Unity, Action, Victory

Dear Diaspora,

For the past 43 years, the regime in Iran has done everything in its power to create division and suspicion within our community. Their main purpose is to divide and prevent us for effectively organizing an opposition. They have done this by labeling many of our prominent activists and valued community leaders as traitors.  They manufacture disagreements by spewing misinformation among the community using social media and other media outlets inside and outside of Iran.

Their tactics of distraction and baiting of our community into THEIR narratives are harmful to our struggles and ideals. Facts are no longer facts and seeking the truth takes even more energy. Using back and forth discussion tactics under various and sometimes fictitious names, on both sides of the same lie just to fuel the controversy and distract us from the dialog we should be having. This strategy has worked for the regime for decades and has resulted in an unorganized and dispersed opposition that looks lethargic at best. They have succeeded to poison the well of trust and unity that is the cornerstone of our struggle. Our culture teaches us to invite strangers into our home and go out of our way to build friendships. We must fight this with all our wit and energy. More on this later.

Back at the ground zero of the battle for democracy and freedom, the courage of our young women has become exemplary and the talk of the world. The young men supporting them on the streets all over our motherland and fighting along their side cements the will of our next generation for fundamental changes. The change they demand is the dismantlement of the theocratic dictatorship which brings about the resurgence of an ancient culture based on humanity, love, and equality for all. The victory of their struggle will mark the beginning of the next 2500 years of pride and positive contribution to science, art, culture, literature, and justice. What these heroes need from Iranians outside of the country is to be their voice and help provide what can only be provided from outside the grip of the regime they are fighting.

Our diaspora community has a critical role in supporting the struggles of this courageous and informed generation. The word support is the operating term here as this is first and foremost their fight for what they want, not what we want. Of course, as Iranians living abroad, none of us have given up our rights to have a say or cast our vote when the time comes. But we must recognize our role as a supporting cast to the men and women fighting on the streets of Iran to create a better life for themselves. Fortunately, we are well suited and prepared for the task at hand.

The Iranian diaspora is recognized around the world as one of the most educated and successful immigrant groups. As a community, our world class expertise spans technology, medicine, pharmaceutical, social media, mathematics, law, construction, management, and many more. We have built substantial companies from ground up in all fields from internet to aviation, from massive construction projects to financial institutions.

We must accept the mandate to support our youth’s revolt against the regime and build strategies that play to our strength in support of this mission. We must be ready to echo the chant of Woman, Life, Freedom with an ethos of Unity, Action, Victory.

Now, in the face of the onslaught of misinformation mentioned earlier, and the need to live up to our mandate, our strongest weapon is UNITY. Iranians in diaspora supporting democracy far outnumber, out-skill and out-resource those with bad intentions. We must unite with a singular notion that the real enemy is the regime itself. Our unity will create a thunderous wave that will naturally and effectively propagates their voices.

If we get played into their narratives, we cannot get our message across. We are best served when we focus our energy and attention on unifying around positive change and enhancing the voices of our heroes on the battlefield. This means we should avoid getting drawn into any notion that divides us. We should reject their click baiting and focus on our mission.  DO NOT ENGAGE. we cannot allow defamation, innuendo and settling scores to rule the discourse. There will come a time post victory for a civilized dialog, reconciliation, or if warranted a proper process to adjudicate these cases based on facts. WE MUST STAY UNITED.

Unity by itself is not enough.

Actions talk louder than words. We must dedicate ourselves to become an active participant of the movement that supports the will of the people living in Iran. We all have a significant role to play. Each one of us should join an ongoing organized effort that plays to our individual strength. If a group doesn’t exist, form one but seek to connect it to others in the diaspora. If you are an engineer, join a group that works to increase access to communication tools and applications needed inside Iran and develop solutions that disrupts regime’s communication suppression. If you are a doctor, join efforts to help victims; if you are a social media-savvy person, get engaged in making sure factual news is disseminated as broadly as possible. And at minimum, be ready to provide financial support for those struggling financially due to strikes and such.

In short, focus on what you are good at and join a team to contribute. Become part of a team that already exists because fragmentation is the enemy of execution.

It is only with unity and committing ourselves to actions in support of the brave young Iranians that we can achieve victory against the tyranny of the occupying regime that is devastating our motherland

#UnityActionVicotry #iranianprotests22 #MahsaAmini #Iranianwomen #iranrevolution22 #womenlifefreedom