BURST
OTTAWA — Despite enduring institutionally enforced hatred against both Israel and the United States, everyday Iranians aren’t directing anger over weeks of airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear ambitions at them.
“I’ve never heard anyone say, ‘Why is Israel doing this,'” Iranian-Canadian Maral told the Toronto Sun.
“Everyone was saying, ‘This is this regime, they are the root cause of this. They put us in this situation.'”
Maral, her identity concealed over fears of reprisals to her and her family, offered an unflinching view of life in Iran, and why Iranians believe the best way forward is to overthrow the Ayatollah Khamenei’s despotic dictatorship.
“Every day for school, even in elementary school, there are flags of the U.S. and Israel on the floor — (students) have to walk over the flags to start our morning,” she said.
That, along with official regime slogans calling for the death of America, Israel and the “three corruptors” — former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and former Israeli PM Menachem Begin — are seeing quiet but conspicuous resistance.
Students at universities in Tehran are going out of their way to not tread on the flags, a small but sure sign of growing resistance to Iran’s brutal theocracy and a growing desire for regime change.
Few understand what living in Iran is like better than Iranians, who saw their once-promising beacon of democracy and prosperity transformed into an Islamofascist dystopia.
“Economically, this is a country that, 40 years ago, was one of the fastest-developing countries in the world,” said Kaveh Shahrooz, a lawyer, activist and Macdonald-Laurier Institute Fellow.
“Since the revolution, it’s become one of the most stagnant economies in the world — thanks to corruption and mismanagement, but also the incredible international isolation as a result of the regime’s foolish international policies, sponsorship of terrorism and pursuit of nuclear weapons.”
Shahrooz described Iran as an apartheid state for women, one that outlaws homosexuality, labour unions and even dog ownership.
“If you’re a young person you have no hopes for the future, because the economy is in shambles and the regime prevents you from doing all the normal things that teenagers do,” he said, describing bans on public displays of affection, drinking alcohol or even listening to music.
Iran rules its people with an iron fist, both at home and abroad.
Hundreds of Iranian agents currently live in Canada, carrying out threats, harassments and even assassination against those deemed problematic.
Among the more high-profile targets was former cabinet minister Irwin Cotler, whom last year it was revealed to be the target of a foiled Iranian assassination plot .
Iranians also know the Ayatollah’s regime cares nothing about them, proven by a lack of supports from the recent attacks.
“There were no safe shelters for people to go to, no air raid sirens, Iran’s air defences were incredibly weak and knocked out immediately,” Shahrooz said.
“It’s a regime that, despite the rhetoric and money that it funnels into defence and acting aggressively internationally, just did not care about the welfare of its citizens.”
Maral said overthrowing the Ayatollah is the dream of most Iranians.
“For the long-term situation, for the safety of the Jewish and Israeli people and the rest of the world, the only long-term and sustainable solution is regime change,” she said.
“Iranian civil society needs help from the world to do this — and if we do this, the world is going to be a much safer place, not only Middle East, not only Israel, but the whole globe.”