NORTHAMPTON — As TV broadcasts and newspaper articles around the world continue to document the ongoing civil unrest in Iran, the all-too-familiar footage has sparked deja vu for one Northampton-based Iranian artist and activist.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Hakimeh Zadeh recalls saying goodbye to her parents every day to protest the injustice of the government of her home country, unsure if she’d return alive.
Following a path to political asylum from Turkey to Italy, Zadeh arrived in the United States in 1984.
But as horrifying memories of witnessing public execution by stoning began to swirl in her mind with the recent death of 22-year-old Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, who was beaten to death in September after being arrested by the country’s morality police for not wearing her hijab correctly, Zadeh found herself needing to again stand with her Iranian sisters and brothers facing injustice.
On Thursday, she led a rally in solidarity with the women in Iran on the front steps of City Hall, attended by more than 50 people.
“I always, always remember who I am, where I am. And I respect my moral obligation to the people of Iran. I didn’t come to this country to educate myself, I came to this country because of injustice in my country,” she said in an interview. “I was 20 years old when I did the same thing they’re doing today. I want them to know their voice is being heard. I want them to know that in my little corner of the universe, we got your back. We hear you. We support you.”
In the more than 40 days since Amini has died, protests have erupted all over the world, including at the U.S. National Mall. Similar to the other demonstrations, protesters held signs saying, “Say Her Name!” and “An Injury To One Is An Injury To All.”
Amherst resident Vira Cage, who served as the event’s moderator, described how in talking with her friend Zadeh as she grappled with the haunting moments of her past, she and other community organizers wanted to show up for Zadeh and those fighting for freedom in Iran.
Cage also offered gratitude for the University of Massachusetts Amherst Graduate Employee Organization – UAW 2322, which co-sponsored the rally.
“Thank you for being brave and being a part of this gathering, because that’s what we need — people who are brave, who are willing to take risks and to learn the things they’re ignorant about, and to be part of something, a movement, that a lot of people are doing globally,” Cage said.
Joining Zadeh and Cage in solidarity was Northampton Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra, Springfield Technical Community College professor Amy Stephenson, UMass professor Demetria Shabazz, and several students from UMass Amherst. The Western Mass. Raging Grannies performed a couple of crowd-rousing tunes.
Amid breaks in the speaking portion of the rally, Iranian protest songs were played. One in particular brought tears to several protesters’ eyes as they sang along. The song, “Baraye,” written by Iranian singer Shervin Hajipour, was written in the wake of Amini’s death and has become an unofficial anthem to the global protests, said Zadeh. Baraye translates in English to “for” or “because of” in Persian.
The singer was arrested after the song was originally published in September, but has since been released.
“This young man also created that slogan: ‘Woman. Life. Freedom.’ It’s very deep. The song reminds us what we have done and where we are now,” Zadeh said.
UMass doctoral student Kishorekumar Suryaprakash, who is also a member of the graduate employees union, led the crowd in a chant of “Zan! Zendegi! Azadi!” followed by the English translation of “Woman! Life! Freedom!
Ursa Sekou Shabazz, a 17-year-old Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School student, said she joined her mother Demetria Shabazz in sharing her voice because it was her duty as a youth and that she hoped to inspire others to do the same.
“Today we gather in honor of Mahsa Amini,” Sekou Shabazz said. “We gather in recognition of the injustice incurred on her and as we empathize with its realities. Today here … we stand. But tomorrow? We move. We move in marches, we move with our words, we move in our actions, and we move in our art, we move because we mean it. We are the movement,” she said.
“We here, move towards union with those we stand with today. We move to make change in the tandem systems that reach to hurt us across the world. We move to make those changes not because Mahsa Amini could be our sister but because she is.”
Emily Thurlow can be reached at ethurlow@gazettenet.com.
