[Anonymous, Iran, 24 September 2022]

About Iran's situation, as you can tell from the news — it's like a war-zone in here. People are protesting on the streets and they keep getting beaten, arrested, raped, tortured, and killed just because they want basic human rights and freedom. Brutality and bloodshed are what unarmed, peaceful protesters are getting in return. It's so unfortunate that my mother doesn't allow me to go on the streets protesting since I have a flight in two weeks. She says: "if you get arrested, then all of us may not be able to get out of the country".

Protesters are putting their lives and everything in danger, risking it all, because you don't know if you'll ever get back home once you step out of the door. You can get hit & beaten, There are people who've lost their body parts such as their eyes, or got severely damaged; Or, You can get arrested, end up in jail, get tortured & raped, or you'll get killed. You may get very, very lucky to get freed from prison but the chances are low and if you do, I'm pretty sure you'll be traumatized for life. You see, the situation is just fucked up beyond words. Did I mention the government keeps shutting down the internet to cut our connection from the outside world? They have just banned Instagram and WhatsApp, I'm now using WhatsApp after like — hours and hours of not being able to connect to the internet. You cannot access social media without using a VPN. a VPN is something that you use to change your IP so that your location, Iran, would not be recognizable and this is what I've been using. I'm one of the few lucky people who have access to the internet and VPN right now; many of my friends don't even have that. They're completely disconnected from the world. They can't even contact me via the internet. Communication is possible only by using the telephone and SMS texts; as if we're living in the 90s; before the invention of social media and the internet.

It's so fucking funny how our government is trying to silence people while the whole world is watching. This time, the protests and everything are different, it is NOT like anything you've seen before. People are so aware and Protests have a whole different vibe, it's basically an ongoing "Revolution". Also, it's not like the world doesn't know what is happening. The world knows that we, the people of Iran, don't want this Islamic regime anymore. The world knows what Iran's regime is doing, the world knows about what they did to Mahsa Amini and how they killed her for her visible hair. The world knows our rage is not just about hijab. We don't want changes or reformation, we want the whole ISLAMIC REGIME to be demolished and vanished from Iran and the face of the earth. This regime is just trying so hard to hide something that is very much exposed and they're failing so badly. It shows how cowardly, weak and hollow they are. if 'shame' had a face, it would be them. And yeah, this is what's happening in Iran. Even right now, at 3 P.M., I'm pretty sure that people are protesting because I remember they were like, "Let's protest not only in the evening but also in the afternoon too."

Even now that I'm at home and not protesting on the streets, I've been using my power of having internet access to protest online, share the voice of my people and raise awareness. Everyone with internet access who wants to help Iran's revolution should keep on telling anyone and everyone about what's happening in Iran. Keep telling the world, keep sharing the stories of Iranian people; So that even when we get silenced, even when our internet is shut down, others will continue sharing about what is going on. This is what I've been doing at home — My fingers are in pain because this whole week I've been typing and typing and typing and sharing and typing,; using the Hashtag #MahsaAmini, talking about her, telling the world about what's happening, sharing helpful info like "This is what you should do if you get arrested during the protests" and etc. So yeah, it's not like that I've been having fun and relaxing at home — I've been using my power to raise awareness. Basically, everyone, every single one of freedom-seeking Iranians is fighting in their own ways. Some help the cyber protesters on the internet, some help the street protesters on the streets, some spray words on the walls and some give emotional or financial support and the list goes on. Only those who are still brainwashed or benefit from the regime are remaining silent doing nothing.

So please, if you have access to people who are activists, humanitarians, journalists, artists, or celebrities, please tell them to talk about what's going on in Iran and that we want a free "Iran" and not the "Islamic republic". Please, tell them to contact those in power to hold Iran's regime accountable for violating every bit of human rights. Did you see how Raisi was talking about human rights in the UN this week while the people of Iran were getting killed on the streets? how does UN even allow these monsters to enter US and walk in NYC? Unbelievable... I just hope that you can do something to raise awareness. And if you do that, I will be very thankful. Every Iranian will be thankful. This is all I'm asking you to do.

I don't know if my internet will be off or on anymore. I don't know what's going to happen. But I will keep you guys updated on my social media whenever I have internet access. I'm basically using my private Instagram account to share about Iran with my friends list and I'm using my other public platforms, like the ones I have on Facebook and Twitter to raise awareness in the world.

I'm so sorry I talked too much. I'm very nervous. Thank you for listening to me, Brandon.