No Nowruz Festivities For The Families Of Iranian Protesters Killed

Iranians traditionally mark Nowruz, the Persian New Year, with joyful festivities and family gatherings.

They arrange for the occasion a haft-sin in their homes, a collection of items whose Persian name begins with the letter “S” including green sprouts, symbolizing rebirth and growth, and samanu, a sweet pudding made from wheat germ that symbolizes sweetness and fertility.

But this year’s Nowruz, which fell on March 20, was anything but joyful for the many families who have lost their loved ones in the brutal crackdown by the Islamic Republic on more than six months of nationwide protests.

IranWire and citizen journalists who work with us have asked some of these grieving families how they were coping with their sorrow ahead of the holiday period.

“I’ve Been Left Alone for the Rest of my Life

Reza Shahparnia was shot dead by security forces on September 20 in the western city of Kermanshah. He was one of the first demonstrator killed after the eruption of the protest movement triggered by the September death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, in police custody.

“The moment this horrible thing happened, our lives turned upside down. There is only pain and more pain,” his twin sister Narges tells IranWire.

“The pain becomes more excruciating as the holiday approaches. This is the first Nowruz without Reza. It’s more tormenting because March 22 is Reza’s birthday. It’s the birthday of both of us. But there’s no birthday now. He’s not here to say, ‘Narges, happy birthday to us!’ as he did every year. I’ve been left alone this Nowruz and this birthday. I’ve been left alone for the rest of my life. I’ll never forgive the culprit of this tragedy.”

Narges planned to mark the birthday for her lost brother and wanted to order a cake, but many confectionaries refused to take the order.

“They said they couldn’t do write ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ [on the cake because they’ve been ordered not to do it and their shops would be shut down if they do,” Narges said.

خواهر دوقلوی «رضا شهپرنیا»: نیستی که بگویی نرگس، تولدمان مبارک!
رضا شهپرنیا از اولین کشته‌شدگان اعتراضات سراسری است. او روز ۲۹ شهریور بر اثر شلیک ماموران امنیتی در کرمانشاه کشته شد. رضا متولد دوم فروردین ۱۳۷۸ بود . او یک خواهر دوقلو دارد که آنقدر در غم از دست دادن برادر اشک… https://t.co/YIXsozqSCP pic.twitter.com/X6fdHDYnju

— ایران وایر (@iranwire) March 17, 2023

“I Had so Many Dreams for Him”

Esmail Shanbedi was a 29-year-old man who died in hospital on October 19, two weeks after sustaining injuries during protests in the central city of Shiraz. Esmail worked as a mechanic and was the breadwinner of his mother and two half-sisters.

“This Nowruz, I had many dreams for him,” his mother tells IranWire. “He would have turned 30 on April 4. I wanted to make him a bridegroom and wanted to see his family. But now my child is gone. He’s gone forever.”

“Now his two sisters and I have nobody, and we are in financial distress,” she also says.

.مادر اسماعیل شنبدی: عید امسال ۳۰ ساله می‌شد، آرزوها برایش داشتم

اسماعیل شنبدی، جوان ۲۹ ساله‌ای بود که در اعتراضات شیراز جان باخت. او شب ۲۲ مهر ماه در اعتراضات زخمی و به بیمارستان منتقل شد و ۲۷ مهر ماه در بیمارستان رجایی شیراز جان باخت. اسماعیل در یک مکانیکی کار می‌کرد و سرپرست… https://t.co/EhYNOySRmh pic.twitter.com/zjORrWzG6G

— ایران وایر (@iranwire) March 17, 2023

“Even 100 Springs would Bring no Joy”

Javad Heydari, born on October 31, 1982, was shot dead by security forces in the northwestern city of Qazvin in the early days of nationwide protests. Despite pressure by security agencies to say that Javad was killed in a car accident, his sister Fatemeh refuses to remain silent.

“It's a sad, sad spring without your face, my dear brother! We have arranged this year’s haft-sin on your grave, dear Javad,” Fatemeh wrote to IranWire.

“Who’s going to buy this year’s samanu for our mother, as you did from the shop in the alley at the end of Saadi Street?” she wrote. “There is no samanu in any of our homes…I loved your laughter when you said you loved New Year’s Eve. You loved it when we were together. You loved our hearty laughter. You loved our mother’s cooking and the children’s mischiefs.”

“Now we gather over your tomb at the end of this cold season. Without you, it is a sickening gathering. We know that without you even 100 springs would bring no joy. We live in sadness and in anger. We nurture the flames of anger in our hearts until the day of revenge…Perhaps we can die in peace after you’re avenged.”

خواهر #جواد_حیدری: چه بی‌نشاط بهاری که بی‌رخ تو رسید برادر جانم

او درباره اولین نوروز پس از کشته شدن برادرش برای ایران وایر نوشته است: «چه بی‌نشاط بهاری که بی‌رخ تو رسید، برادر جانم. امسال هفت سین را بر مزار تو چیده‌ایم، جواد جان!

گزارش تکمیلی «نوروز سخت https://t.co/hLaCDCvos8… https://t.co/hmi0MuH6on pic.twitter.com/tVrnUdGtem

— ایران وایر (@iranwire) March 18, 2023

“Without you, I’m Exhausted, I’m Distraught, I’m Devastated.”

