Personally, my motivation is my uncle
who was a political prisoner in Iran
during the revolution. And he was.
Hung in prison by the regime.
And. After Massa Minis death,
which you see on my shirt on September 12th,
they clubbed her in the head
and beat her to death because
she didn't cover her hair fully.
And this is the so-called morality
police who did this to her.
And that was the hay that that was the
straw that broke the camel's back and.
Pretty much the entire Iranian.
Population in Iran and around the world.
Stood up and said no more.
We're done with this regime and
we're done with this Ayatollah.
But your but your thoughts about this go
way back to your uncle, which was when?
I was a child, I believe, when he passed,
when he was judicially murdered in prison.
One of the things I find
fascinating is because you're,
I think you said you were 38,
right? Yes, Sir. Born.
You were born and raised in Houston,
yet you still have a passion for the country.
You have you you weren't born in.
Explain that to people.
I believe it's the Iranian culture.
We have like a 10,000 year history
and I was raised by Persian parents
who were immigrants and I stayed
very close with the language,
the culture, the food.
The poetry, the history,
it's enticing, it's engulfing and.
It's it's captivating.
I fell in love with it.
I learned the language.
I learned how to read and write.
Um, and something about it draws
you as the person to there and.
As an American,
I have enjoyed being a free person
my entire life and enjoyed all the
freedoms that this country gives to us.
And I go back every year and see my
cousins not having any of those freedoms
and living completely oppressed.
And the older you get,
it starts changing the way you
think and the way you live.
And it brings me back to a comment that
I heard from Doctor Martin Luther King.
We're not free until we're all free.
Excellent point, excellent point.
So Romina, you are 22. OK.
And I apologize, but you're just a baby.
So for the babies, yeah.
So you came to this country,
I believe you said 10 years ago,
right? Correct. So explain.
You were twelve when you left Iran.
So why is it that you,
now an American, still protest?
Your native country.
What? To me,
regardless of where I live,
you're on is always home.
And Iran is our mother.
And all the Iranians inside of Iran
are basically our brothers and sisters.
And I just can't sit there and watch
my brothers and sisters get raped,
tortured, murdered,
and just sit there and find my
duty to do something about it.
And I actually, when I think about it,
I feel ashamed that I'm not
there to fight with them.
I feel guilty that I'm living
here enjoying this freedom,
and I just think that it's my duty to.
Stand up for them and be their voice.
Because that's home.
And those are my brothers and sisters.
Do you hope at some point,
I mean, this was 1979 that the
Islamic revolution took place.
That's a long time ago.
Do you really have any hope that
that government will be overthrown?
Absolutely, absolutely. I have no doubt.
Why? Why do you feel that?
Because. Every oppressing regime must go,
and it's time for them to go.
The world has become aware of
what they're doing now or people.
They're not going to back down anymore.
If this revolution goes down,
thousands and thousands of
Iranians are going to be killed.
They're going to be murdered.
Frenzy movement over about 2/3 of Iran's
population currently is under the age of 30.
The people that were brainwashed by that
generations movement are now way older and
the majority of the population now is.
Information based,
they have access limited access to
the Internet and they have found
out the truth and and the lies and.
They they won't stand for this
type of oppression anymore,
not in the 21st century.
They see what the democratic world
is like and that they're not going
to stand for this oppression.
Do you feel Farzad?
It's only a matter of time.
I believe that this is more
of a cultural revolution.
Then a political revolution,
because the Islamic regime has has
ingrained itself in every aspect
of life in Iran and the kids,
this new generation has has
awakened themselves to to what
the oppression that they're doing.
And they're using the religion as,
as their shield.
The Islamic Republic of Iran,
they're using their religion as a
shield to do whatever they want.
Rape, torture, murder,
judicially murder people,
all in the name of of of.
Religion.
And the people aren't falling
for that anymore.
Wow. Go ahead.
This is not really something
that's happening inside Iran alone.
Like Iranians all over the
country are leading with them.
We have their back and we're
going to be there until the end.
So it's not that they're only alone from
inside trying to get something done,
as well as the fact that there is
really nothing to live for in Iran.
And people, teenagers like they know
there is no future like we've watched.
Videos of them before going to protest.
They say it's either. Freedom.
Or we die, so there is no winning.
You know, even if they die,
they're free, so there's nowhere to
go except when even when you die.
So I don't think this fire is
going to be put out.
Anyway, other than this regime fall.