On Sunday when I held my protest, a man I'll refer to simply as R.Manika spoke to me and had some really interesting things to say about the situation in Iran. He also mentioned he wanted to paln a rally for Thursday. If you can make it, I highly recommend going.
Silent Protest Against Election Fraud in Iran & Candle Light Vigil
Iranians around the world voted in the presidential election of 12 June 2009 (22 Khordad 1388) and stand in solidarity with the people in Iran and their true vote. We in the Iranian Diaspora reject the 'official' results put forth by the Ministry of Interior and demand that this election be canceled and held again. We echo demands that the Iranian government take clear and transparent measures toward insuring that the democratic process is respected, and cease all violence against the people. Moreover, we demand that the government respects all the rights of the people enshrined in the Iranian Constitution, including: Freedom of Assembly (Article 27), Freedom of the Press (Article 24) and Freedom from Arbitrary Arrest and Detention (Article 32).
Please come to show your support for the citizens of Iran, who have risked their lives to protest the 'official' results of the election. Our silent protest is followed by a candle light vigil to honor the courage of those who lost their lives, to ensure that their voice is not dead, that their memory is with us forever.
PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD and invite your friends, families and everyone…
Location: Rittenhouse square (North Side) Between 18th and 19th on Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19103
The point is to support the people of Iran in their demands around this fraudulent election and to condemn the violence. Not to push other agendas. No political factions, NO FLAGS (from any country), let us speak with one voice.
Tonight, a vigil was held in Philadelphia for those who died opposing their government in Iran.
It was, to me, one of the most humbling moments of my life.
Normally, I like being the center of attention. This time, I stood back and watched... and it was nothing short of beautiful. I had gone to a protest at Rittenhouse Square on Saturday and no one was there. No one. It was disappointing and I went home. Later, I saw someone post on Twitter that they wanted to get a protest together for that night. I helped and we held on at LOVE Park at 9PM. I stood there with a "Don't Tread on Me" flag and a sign that read "Free Iran!" We talked and decided to try something different since it was just us. A vigil for those who died.
When I got home, I quickly made a blog post and put it on Twitter. I didn't know what would happen. I checked the stats and it got about 200 hits by 7PM, 2 hours before it started. That's amazing since most days I only get 20 to 50. A lot of people were going to it from my Twitter post and a lot of people were e-mailing it to each other.
I got to 5th and Market at 8PM. No one was there.
I stood there with my "Free Iran!" sign, and I tried to light my candle in the wind. I was quickly joined by others, mostly Iranian-Americans, and we all lit candles. Someone from Philadelphia Weekly came by to report on it. A child held my sign.
The group was small, just twelve people... but it was touching and moving in a very big, very real way. When a woman took out a large amount of candles and spelled out "Iran", I almost cried.
I'm not Iranian. I have no connections to whats going on there on a personal level. Me? I'm just someone who is seeing what he is and felt compelled to do something, anything, to show support for those who are dying now for this thing I love, this thing I care so much about. They fight for democracy, they fight for their rights... and it is, to me, the most beautiful thing I've seen.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for coming out to the event, and to those who didn't... please hold an event. Just go ahead and organize it. All I did was make a post on my blog and it got bigger than I could imagine.
On Sunday when I held my protest, a man I'll refer to simply as R.Manika spoke to me and had some really interesting things to say about the situation in Iran. He also mentioned he wanted to paln a rally for Thursday. If you can make it, I highly recommend going.
