On Oct. 6, interested individuals in the community gathered on the University of Waterloo’s campus for the information session “For Mahsa Amini.”
For those not aware of the ongoing crisis in Iran, Mahsa Amini was a 22-year-old Iranian woman whose life ended on Sept. 16 after being beaten for not wearing her hijab in accordance with the government’s policies.
During the session, many speeches took place by those directly impacted by the ongoing conflict, making the audience aware of the numerous lives lost. These individuals included Zhina Mahsa Amini, Nilofar Hamedi, Elahe Mohamadi, Nika Shakarami and Amirhossein Khademi.
Also part of the discussion was Shervin Hajipour, an Iranian singer who wrote the song “Baraye…” (for) those impacted by the ongoing conflict in Iran. The song went viral, currently having 866,000 views on Youtube.
Support was offered to students of the university as a representative from the university’s health and wellness centre took the stage, elaborating on the support in place for students.
After this, a moment of silence was taken for those lost before resources were spread to educate on how those in the community can help those in Iran currently.
For those interested in learning more and assisting the people of Iran, there are multiple ways to help:
- Of crucial importance is using social media to raise awareness of the ongoing conflict, the hashtags #MahsaAmini and #womenlifefreedom leading the charge.
- Individuals can also write to Canadian officials, encouraging them to stand with the people in Iran against the oppressive rule and violence they face.
- Sign the protest “Iran: Save Sareh and Elham’s Lives” – Sarah and Elham are two queer Iranians who have been sentenced to death.
- Utilize Snowflake to bypass internet censorship.
- Donate to the protests.
Overall, one of the best ways to support the Iranian people is spreading the word about the injustices being done to them – the reality of internet censorship is that many of the deaths have not been recorded due to the government’s control over the people.
By spreading the word and encouraging the Canadian government to take action, we can help the people of Iran in their quest for true freedom.
Students at Laurier who are impacted by the ongoing conflict can make use of Laurier’s resources to help them process. Multiple resources can be accessed through the health and wellness centre and can be found here.
