Extraordinary birthday celebrations for a woman jailed in Iran for her religion attracted a capacity crowd in Melbourne on 27 September 2013.
Attending the 45th birthday celebrations of Rozita Vasseghi were a Federal MP, the local mayor, members of Melbourne’s religious communities, media personalities, refugee advocates, artists, musicians, teachers, doctors, authors and police.
Melbourne writer Rosa Vasseghi organised the event for her sister, Rozita, who is serving a 10-year prison term in Iran for being a member of the Baha’i Faith, the biggest non-Muslim religious minority in Iran.
Ms Vasseghi last saw Rozita in 2008 when she came from Iran to Melbourne on holiday, two years before she was jailed.
The celebrations were held at the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture’s Foundation House in Brunswick.
Rosa Vasseghi welcomed guests to the party, and in an address to Rozita, said:
“Rozita, I wish I could call you and say to you ‘Happy Birthday’ but I know it is not possible. If only I could hear your voice, only your voice.”
The author of the book “Where is Justice? Stories from Behind Closed Doors”, Ms Vasseghi concluded her address with a call for justice: “Each of us is a citizen of this world and we need to all walk together, talk together and work together based on moral principles because we are all human and we are one.”
Guests
Among the guests who also addressed the gathering was the Federal Member for Wills, Kelvin Thomson MP, who said the Iranian government has put in place systematic measures to suffocate the Baha’i community both economically and socially.
“Despite the attention drawn to the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear ambitions, we cannot forget what Iran is doing to its own people as a consequence of religious extremism,” Mr Thomson said.
“I urge the Australian Government to push for the release of Rozita and others who are languishing in Iranian prisons,” he said.
The director of the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture, Paris Aristotle, said it was an honour for his organisation to host the event for Rozita and Rosa.
“This event tonight has many purposes, some obvious and others not immediately apparent,” Mr Aristotle said.
“One crucial purpose is to remember a passionate and dedicated woman’s struggle for justice and freedom whose only crime is her unwavering belief in the Baha’i faith,” he said.
“We think of her on the eve of yet another birthday spent behind the cold bars of a cruel Iranian prison. We remember her not merely as an individual but as an emblem of courage, symbolising the struggle of all those who suffer from injustice and tyranny in Iran and elsewhere in the world. “
In his remarks, the Mayor of Moreland, Oscar Yildiz, observed that “out of something tragic, something good has happened in bringing us here together.”
During the program the choir “Breathing Space” performed as did Behzad Khoshmashrab on violin and Top 40 artist Anise K on keyboard. Mike Maxwell sang and played guitar.
Arnold Zable, President of Melbourne PEN, the writers’ organisation that promotes freedom of expression, asked Rosa to convey the message to Rozita that “she is our sister too”.
“We love her and we think about her and we will do everything we can to help her be free,” Mr Zable said.
“Rosa you inspire us –like you we think not only of Rozita but of all people behind closed doors. At the heart of human rights work is empathy and love. Rosa embodies this.”
Others to address the gathering included religious representatives Azita Sobhani (Baha’i), Ven Thich Phuoc Tan (Buddhist), Ethel Fullerton (Christian) and Elnaz Sultanzadeh (Muslim). Each conveyed a message of love and peace based on their faith tradition.
In her closing remarks, the MC, Natalie Mobini, referred to the recent address to the UN by Iranian president Hassan Rouhani in which he called for tolerance.
“A critical first test of his real intentions is whether he will begin to release the Baha’is who are currently in prison in Iran, including Rozita Vasseghi,” said Dr Mobini, the Director of External Affairs of the Australian Baha’i Community.
Dr Mobini said the Baha’is of Iran were not victims but heroes who stand for ideas of peace and equality and justice.
“Despite immense pressure, the Baha’is of Iran have not been cowed into giving up their ideals and their faith, nor have they responded with violence or hate,” Dr Mobini said.