Voices pan violence in Iran

Waving banners with slogans like “Stop killing our people,” participants at a rally at UCI on Saturday gathered to stand against violent government crackdowns on protesters in Iran following elections there.

A group of 16 volunteers organized the 12-hour rally in four days after being inspired by throngs of Persian Americans who gathered at major intersections in Orange County last week in support of Iranian protesters.

The group calls itself GreeNeda, combining the color green, a symbol for a growing human rights movement for freedom in Iran, and the name Neda, a protester who was shot and killed at a recent rally in Iran.

Irvine businessman Arash Ebeneyousef, who lead efforts to organized Saturday’s GreeNeda event, estimated he’s gotten about 10 hours of sleep over the past four days.

“They said it couldn’t be done — everyone said it typically takes four months to organized something like this. We did it in four days,” Ebeneyousef said.

A team of 16 volunteers, ranging in age from 23 to 35, worked into the early hours of the morning over the past week organizing the GreeNeda event.

“It was a response to what we heard on the streets from people protesting, they wanted something more meaningful to raise awareness about what was going on,” Ebeneyousef said.

Neda Nabavain, who helped organize the rally, shares the name of Neda Agha-Soltan, a young woman who was shot and killed at a protest in Tehran. Her death was captured on videotape and quickly spread across the Internet. The name “Neda” which means “voice” in Persian, became a rallying cry last week during protests over Iranian election results.

“She was the voice of Iran. She died for all of us,” said Nabavain. “Now together, we want to be a voice for others as well.”

Newport Beach resident Nemsa Hovizavi, who helped organize the rally, lost a childhood friend in one protest in Iran after he was beat up by Iranian militia members, she said.

“It’s very hard to find out what happened because they can’t really say so much on the phone,” Hovizavi said, lamenting a government crackdown on phone and Internet communications in Iran after the protests.

Many members of the GreeNeda group still have family and friends in Iran.

Attendance at the 12-hour rally was sparse about noon Saturday, but organizers expected more people to filter into the event as the day of speakers and music wore on.

UC Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Manuel Gómez called for support for Iranian protesters at an address during the rally.

“Let us offer our support and our hope for them, for us and the whole world. Let us raise our voices in respect for all people in support of all races and religions,” Gómez told the crowd on Saturday. “Let us today be full of generosity. In the end, we are all living in a global village.”