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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
the student voice since 1960
Thursday, January 12, 2023 Vol. 76 No. 15
Iranian students face stress and anxiety for their families back home amid protests DYLAN HEMBROUGH reporter
While thousands in Iran have died or been arrested protesting the death of Masha Amini, Iranian students at SIUE feel powerless to help. Maede Shahin is president and founder of the Iranian Student Association at SIUE. Shahin said her inspiration to create the association was the associations of other international students. “I saw that some international students … have their own community, and this helped them a lot in order to support each other and have this network, so Iranian students should have something like that too,” Shahin said. Shahin said support is something that Iranian students at SIUE, thousands of miles away from their families, could use. Since the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022, protests have occurred across Iran that have left hundreds dead and thousands arrested. The morality police, an entity in Iran responsible for enforcing the country’s hijab requirement, have been widely blamed for much of the violence surrounding these protests. “Mahsa Amini was a 22-year-old girl who … did not survive the morality police officers,” Shahin said. “There’s violence towards women in Iran because of not wearing what the government wants them to wear.” Amini was arrested on the grounds of wearing an improper hijab, according to the Iranian government. The protests surrounding the death of Mahsa Amini are not the first in Iran, but are notable for their longevity and brutality. “The Islamic Republic of Iran has been there for about 40 years,” Shahin said. “Through all those years we have been under that violence, and it was like suddenly an activation … throughout the whole society … Through all these 40 years we have been asking for our freedom, for our liberty, for our normal life, for our human rights, but all we have gotten as a reply from them is gunshots.” Sarina Fatahizadeh, a chemistry student at SIUE, said that when the protests kept going, the government became more brutal towards the populace. “It got worse and worse, so they started to protest and people didn’t go to work, the stores were closed, and then the government started to … kill people in the street,” Fatahizadeh said. “Women, young people, children … In some cities it’s like war. You can see the guns and machines that are just used for war, not for protests.” Fatahizadeh also said many of the arrests and deaths have occurred in the younger generations of Iran’s population – many not much older than college students. “After that, they arrested a lot of people,” Fatahizadeh said. “Most of them … are young people, between 22 and 30, and now they are sentencing them to die. It was yesterday or two days ago, a young boy was killed by them. They sentenced him to die.” Sophia Wilson is an assistant professor with the political science department, and has led a series of webinars committed
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to combating misinformation and propaganda about the Russian war in Ukraine. Wilson, who is Ukrainian, said she wishes to conduct a webinar in a similar vein in order to educate people on the current crisis in Iran, but has so far had trouble organizing one. Wilson said Iran is becoming a very important actor on the global stage, especially in its “desperate” alliance with Russia. “2022 has been and 2023 is guaranteed to be very decisive in changing global history. Lots of things will be different after 2023,” Wilson said. “I don’t know how many people realize that, but the world has changed this year, and it will continue changing. In just a year it will be something completely different than what we had the year before in terms of [the] global system … Tens of millions of people’s lives Protesters gathered in the Quad on Sept. 23 to raise awareness of Masha Amini’s death. will be affected by that directly.” | Clair Sollenberger / The Alestle Fatahizadeh said she wished she could do more to help the protestors from the do anything,” Shahin said. “[I want to] to be very difficult for the people of Iran.” U.S., but feels powerless to do so. Shahin said her efforts to coordinate “If I was there, I would go to the show solidarity so more and more peostreet and do protests with other people, ple know about what’s going on in Iran with others on campus to spread awarebut I know my family [and] what they in the hope of getting more internation- ness about the Iran protests have been met would feel. I know they would be wor- al attention towards what’s happening in with difficulty. “Iranian students, as a part of [the] ried like other families for other people,” Iran … So the other people know that Fatahizadeh said. “I read something over this is not the government that they want SIUE family, really need this solidarity or needed to hear something from [the] Instagram [about] a teenager who wanted to have.” Wilson said awareness of global events school,” Shahin said. “Some students tried to go to protests, and he said he wrote a note for his mom and said, ‘I’m sorry, you is critical, especially to U.S. voters, who emailing the chancellor asking him to show might not be able to see me grow old,’ and have a direct impact on events that may oc- some perspectives or solidarity … But they got no results, as you can see. None of us he died. It’s like that. Nothing is good, cur on the other side of the planet. “This college is not very large,” Wil- received any emails from him. I myself being here or son said. “I think went to some of the Association and they being there.” SIUE should hire were just like, ‘You can do that, you can Shahin said more people who do this,’ but the whole thing was that we the influx of news study the coun- preferred the school to show that they care. from Iran, both tries, and then we Yes, I’m an Iranian student, we have our televised and diI read something over could do more to own programs – we even went to Washrectly from their inform people. But ington, D.C. to do our own stuff – but families, has Instagram [about] a any kind of aware- nothing special happened here at SIUE.” caused Iranian stuteenager who wanted ness is very imShahin suggested starting with offerdents a lot of stress portant – it’s vital ing specific counseling for those affected and anxiety. to go to protests, and – because U.S. vot- by the Iran crisis, particularly to alleviate “Mahsa was ers are the major the signs of depression and stress she said not only a girl who he said he wrote a drivers behind U.S. she sees in her Iranian classmates. was beaten up and note for his mom and foreign policy, and “The slogan of Iranian people these killed in Iran, she U.S. foreign poli- days [is] ‘Women, Life, Freedom,” Shahin is a sister – she is said, ‘I’m sorry, you cy affects the fate said. “Women have been through sexual one of us. It could of people all over discrimination through all these 40 years, be me, it could be might not be able to the world.” and this discrimination is not only toward my mother, my Wilson said women, but also other people with any see me grow old,’ and sister, my beloved the anti-state different ideas or identities from the Islamones,” Shahin said. he died. It’s like that. movement in Iran ic Republic regime have been through all “This was really will likely be one these difficulties.” hard for all of us, Nothing is good, being of the defining Fatahizadeh said she hopes to spread and still people are moments of 2023, awareness as well, not just among the Iraprotesting … So here or being there.” particularly for the nian students, but among the population you can imagine Iranian people and on campus as a whole. how hard it can Sarina Fatahizadeh, chemistry student government. “I want to, those who are into news be for all the Ira“Not every or politics, to try to [better] understand nian students who anti-state move- what exactly is happening in Iran. It’s not are following the news to hear or see all those videos that ment is the same, but in Iran the anti-state just about women’s right, it’s about human we get from Iran and still bearing their movement is gaining momentum. It will rights. What’s happening in Iran is far schoolwork or being far away from their not be quick, because the security forces of [worse] than [the] death of a young womfamily. [It] is so important for us to see the Iran are numerous and trained and share an,” Fatahizadeh said. “It’s been going on support or the solidarity from the school, determination to continue antisocial sup- for more than 40 years in my country. It’s pression, suppression of society, using vi- not just now, or five years ago. They’ve but to be honest, we have not.” Shahin said she has tried to take it olence,” Wilson said. “That willingness to been doing this, and I don’t know, someupon herself to demonstrate solidarity for use severe violence to suppress protestors how the world is quiet. I don’t know what when the anti-state awareness movements the problem is … I want the people to the Iranian population at SIUE. “The government back in Iran is so are growing at the same time … is a recipe know that. It’s like a war – it’s worse than a powerful, [and] I myself as a student do for a very difficult situation to unfold. In war – because no one is worried about us. not see that much of a power in myself to the coming months, in 2023, it is going That’s the biggest problem.”
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