Brave Students Rise Up
For Freedom

By Zahra Amanpour

My father was killed in 1988 by Iran's fundamentalist regime while working to publicize the atrocities in Iran to the international community. From the time I can remember my parents were involved with human rights in Iran. Even after our family left Iran and settled in Washington D.C. following the revolution, my father continued to fight for freedom in Iran. As part of that mission my father was writing a book, "Memoirs of a Political Prisoner." It was just before his book was published that he returned to Iran to further investigate the aftermath of being a political prisoner. We never heard from him again.

I clearly remember the days following the news of my father's death. Iranians from around the United States and even some from Iran called or visited our family to give their condolences. I remember for the first time as an eight year-old understanding what a true martyr is. My mother who was left with three children and hardly enough money to make ends meet never once showed me what must have been real sorrow. Instead, she has encouraged my sisters and I throughout our lives to take on responsibilities. As part of that responsibility I have come to know and love the People's Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI), a democratic opposition group engaged in combating the Iranian government's tactics of torture, imprisonment and execution of dissenters. While working on projects with PMOI here in the U.S., a group of us started our own organization of students who are in solidarity with the students in Iran.

Do I really think I can make a difference in Iran while living in the United States? Absolutely. If there is one thing that my father taught me it's that freedom is worth fighting for, and along with dedicated students like myself we can help. And we are making an impact.

Today, the student movement stands strong. Seventy percent of the Iranian population is the under the age of 30. This statistic brings fear to the governing Mullahs. And while the young population of Iran has never known anything but the theocratic regime, they despise them. In July of 1999 Tehran experienced six days of student demonstrations. Thousands of demonstrators poured outside the school demanding the resignation of the Iranian President Mohammad Khatami and spiritual leader Ali Khamenei. The protests that started in Tehran eventually led to uprisings in 22 cities. The Islamic Republic cracked down and nearly 2,000 students were arrested. In June 2003 students once again took to the streets of Tehran and other cities. The regime reacted with the arrest of 4,000 people many whose fate is still unknown. On July 8th of this year, political prisoners and students in Tehran's universities went on a hunger strike to mark the anniversary of the uprising five years ago. Once again, the guards responded with torture and execution. In late July, 10 students were sentenced to death, two of whom were hung in public.

To mark the uprisings five years ago I was invited to speak on a panel of Middle East experts in the Senate as a representative of the student movement. I spoke about the history of the student movement. For the past two administrations, American policy towards Iran had been either nonexistent or appeasing. I can only hope that the event was one of many to come and I pray that the United States gives the courageous students in Iran the support they so deserve. Islamic Fundamentalism is the greatest threat to not only Westerners' freedom and democracy, but also to the people who live in the Middle East. It's important that my father's death never go in vain. I will always keep fighting to support the democratic aspirations of the brave young people in Iran.