Dear President Trump, "We Have no Hope here."

 

 My dear Iranian friend, Paymaneh Sabet, a journalist and human rights activist, has spent over a decade trapped in Malaysia as a refugee. The UNHCR has failed to relocate her to another host country where she can find hope and freedom. There are hundreds of other Iranian refugees just like her, desperate to leave Malaysia and begin a new life.

In her most recent article, Paymaneh sends a desperate letter to President Trump on behalf of the Iranian refugees, pleading for a solution to their hopeless situation.

                                                                    ***********

Dear President Trump,

Dear Mr. Elon Musk,

We watch your sons grow with limitless possibilities. They live in a world where education is guaranteed, dreams are encouraged, and futures are built on solid foundations. But what about us? What about the Iranian refugee youth stranded in Malaysia, a place where our lives are suspended in uncertainty, where dreams are a luxury we can't afford.

                                                     

Some of us were born here. Others arrived so young that we remember nothing of Iran. We have no memories of walking through the school gates in our homeland, no recollection of learning the Persian alphabet. We have been here so long, waiting for the UN to decide our fate, that the idea of a proper education is almost foreign to us. And now, those of us who have somehow completed school are left with diplomas that hold no value. They are mere pieces of paper that lead nowhere—no access to universities, no opportunities for jobs.

We live in a country where we cannot pursue higher education, where we cannot work legally, where our talents are trapped behind invisible walls. Even the one school teaching Persian is off-limits to us because it is attended by the children of embassy staff, a place we cannot go without risking our safety.

Our parents tell us that the only hope for a better life is a revolution in Iran so that we can finally go home. But what does “home” mean to us? How can we return to a country where we don’t know the language, where we have no valid diplomas, and where the education system is so different that we would be lost?

You see, our fathers will never look at us with pride the way you look at your son Mr. Trump. There is no light, no hope, no honor in their eyes. How could there be, when they see us hiding from the police, when they see us living in fear, poverty, and isolation? How can our fathers be proud of us when they can’t afford to send us to school or buy us proper clothes? When we tremble in fear as they argue with our mothers about money and the hopeless search for a way out of Malaysia?

Mr. Musk, your son sits on your shoulders, smiling, playing without a worry in the world. We’ve never known that feeling. Our fathers’ shoulders are too tired, too burdened with worries they cannot share. Worries about how to keep us fed, how to keep us safe, how to give us a future in a place where we are not welcome.

                                                                                 

There is no pride when you are a refugee. There is only survival. No education. No job. No opportunity to express our talents or pursue our dreams. No social life. No chance to learn a skill or prepare for a career. No hope for a glorious future. Even getting sick is a risk because medical care is too expensive, and sometimes even humiliating. We can’t even fall in love here.

The only things we have known are poverty, fear, hiding, and the echoes of our parents’ quarrels about money, divorce, and desperation.

We are trapped between two worlds—one we don’t remember and one that won’t accept us. Even if Iran becomes a place we can return to, we will face a future of hardship. Without a valid diploma, without the language, without an education that prepares us for university entrance exams, what hope is there?

We are a generation lost in transit, waiting for a miracle that may never come. We have dreams too, but no soil to plant them in. We watch the world move forward while we stand still.

We need help. We need a chance. We need someone to see us—not just as refugees but as young people who want to learn, to grow, to contribute to the world. We need a future.

                                                                    

We are not just asking for a future; we are asking for justice. Why have we been trapped here for so many years? Who is truly responsible for our lives being put on hold? Why does the UN keep Iranian refugees in Malaysia indefinitely while our Afghan friends, who speak the same language, are resettled in other countries within just four years under much better conditions? And if our parents chose to stand against their own government to defend their people or to worship the true God, why must we be punished alongside them—even though they, too, are being unjustly punished? We deserve answers. We deserve fairness. We deserve a chance.

And we are asking you, the leaders and visionaries of the world, to hear our voices and see our struggles. We are asking for a chance to live, not just survive.

 

Sincerely,
The Iranian Refugee Youth in Malaysia

"Ukraine Flight PS752, Five Years later and still No Justice."

 

  January 8, 2020, was one of the most horrific days for the people of Iran. It had just been a few days since President Trump ordered a drone strike, killing General Qasem Soleimani while he was en route to meet the Prime Minister of Iraq. Tensions were very high and the government was outraged by the senseless attack.

 Ukraine Fight PS752 had just taken off from Tehran when it was struck by two short-range missiles fired by the Iran Revolutionary Guard, killing all 176 passengers and crew, including children, students, and families. 

                                                                         

 For several days, the government denied any wrongdoing about the missile attack. It perpetuated the lie that the missiles accidentally struck the airliner and were fired in response to an alleged missile attack by the US military in Iraq. For five years the families of the victims have demanded accountability, truth, and justice and yet have continued to face more harassment and a complete lack of transparency.

