By Nicolas Garon
Public demonstrations demanding justice for Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman unjustly beaten and killed by religious police in Tehran, have spread to multiple universities and cities across the United States and Europe.
Louisiana State University, in tandem with over 15 other universities today, hosted a noon rally, where its Iranian community gathered in droves and loudly and passionately demanded justice.
Iranian Americans of all ages gathered in front of the L.S.U. Student Union, holding signs, distributing flyers to students, employees and locals, which informed of Mahsa Amini’s murder, as well as the subsequent human rights violations, such as massive media shutdowns in Iran.
Local protesters chanted, in unison, their ambitions of reform in Iran. “Be the voice of Iran,” “Iranian lives matter,” “They are killing our family and our friends,” “Our internet is shut off,” were all powerful chants that echoed loudly through the campus. Many students stopped to learn more, and to voice their sincere wishes.
As of 23 September 2022, Mahsa Amini protests in Iran continue, though the government has reverted to its 2019 strategy of malicious internet shutdowns to suppress the voice of its people. However, this evening, Starlink, a remote satellite constellation capable of providing internet to remote regions, was given clearance to be activated in Iran, following U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s orders to restore free media and speech to the Iranian people.
Link:https://twitter.com/madscottyy/status/1573370127802073089?s=46&t=95TuctA-eD6IkWM0PxWIjQ
“Be the voice of Iran” a local Iranian American proclaimed.
