Since 15 November Iranians have been protesting in more than 50 cities such as Tehran and Shiraz. The demonstrations began because of a sudden rise in petrol prices, but are now aiming to topple the current regime and fight for democracy. The people of Iran are risking their lives by attending these demonstrations: after only four days 200 people were killed and 3,000 injured. That number has increased since, but as yet no one knows how many.
Meanwhile in the West, there’s not much said. Iranians all over the world, including journalist Masih Alinejad, have been spamming social media with slogans and posters, creating awareness. Despite all the awareness that has been made on Instagram and trending hashtags on Twitter, non-Iranian journalists have failed to put this at the top of the news agenda.
Two days after the demonstrations began, the Internet in Iran was shut down by the state. It remained shut for about 10 days, and still to this day, I have not been able to video-call my grandparents to check up on them. The shutdown affected personal phones as well. Unfortunately, landlines have been the only way to contact people in Iran and this is even more expensive than it used to be.
As the demonstrations in Iran became more intense, people all over the world have been showing up to demonstrate in front of Iranian embassies. Iranians in cities like Paris, New York, Los Angeles and London have made some noise over the past few days. In the London protest on Sunday at Knightsbridge, most Iranians wore masks so they wouldn’t be identified by the photographers working for the Iranian regime. A few brave people took off their masks, stopping traffic, burning the flag of the Islamic republic – doing everything they could to draw attention to the slaughter.
The demonstrations are still ongoing and innocent people are getting killed. It is time to educate the rest of the world on Iran’s current situation and help make a difference!
