Amnesty International activists and supporters responded to our call for action on imprisoned Iranian student activist Majid Tavakkoli’s birthday with an overwhelming demonstration of support.
Our partners United4Iran created a birthday video in which supporters tell Majid—and the Iranian authorities who are unjustly imprisoning him—that he is most certainly not being forgotten on his 25th birthday.
On Sunday May 22, Washington DC activists held an action on DuPont Circle, renaming it “Azadi (Freedom) Square” and holding a birthday party for Majid Tavakkoli, complete with chocolate birthday cake.
On the same day, on the other side of the country, in the other Washington, Amnesty activists from Amnesty USA Group 4 in Seattle transformed Seattle’s Westlake Center into Azadi Square for the day and commemorated Majid Tavakkoli’s birthday.
Readers of this blog shared the Majid Tavakkoli birthday posting nearly a thousand times on Facebook and sent several dozen messages of support. These messages came from activists all over the U.S.—from Colorado, Georgia, New York, Florida and Nevada, and from overseas in England, Argentina, Chile, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden
Some of the messages of support:
“May your dreams and wishes come true. On your birthday, may you celebrate life. We thank you for your courage. We deeply appreciate you and your courage”
“I have since 2009 followed your fate and many time when I was down myself I had to think of you and other fellow Iranians who stand in for their convictions. You have been of great inspiration to me…I send you warmth and strength even in the darkest moments and let you know, that we think of you and your family and everyone who knows you. Happy, happy birthday, peace, love and unity to you.”
And my personal favorite:
“I am so sorry I can’t give you a pillow to lay your head on, I am so sorry I can’t give you a blanket that make you warm… BUT what I can do I can send you some of my strength to make you survive your stay in prison, I can send you some of my hope to make you believe that this will end and I will send you some of my love to give you the warmth I couldn’t give you with a blanket. No one can take your beliefs…. they are yours and I, among so many others believe the same. You are not alone.”
Through our contacts, we have conveyed all the actions and messages to Majid Tavakkoli’s family in Iran and we know they are very grateful for all the support they have been receiving from kind people around the world. Thank you for continuing to remember Majid Tavakkoli.