was taken away from her. Some people may wonder why it took such an event to ignite a fire among people.And to answer their question, it’s because Masha’s death forced a reality on us all. Masha could have been my mother. Masha could have been one of our friends. Masha could have been me. If circumstances were different, it could have been someone close to us all. freedom, it’s our moral responsibility to provide a voice for those who don’t. I want to end by echoing the lyrics in a viral song on Tik Tok by an Iranian singer,“For dancing in the streets. For the fear when kissing. For my sister, your sister, our sisters.” That’s how the song begins, and here’s how it ends.“For men, homeland, development. For girls wishing to be boys. For women, life, freedom. For freedom. For freedom. For freedom.” Together, let’s speak up, show the world the true Iran and bring back their freedom. As people who live in safe countries where we have rights and

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