In these times of despair that Iran and Iranians are put through, keeping the dream of a democratic Iran alive makes all the difference.
Were Martin Luther King an Iranian exile, alive today and on his way back home he would have delivered his famous 1963 Washington speech, I have a Dream, which he gave before heading back to the Segregated South, thusly:
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends. And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the Iranian dream.
I have a dream that one day Iran will rise up and live out the true meaning of her creed thusly:
Of One Essence is the Human Race,
Thusly has Creation put the Base.
One Limb impacted is sufficient,
For all Others to feel the Mace.
I have a dream that one day on the green hills of Gilan, the sons of former murdered political prisoners and the sons of Islamists will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day Iran, a country sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression; will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that our little children will one day live in an Iran where they will not be judged by their gender or creed but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Kahrizak, with its vicious murdering rapists, with its warden having his lips dripping with murderous words– one day right there in Kahrizak little Iranian boys and girls will be able to join hands and in remembrance to the nation’s fallen heroes tour their sacred memorial there.
I have a dream today!
This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to Iran. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to Iran with.
