As violent protests persist in Iran, members of the Persian community in Toronto are worried, wondering if family and friends back home are safe.
“Iran is in darkness,” said Naghmeh, an Iranian Canadian living in Toronto. “Our people, our family members have been killed just during two days.”
Demonstrations have continued for over two weeks in Tehran, as people on the ground demand a regime change. Communications in the Middle Eastern country have recently been cut off by the Iranian government.
“It’s very stressful,” said Kaywan, an Iranian Canadian living in the city. “Usually I talk with my cousins and with my uncle every day, so does my dad and my mom, we talk to my family everyday and right now, we can’t talk to them on regular line.”
Sam Fayaz is the owner of Khorak Supermarket located in Little Iran in the Willowdale neighbourhood. He said tension in the community is palpable since news began to spread about the deadly protests.
“It’s really hard to watch,” said Fayaz. “It’s unfortunate that what the regime has done by trying to silence the population, trying to silence everybody.”
Fayaz said the recent uprising has been a long time coming, as people in Iran struggle to cope with soaring inflation.
“They’re starving. If you’re an employee and you get paid on Friday, by Monday, your paycheck is worth half of that, what it was worth on the Friday.”
Though the protests are thousands of miles away, rallies in solidarity with the people of Iran have been spreading, with demonstrations happening over the weekend across the GTA including in Hamilton, Guelph, Richmond Hill and Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto.
“The innocent people that are on the street, on the front lines they’re ready to give it their all,” said Fayaz.
Iranian Canadians like Naghmeh say they can’t do it alone and are calling for any and all support. “We are just asking the world, be the Iranian people voice.”
Another demonstration in support of protests in Tehran has been planned for Tuesday at 12 p.m. outside the U.S. Consulate on University Avenue.
