Iranians living in Western New York are voicing concerns about the situation in their home country, and taking an active role to protest the country's current regime.
Not only is Buffalo’s Iranian community keeping a close eye on large scale protests in the country, some have experience marching with previous demonstrations in Iran.
Yousef Taghizadeh is a University at Buffalo student who has been in the U.S. for two years. He marched to protest the killing of Mahsa Amini at the hands of military police in 2022.
The current internet blackout, now at about two weeks, isn’t a new tactic by the government, Taghizadeh said.
“I was in the street, I was fighting with the government, and I actually experienced the internet block-out there. So they block out internet, he said. "They just cut down everything, to do whatever they want with their civilians. So, it's so rough.”
Janshid Vafai moved with his family to the U.S. in 1965 and was part of a group that visited Washington D.C. this past weekend for a demonstration supporting Iranian residents.
“This is a genocide. And I am angered that I'm not seeing more of an international response. I'm not seeing a response from the U.S.," he said. "So this is, this is a serious matter, and the extent of the brutality. They are killing children; they are poisoning children. They are hanging people in streets.”
Protests began in Iran at the end of December, spurred by the country’s faltering economy and theocratic rule.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency reported more than 4,000 deaths, and possibly close to 10,000 as of Monday, while a report from British newspaper The Times says there could be more than 15,000 casualties.
Maryam Mirkhani moved from the capital city of Tehran in 2016. She says many people don’t realize the situation’s severity.
“Iranian people do not accept this Islamic Republic as a government of Iran and it, it is a hostile occupying force for 47 years. They (have become) a big terrorist group," she said. "And during 47 years, most of the people in Iran (have been) becoming poorer and poorer.”
Despite the efforts from within Iran, external assistance is likely needed to remove Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his regime from power, University at Buffalo nursing student Sara Sadri, who moved from Tehran about 10 years ago.
"We need the foreign help," she said. "We need America to be on our side and help us, so we can have this regime go away and we can have our leader, (Shah) Reza Pahlavi, come to Iran."
While they see foreign aid as a necessity, Mirkhani stressed in a written statement the importance that there is a plan for after Khamenei is removed. Pahlavi, who currently lives in the U.S. with his family, has been vocal for many years about wanting Iran to become a democracy.
