Memorial for Iran

This Sunday, we will gather quietly in Washington Square Park for a candlelight memorial in solidarity with the people of Iran.

This is not a protest.
It is not a political rally.
It is an act of remembrance.

Over the past years, tens of thousands of Iranians have lost their lives for one reason alone: demanding dignity, freedom, and the right to exist without fear. Many were young. Many were unarmed. Many will never be named publicly. Their families were denied truth, justice, and even the right to mourn openly.

When violence is normalized and suffering is hidden, silence becomes part of the harm.

This memorial exists to resist that silence.

In moments like these, gathering is not about spectacle or numbers. It is about creating a space where grief is allowed, where humanity is centered, and where the dead are remembered not as statistics, but as people — daughters, sons, siblings, friends.

We will light candles.
We will lay flowers.
We will stand together quietly.

Public spaces belong to the people, and peaceful remembrance has always been one of their most essential uses. Throughout history, communities have gathered in parks and town squares to mourn losses that could not be processed alone. This gathering follows that tradition — respectful, non-violent, and open to all.

For those who ask why gather at all, the answer is simple:
Because forgetting is easy.
Because distance dulls empathy.
Because remembrance is an act of care.

This memorial does not claim to solve injustice. It does something more modest and more human: it acknowledges pain, honors courage, and reminds us that freedom is never abstract when real lives are taken for it.

We invite anyone who feels called to join us — not to shout, not to argue, but to bear witness.

To remember.
To stand in solidarity.
To say, quietly and clearly, that these lives mattered.