There are things in this world that are part of our daily lives. We live with it from the day we are born, they become part of us that we sometimes forget to even acknowledge how important they are. To me, freedom of expression is one of the biggest necessities  in life – a right that we who live in a country where freedom of speech exists, is often taken for granted.

I can stand here before you today and talk about any subject and even though I am not a U.S. citizen I have the right to give my opinion about politics, religion, etc. This is such a part of American life that we don’t even notice it.  But for my friends and millions of others living in other countries they not only don’t have this right but even trying to exercise it will cost them their lives.  Last year we saw millions of people walking on the streets of Tehran in absolute silence, holding signs asking for their votes back, the votes that they felt would give them a better tomorrow.  We heard  their voices so loudly yet in silence. , we watched guards on motorcycles assaulting them, snipers aiming at their heads, we watched them protecting their attackers, we saw Neda bleeding from her eyes as she left this world and left us with a deep feeling of emptiness, hearts full of sorrow, eyes full of tears and minds full of questions.  We heard the voices of tens of journalists in prison, like my father who has been imprisoned for over one year and has been moved from one jail to  another under a harsher conditions. we heard the sound of his ribs cracking as he was beaten by 8 men for the crime of speaking his mind, standing tall for his beliefs, taking stand against cruelty and injustice of the oppressors.  We watched, we cried, and for most of us there was nothing we could do beyond this.  Some of us not only wore green wristbands but also changed our online colors, facebook, twitter, websites, .. to green, the color many of those living in Iran   died for in order to support their struggle.  We spent hours asking ourselves how can human beings do this to other humans, how can they beat their brothers?  How can they hit innocent girls in the head with batons?  How can they drive over a wounded protester not one time, not twice, but three times?  We still don’t have answers to these questions, but even then we still ask ourselves the question of what we can do to help.

So how can we help?  I believe that each country makes its own tomorrow, and that the people of each country are the only ones who can change the future of their nations..  I believe it is wrong for me, an Iranian living outside of Iran, to question or attempt to direct, those inside of Iran who are engaged in this struggle without fully understanding the difficult circumstances under which they live.  Unfortunately for some, my beliefs take away what they view as options to help.  But what we can do for a better future is to give Iranians the tools they need to speak their minds and have their voices heard.  We should give them the things they need so they can hid in the shadows of the government and talk about their situations and their movement.  For us it is important to show support and stand in solidarity, to take their voices and spread them  as far as possible, to as many people as could hear and feel for them To them our greatest crime can be ignoring them, or trying to lead them in a direction we think is right without understanding what they truly want and what their situation is.  To them it is important to be heard, they risk their lives for a few seconds of video or a quick blog post  hoping  the world hears  their struggle, it is important for them to know that  these risks are not taken in vain.  They seek to let future generations know what was done in their country and what this generation struggled for.  In Iran right now the future is being written with the blood of the innocent people, yet fresh, on the walls of the street, prison’s cells,  and online.

As Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi said “Please use your liberty to promote ours” and I believe it is our duty to speak for our friends and the people of Iran and to spread their voices.  For every second of silence abroad, we send signals of ignorance to those who have given their lives for their rights, those who are being tortured for their beliefs, and those who are looking for our support of their movement. , so we cannot be silent.  When we are not silent we move toward my dream: a world without borders, nations with close relations, and people with feelings for one another, governments who respect the very foundations of human rights, and a world in which justice has prevailed and the injustice has been abolished. we should go towards a world where the borders are gone and the only thing thank is left is humanity

This is a speech done in portland OR, June 10, 2010