Montreal’s Iranian community took to the streets on Saturday amid the deadly protests in Iran. The demonstration started at the Atwater metro before protesters made their way to the U.S. Consulate on Sainte‑Catherine Street, calling for the fall of the Islamic regime.
“In my country, in Iran, there is so many of terrorist organizations having no red line to kill people. And in recent days, we lost so many of our families, friends, and we think we need, emergently, a military intervention, a military help from the major power politics, including Mr. Donald Trump, that told us that he can help. And that’s why people are crying for,” said Nima Ghasemi, a demonstrator.
Mehdi Shokwohi, a demonstrator with Iran Revival Hub, said, “This tyrant, this religious dictatorship in Iran, they want everything of the Iran resources for their own ideology. And Iranians are not with them; we are against them. So we are trying our best to be the voice of Iranians, especially right now, because there is an internet cutoff in Iran.”
Benhaz Shorabi, another demonstrator, added, “We need the action right now. There are more than 12,000 innocent unarmed people are killed in just single two days in Iran.”
On Jan. 8, authorities in Iran cut access to the internet and phone lines, leaving members of the diaspora unable to reach their loved ones.
“We’re hoping that with all of these people everywhere in the world, that we’ll eventually come to a change, and that we can finally visit our country and we can finally go back,” said Sara Parniani, a demonstrator.
Fahrad Parniani added, “I have three daughters, actually. I wish them a peace and, one day, going all back to our own country. We have a beautiful country, a rich country, with over 5,000 years of culture. So I want to show them my culture, my country, everything.”
Shokwohi said, “I really hope that with all of the movement, with all of the support that we have from everywhere in the world, we can finally —Iran can finally— overcome this regime and make Iran free again.”
While Shorabi added, “This is not about politics, this is about humanity, and we need the action right now.”