Erfan Rezaei, born in 2001, was shot and killed by security forces on September 21, during protests in the city of Amol in the northern province of Mazandaran.

“The New Year is coming but not for me. For me, everything stopped the moment you left,” his mother said.

“This year, instead of haft-sin, [I’m] mourning you, dreaming of you, my heartache, the withered flower in the flowerpot, your face in the picture frame, coldness in this house and the suffering of traveling this endless road.”

“I no longer tastefully arrange the haft-sin. The aroma of pastry no longer wafts from my home to seven streets away. I no longer color my hair...Without you, I’m exhausted, I’m distraught, I’m devastated.”

مادر عرفان رضایی: سین امسال، سوگ تو، سوز دل من

عرفان رضایی متولد ۱۳۸۰ یکی از جان‌باختگان در اعتراضات سراسری است. او روز ۳۰ شهریور در آمل با شلیک مستقیم نیروهای امنیتی جان باخت
مادر عرفان رضایی درباره اولین بهار و نوروزی که بدون فرزندش می‌اید، می‌گوید:
«سال تحویل می‌شود اما برای… https://t.co/AiQXjS6gzX pic.twitter.com/on8mmHNZEP

— ایران وایر (@iranwire) March 17, 2023

“Our Home is Dark, and We’re Devastated

Mohsen Shekari, 23, was the first protester to be hanged on December 8 amid international condemnation, after 75 days in detention.

“We have no Nowruz. Without Mohsen, our home is dark, and we’re devastated,” his father Masoud tells IranWire.

When asked what Mohsen most enjoyed about Nowruz, he says, “To look after his sister and his mother. He loved his family and loved PlayStation 5. He watched movies, went to the gym and worked.”

A “Heart Full of Rage” against the Murderers

Atefeh Nea’ami was very active in the protest movement. Her body was found in her apartment in Karaj, near Tehran, on November 26, a week after she died. According to her family, evidence suggests that she was murdered by the security forces.

Her brother, Mohammad Amin, says she was most probably arrested and tortured to death. The security forces then built a scenario to make everybody believe Atefeh had committed suicide.

“We’re not going to celebrate Nowruz, but we’ll try to get together in memory of Atefeh,” Mohammad Amin says. “We really miss Atefeh, so we have tears in one eye, blood in the other and a heart full of rage against the butchers who murdered her.”

برادر #عاطفه_نعامی: یک چشم ما اشک و یک چشم خون است و قلب‌مان پر از خشم

او درباره اولین نوروز بدون عاطفه می‌گوید: «ما که عید نخواهیم داشت. اما در مجموع سعی می‌کنیم در کنار هم و با یاد عاطفه این روز را گرامی بداریم. جای خالی عاطفه واقعا سخت است و همین موجب https://t.co/hLaCDCvos8… https://t.co/N1RkfcN6vS pic.twitter.com/Uyr3MDcrcs

— ایران وایر (@iranwire) March 18, 2023

“I don’t Want to Remain on this Earth”

Danial Pabandi, a 17-year-old child laborer, was shot and killed on November 16 during protests in the western Kurdish city of Saqqez.

“One of these nights I dreamt of Danial for the first time. I couldn’t understand and cannot remember what exactly he was saying, but I remember he embraced me tightly. I wish I had not woken up after that moment,” says his mother, Nasrin Mostafavi.

“I’m enduring this because of these two,” she says, referring to her two other children, a boy and a girl. “Otherwise, I don’t want to remain on this earth.”

Nasrin’s husband goes to work every day, while she stays at home. “I ‘ve looked at these walls and have gone over memories of Danial so much that I’m becoming insane,” she says.

“My son and all those who were killed were innocent, so I won’t ask for justice from the same rulers who committed this sin,” Nasrin continued.

“My Nowruz is as Black as this Shirt”

Security forces killed 28-year-old Fereydoon Faraji on October 27 in the Kurdish town of Baneh, where he worked in a restaurant.

His father, mother and brother are sitting in their house in Saqqez. They are all wearing black clothing.

“My Nowruz is as black as this shirt. From now on, no day or no occasion has any meaning for me, except October 27,” the father says.

“My son, like more than 130 Kurdish citizens and 500 Iranian citizens, was killed despite being innocent of any wrongdoing. He was killed by a member of government forces armed to the teeth who just wants to keep power and doesn’t care if you’re a man, a woman, young, old or even a child. I want justice, but I would never appeal to a judge who is an accomplice to the criminals.”

Fereydoon’s mother joins the conversation, saying, “I’ve lost a part of me with Fereydoon’s death. I just don’t know why there’s still life in this body.”

محدثه خواهر سید #جواد_موسوی: از دیو و دد ملولم و انسانم آرزوست

سید جواد موسوی یکی از کشته‌شدگان اعتراضات سراسری است او ۲۶ آبان ماه در خوراسگان اصفهان هدف شلیک نیروهی امنیتی قرار گرفت و جان باخت. خواهرش محدثه درباره نوروز بدون حضور او می‌گوید:
«به نام خدای https://t.co/hLaCDCvos8… https://t.co/Tg494BwS1v pic.twitter.com/VZL7WaSmXO

— ایران وایر (@iranwire) March 20, 2023