Orange County Iranian Americans surprised beachgoers at the main beach in Laguna Beach, California on April 8 with a flash mob, where a group of around 40 women danced along to the beat of popular pre-Islamic Republic music for the Persian New Year.
The event is the latest way the community is showing support and raising awareness of the protests for basic human rights that have erupted in Iran since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on Sept. 16 after three days in Iranian police custody. She was allegedly detained by the so-called Islamic morality police in Tehran for showing a few strands of her hair, a dress code violation in the country.
In previous months, art exhibits and rallies by the thousands have been organized throughout Southern California as a way for local Iranians to amplify the voices of the people in their motherland.
The organizer of Saturday’s event, Cheryl Famili, a resident of Laguna Niguel, told The Epoch Times the idea for a flash mob was a spur-of-the-moment decision to showcase the Iranian people’s love for dance.
“We’ve been known for many things ... but good things are something we haven’t been known for, and certainly not our joy, happiness, and our love for dance,” she said.
Famili said the idea quickly took off after she sent out a text to some of her Iranian and non-Iranian friends. Over 70 people quickly volunteered, and even free music broadcasting from Orange County Audio Visual Solutions was offered.
“Not everyone could be here because of Easter, but a wonderful collage of people still came out. I think one of the most beautiful statements I was given by a non-Iranian was, ‘We really want to let the women of Iran know we admire them,’” Famili said.
A few dozen ethnically Iranian women began dancing shortly after noon at the advent of the event, performing a rehearsed act while dressed in clothing symbolic of the uprising.
One of the participants, Mojgan Yeganeh, an Anaheim Hills resident, told The Epoch Times she immigrated to the United States in December 1978, just months prior to the Islamic revolution of 1979.
Shortly after the revolution, more suppression followed, including the requirement for women to wear a headscarf in public.
Yeganeh said she felt grateful and also guilty to now live in the United States, knowing that women in Iran have no idea what it’s like to enjoy the freedoms she’s now provided.
“They have no voice, they have no options, they have no freedom. They’re not treated as a human being and that really affects me deeply,” she said.
Her daughter, 14-year-old Manda Fatehi, could be seen during the event carrying an Iranian flag with the words “woman, life, freedom,” inscribed, which has become a rallying cry of the protesters around the world.
Irvine resident Arina Khodavandi, who is also 14, said she came to the event to show the people in Iran that even from afar, she still cares about them.
“I decided to dress up as my culture and come out and give people cookies today, and show them I care about my country,” she told The Epoch Times. “I want to show the people in Iran that [even though] I’m in another country, I still care about them.”
Cookies decorated with Iranian depictions were donated and given to passersby nearby the demonstration.
Orange County-based mindset coach and consultant Roksana said she first heard of the flash mob idea at the La Vida Dance Studio in Aliso Viejo, where a rehearsal of the dancing was taking place.
“When I saw what they were doing, I was very moved and inspired by their mission, so I wanted to be a part of it,” she told The Epoch Times.
As someone who is half Persian and born in Iran, she said she lost touch with her culture over the years but has become reconnected after participating in the event. She said she believes people all around the world experience discrimination, and everyone should come together as a community to put an end to it.
“I believe, based on my experience, everyone has experienced some form of discrimination as a little boy or girl in school. ... In Iran, they’re just experiencing it on a much bigger scale,” she said.
Since Mahsa Amini’s death in September, thousands of Iranians have been protesting almost daily despite a worsening violent crackdown from Iranian authorities. The regime’s suppression against protesters has allegedly included torture, executions, arbitrary arrests and detentions, sexual violence, and enforced disappearances.
