Although it was cold and snowing on Wednesday, over 50 University of Guelph students gathered in Branion Plaza to rally for Iran.
The rally was put on by the Guelph Iranian Student Association. This is the second rally they have had since October after the death of Iranian woman Mahsa Amini. It is an international rally with over 200 universities across the world also participating.
“I just want people in Guelph and Canada to be our voice. Actually most of us want media coverage of the things that are going on in Iran,” said Sina Radpour, speaker at the rally, in an interview with GuelphToday.
“People are chanting women, life, freedom. They are screaming for the most basic fundamental human rights that have been taken away from them for the last 44 years,” said Radpour during his speech.
"I am also deeply saddened and disappointed that academia, major academic institutions in U.S. and Canada have turned their blind eyes to this movement. Where are your statements and messages in supporting the Iranians who are victims of all sorts of human rights violations and violent crackdowns?" said Radpour continued in his speech.
In the last couple of months Iranians have been fighting for freedom, and as a result people have died, including 56 children, according to the Guelph Iranian Student Association in a press release.
Some of the names of young children who have died were read aloud by rally speaker Mahsaan Moazzen as she was trying to hold back tears.
“Yes, it's always gonna be about Mahsa, I mean, but at this one, it's now you're having more children dying,” said Moazzen, in an interview with GuelphToday.
“The amazing thing about this revolution is that the face of the revolution is the children,” she said.
With the FIFA World Cup going on in Qatar, soccer teams are representing people, they’re not supposed to be representing governments, she said.
“So with everything that's happening in Iran, a lot of soccer players they stood up and they raise their voice,” said Moazzen. Some soccer players got arrested, she said.
“We have the national team deciding to go on and still continue with this without … showing any support. The government used the games as a means to quiet down everything that was happening.”
People were not allowed to shout Amini’s name in the soccer stadium stands in Qatar, she said.
A fan who held up a jersey with Amini’s name on it, had it confiscated during the Iran and Wales game on Friday, where Iran won.
"Women. Life. Freedom. Inspired by the revolutionary Kurdish, jin, jiyan, azadi (women, life, freedom), can be heard in every city around the globe with an Iranian community from Kurdistan to Sistan Baluchestan, ... and despite violent crackdowns of protesters by the government forces, Iranians are determined to end the oppression," said Moazzen.