 Five years have gone by without any justice for these devastated families. Only recently, during a hearing at Tehran's Military Court, a commander of the IRGC Aerospace Defense finally admitted that the General Staff of the Armed Forces, acting on orders by the Supreme Leader, had deployed the Tor-M1 missile system in the path of the passenger plane.

 The Islamic Republic of Iran has no regard for human life. The families know without a doubt that the foundation of this savage and oppressive government is built upon the graves of countless victims.

 The following article about this devastating tragedy is featured in my book, "Shout Freedom: The Desperate Cry of Iranians," self-published on Amazon in 2020. This article takes you into the last hours of the innocent victims aboard Flight 752 and across the world to Canada to a grieving husband and father who lost his entire family in this unforgettable tragedy.

                                                                    ***********

 Mojtaba Abbasnezhad leaned back in his seat, trying to relax. He was extremely anxious to return home to Canada after a nervous holiday in Tehran. The last few days had been filled with turmoil. Iran’s top general had been assassinated and there had been a national funeral. The government was outraged at President Trump and Mojtaba feared a swift retaliation. Dawn was breaking over the horizon and moments before takeoff, Mojtaba logged onto his Twitter account to send a message to his family:

   “I predicted that the war would start right before my flight. Should anything happen, forgive me for my good and bad tweets.”

   Mojtaba did not realize at the time how absolutely accurate his prediction was! The successful PHD student from Toronto had just posted his final tweet. Minutes later after takeoff, two missiles struck Ukraine Flight 752 and ended the lives of 176 people.

   The Iranian government had just been humiliated before the watching world by The United States when a deadly drone missile attack killed their top general on January 3 in Baghdad. Now on January 8, just hours after the funeral, they refused to remain silent with their grief. They launched a surprise missile attack into Iraq determined to strike back against American troops. Most of the missiles imploded and failed to reach their targets without inflicting any casualties. However, two missiles unintentionally struck their target, only it wasn’t against Americans, but instead against Iranians!

  Immediately, the deadly game of deception began! It was a game that Iran was very good at! They had been successfully playing this game of deception for more than 40 years in the torture and execution of their own people! The official response to the media was that Ukrainian Flight 752 had experienced some kind of mechanical malfunction. It was a terrible tragedy and the government joined the victims of the families in mourning their deaths. However, within a few hours, a video surfaced on the internet that clearly showed that two missiles were involved in bringing down the airline. The video showed the horror of the plane exploding in mid-air and then seconds later, fiery debris began cascading down toward the ground.

  International outrage from the world community demanded an answer! With their backs up against the wall, the government was forced to admit that they had fired two missiles believing that the United States were retaliating against their attack. The missiles had unfortunately struck an innocent target.

  An incompetent, reckless, and murderous government had once again lied to its people. In a desperate retaliation for the death of their general, the regime instead brought more death and anguish upon innocent Iranians. Just a few months earlier they had deliberately gunned down peaceful protesters in a mass murder spree that in the end had claimed the lives of 1500 people! Now 176 innocent lives could be added to that list. Eighty-two Iranian Canadians, some of them recently married and beginning a new life, were now among the victims in a fiery mass of rubble, their dreams shattered by a corrupt and incompetent government.

                                                                            

  Hamed Esmaelion, author and dentist, living in Richmond Hill Ontario, made one of the most difficult phone calls of his life. He called the school and told them that Reera, his nine-year-old daughter would be absent forever. Both his wife and daughter had tragically perished in the plane crash and now he was alone trying to pick up the pieces of his life. Struggling to cope with his painful loss, Hamed posted a video on Twitter of Reera displaying her musical talent by playing the piano at a recent recital. Reera was not only a gifted pianist but also a gifted athlete, a wonderful soccer player, and a brilliant student who was proficient in three languages, English, French, and Farsi.

                                                                 

  Now Hamed must make the most painful trip of his life by traveling to Tehran to identify the remains of his loved ones.

  Outraged protesters once again took to the streets demanding that the government be held accountable for the senseless deaths of 176 innocent people. Azadi Square, which is nicknamed, “Freedom Square,” was overflowing with angry and bitter Iranians. 41 years of lies, deception, and murders had pushed Iranians to the edge of the cliff. The foundations of this evil regime are filled with cracks revealing a government in chaos and confusion that is ready to implode! 

  The angry and desperate shouts of freedom reverberating throughout the cities of Iran are now being heard all over the world. The media can no longer remain silent about the Iranian cause. They must tell their story so that justice and democracy can once again replace the cracked and evil foundation of this oppressive reign of Mullahs!