A protester stood in front of a table of fliers displaying the names and faces of over a dozen children killed by the Iranian regime in the last two months. At least 50 children have been killed, he said.
Wishing not to be identified for his safety, he protested with about 15 other students and Iranians from the LSU community in Free Speech Alley on Wednesday as part of the Campus Rally for Iran.
According to the Iranian Scholars for Liberty, the group that organized the rally, similar protests took place at over 200 universities globally at the same time.
Since the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman who was detained by Iranian police for a supposed dress code violation, on September 16, nationwide protests have broken out against human rights violations by the Iranian regime.
Wednesday’s rally was the second time students organized against the Iranian regime since Amini’s death, the first taking place a week after her death.
“When [children] leave their homes, they say goodbye to their parents,” the protestor said. “They know that they may never come back because anything can happen.”
People may get shot even if they are not involved in the movement, he said.
“This is the least we can do for the people that are risking their lives in Iran,” he said. “They are friends, families. We care about their happiness, and the freedom that we have here; that’s what we want for them. That’s everything that we didn’t have there.”
The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has reported the deaths of 459 protestors, 236 of which being confirmed through name and identity, the report said. HRANA continues to update the toll every day through a Google document available for the public eye as protests in Iran continue.
Another protestor, who wished to be identified as Behi TVS, said that she wakes up every night in stress because of the rising toll of deaths.
“I wake up, suddenly, and then just looking at my phone,” she said. “‘What’s going on in Iran, right now? What’s happening? Who’s the next person? Who’s the next person killed by the government? Is it going to be my family?’”
It’s important to continue protesting because Iranians want freedom, said another protestor, who wished to not be identified for her safety. There is a humanitarian crisis happening in Iran right now, she said, and she won’t give up until the regime ends.
“It’s not just a protest for a better life,” she said. “We want them out of the country. And in order to get there, we need to be persistent. It’s a long road.”
It’s really hard to communicate with her parents who currently live in Iran, she said, because the internet gets shut down every day, off and on.
She said that she hopes that other nations will stop negotiating with Iran and calls for them to close their embassies in the country. She wanted students walking by in Free Speech Alley to spread the word since many people don’t know what’s happening in Iran, she said.
“We would like for them to call their representative and ask for help… to stand with [the] people of Iran and stop negotiating with the Islamic Republic regime,” she said.
A poster board filled with Iranian victims killed by Iran's security forces is displayed Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022, in Free Speech Plaza.
