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Revolutionary Dreams

Frustrations of a Human Rights Activist

20 November 2007 Mariam Maktoob

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The monitoring of the phone calls and the constant death threats were the breaking point that made him decide to run away. It was the middle of the night when he made his escape through the neighborhood back alley, fearing never to return again.

It was the Komolehs who helped 24 year-old Kianoosh Sanjari, a political prisoner, escape Iran. They brought him to an undisclosed camp outside of the country and refused to release information to anyone on his whereabouts. Despite the safety precautions, Kianoosh was haunted by images of the government of Iran discovering the location of the camp and throwing him back into prison.

Even now, the hope of freedom that Kianoosh holds dwindles as he waits for the United Nations to help bring him to the United States of America. He was supposed to be in the camp for an estimated two months, but slow processing and bureaucratic paperwork has forced Kianoosh to stay put and live in constant paranoia and fear.

Roya Teimouri, an Iranian-American human rights activist who is heavily involved with aiding political prisoners describes Kianoosh as “A sensitive young man whose heart is easily broken.” She adds, “The last time they arrested him, they pushed him to the limit,” defending Kianoosh’s escape from the only country he has ever called home.

According to Roya, Kianoosh lived with his mother and younger brother up until the point he fled Iran. During his incarceration, his family was harassed regularly by government officials. Now that her oldest son is gone, Kianoosh’s mother is forced to rely on the help of human rights activists like Roya Teimouri for emotional and financial support. The families of political activists suffer many hardships as they slowly become ostracized by their city or community.

Even though human rights activists help many families, there are still many who receive little to no aid. Consequently, it is not rare for an Iranian woman to prostitute herself so she can survive financially after her father, brother, or husband becomes branded a political prisoner.

When asked how to bring about positive change for the people of Iran, Roya insists that the international community must completely cut ties with Iran in order to impose financial pressure on the government. “Iran has enough human resources to survive a global boycott,” she argues. “Positive change needs to start with the Iranian people. As long as they are informed and educated, she argued, Iranians will have the power to launch a revolution.” Too many poor, uneducated people live in Iran’s cities today, yet these people must be made to understand that they have rights as humans, argues Roya. “If a radio station can broadcast from neighboring countries without the government monitoring or censoring content, anyone can receive this information.”

“They [the government of Iran] are destroying the youth – that is what they want. Lately they are arresting and lashing people for wearing improper hejab. The tragedy goes beyond political prisoners. They want their people to live in vegetable-like states, so the government can do whatever they want and pillage the country,” explains Roya.

Roya offers to send me pictures of women being hung and children being lashed to stress the amount of corruption and torture that occurs in Iran today. She tells me a story that transpired two years ago during Ramadan, the holiest month for Muslims. A 14 year-old boy was on the street, crying because he was hungry. He decided to steal something small to eat. Government officials caught him in the act, grabbed him, tied him to a pole in public, and lashed him so badly that he died on the spot. “He died at the age of 14 for being hungry and eating on the streets. They say it is a holy month, but what is holy about it when you are killing people?” asks Roya.

Western media often generalize that women in Iran are oppressed. Roya explains that Iran takes a lot of its frustration out on the women: “Women have been the victims of every situation. I think the government knows that the next revolution will happen with the women. It is the women who are raising and educating the next generation while men are too busy making ends meet for their families. Women are smart and slowly fighting back against the government.”

Asked how individuals outside Iran can help improve the situation inside Iran, Roya responds, “Stop traveling to Iran. If you miss your family, go to Turkey and Dubai and see them there. Every time somebody visits, the government has reason to claim that Iran is not as bad as people describe. They use the tourist card as their immunity.”

“The people of Iran have fear, but what they do not realize is that the government has more fear,” Roya explains. She cites Saddam Hussein’s weaknesses, his escape and hiding in a hole. “Saddam ruled his people by fear and ended up spending his last moments of freedom in a hole. People underestimate the power of people.”

It seems as though there are many pieces to the puzzle that have not been assembled. The Iranian people are frustrated. Even though they may be emotionally and physically tired, they never give up their love for their country, and their hope to regain control.

Roya calls for all Iranians all over the world to have pride and dignity in their country. She insists, “It is our duty and we owe it to our next generation.”

Any Iranian who loves Iran would also like to be proud of it. We look forward to the day when we do not have to fear torture and death just for speaking our minds. According to many political activists, that time is near.