Waterloo residents rally amid ongoing protests in Iran

Residents in Waterloo gathered to show support for people taking part in widespread protests in Iran, joining a global movement calling for change.

Participants met at Waterloo Town Square around 1:45 p.m., before marching through uptown and holding a rally to draw attention to human rights concerns.

The event was organized by community group KW4Iran.

“We, the Iranian diaspora, are shocked by the scale of atrocities,” a media release read in part. “We are coming together to pay respect to those who lost their lives at the hands of the Islamic Regime in Iran and to honor those who are still taking to the streets for the people’s struggle and for freedom.”

The demonstrations in Waterloo mirror international concern over unrest in Iran that began with protests back in December over skyrocketing inflation and a collapsing currency, but when it quickly turned into a national reckoning against what many nations have called an authoritarian regime, the government launched a crackdown.

One volunteer, who asked that her name not be shared, has family and friends in Iran. She said first hearing about demonstrations prior to the crackdown was bittersweet.

“It was exciting but also scary because protests in Iran have always faced violent repression,” she said. “While it was exciting and it has inspired hope for change, at the same time we’re really concerned for their lives, for their safety.”

According to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, the Iranian government’s latest crackdown on nationwide demonstrations has left more than 2,500 people dead.

The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that it was unable to independently assess death toll figures, as communications in and out of Iran have largely been cut off, and Iran’s government has not offered an official number of casualties.

“We could tell because suddenly no one could be online anymore and everybody was talking about not being able to reach they family and friends,” said the volunteer.

She added that outbound calls from within Iran have slowly become available but explained that residents don’t feel safe speaking on the phone.

“They’re sure that the phone calls are tapped, so there’s no real communication to be honest.”

Conservative Kitchener South-Hespeler MP Matt Strauss and Liberal Kitchener-Conestoga MP Tim Louis were both in attendance at Saturday’s rally.

“We’re from different political parties. This [issue] is not partisan,” Louis said, addressing the crowd. “We are Canadian first. We’re hear to listen to you... Thank you for reminding me that this is not statistics. These are people, these are stories and it really hit home”

Louis said he has plans to visit Ottawa in the coming week and to speak with Prime Minister Mark Carney about the rally.

- With reporting by Jordan Fleguel and Kamil Karamali.