Tired of sitting at their computers, refreshing their browsers for the latest news and of waiting by their phones for friends and relatives to call, Iranian Americans are showing their solidarity today by taking to the streets. In Washington DC , they will meet 11 am, and will march from the Iranian Interest Section on Wisconsin Ave to the Lincoln Memorial. In New York, they will be outside CNN building from 12-2 and the UN at 2pm. In fact, there are rallies all over the nation, to find one near you, please check Facebook.
As a precursor to today’s rally, about 70 Iranians from the DC area came out for a “WHERE is MY VOTE” rally in front of the interest section. “My heart goes out to the Iranian people, because at the end of the day, we can go back to our normal lives. They are the ones who have to live there and have no other choices,” expressed one attendee. The Interest Section wasn’t actually open, so that’s why there’s another one today.
One woman made it clear to note that, “We are not part of ANY organization,” to make sure that they were not confused with other groups such as the MEK or supporters of the Shah, who typically protest in opposition to the government of Iran throughout the year.
This is a rare moment, when the Iranian Diaspora, who might not be very politically active or vocal has gone public with their support for the people of Iran.  What we can do here is modest and in the end, we can go to back to our comfortable lives, turning off the news and shutting down our computers, but it’s better than what we normally do- sitting in our homes, talking  and complaining amongst ourselves.