My son placed his watercolor paints beside me. He asked me to draw him a bird.
I pressed on the color gray with the brush and painted him a square with locks and metal bars.
His eyes widened with wonder as he replied, “But this is a prison…Don’t you know how to draw a bird?”
To the people of Iran,
So many seconds have passed since we were deprived of our children’s caress. It has been so many minutes since we heard their voices. We have awaited hours for their arrival. It has been days that we have not been able to embrace their pain and joy. Weeks have gone by that we wait on news from them. It is months that we remain unaware of the forbidden crimes they have committed that has lead to their imprisonment.
We wait with our eyes focused on the door, walking through the streets, hoping if nothing else, to hear some type of news from them. But alas, not only did that not happen, we also witnessed verbal abuse by those who claim they stand for ethics and freedom.
If it was only about the verbal abuse, we would endure it. If it was only about the separation from our loved ones, we would remain silent out of respect for Iran. If it were only about imprisonment, we would withstand it, because our children are no more beloved than the others; nor have they been any more responsible for the progress of our country. But regretfully, with every drop of tear, another charge is added to the existing indictment of our children. As if baseless arrests were not enough, now unfounded accusations have been added to our existing pain and loss. The accusations are not only unfounded but also comical.
Compatriots,
They accuse our children, even though they don’t even believe in shouting at their opponents, of being linked to foreign terrorist groups. Some have been accused of working against the national security of our country. Our loved ones have been accused of propaganda against the regime, just for writing articles in newspapers. They have taken those who we love with every cell in our body from the quiet prayers and benevolence of the creator to the corners of prisons. They even smeared our names when we cried to God for their release. Membership in social networks is considered a crime and the right to visit our beloved children has turned into a grand gesture on their part, leaving us with no one to turn to for justice.
Iranians,
They say that history is the world’s harshest judge and that in all circumstances the oppressed are hopeful to history’s eventual judgment. If we remain silent, how will history remember the burning fever we feel when we are ignorant of the whereabouts of our daughters and sons? How will history remember the cries and the tears we shed for the anguish of separation from our loved ones? Where is history when we cry every night about these guiltless people to our creator?
Compatriots,
We have shared our anguish with you so that you are reminded of how hard it is to be a mother these days; so that you know that we will never give up until history witnesses our joy in embracing our loved ones.
May the imprisoned bird live on and witness the blessed day when the world is no longer a cage.
1- Hava Ebrahimi, Saeed and Masoud Nourmohammadi’s mother
2- Mahin Javaheripour, Mehrdad Rahimi’s mother
3- Sakineh Kharmandiz, Mehrdad Aslani’s mother
4- Zahra Reza, Hossein Noraninejad’s mother
5- Soghra Alipour, Parisa Kakaee’s mother
6- Tayebeh Fakhri, Emadeddin Baghi’s mother
7- Esmat Kashani, Saeed Leylaz’s mother
8- Shahrzad Kariman, Shiva Nazar Ahari’s mother
9- Faezeh Malekshahi, Saeed Haeri’s mother
10- Marzieh Mohebi, Saeed Jalalifar’s mother
11- Masoomeh Molool, Massoud Bastani’s mother
12- Malekeh Mohammadi, Samieh Alamipasand’s mother
13- Narges Mousavi, Peyman Chalaki’s mother
14- Parvin Mokhtareh , Koohyar Goodarzi’s mother
15- Soraya Mohamad Zadeh, Saeed Kalanaki’s mother
16- Arefeh Nouri, Maryam Zia’s mother
17- Khodabas Nazari, Bahman Ahmadi Amooyi’s mother
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