Omid Memorial
The men and women whose stories you can read on this page are now all citizens of a silent city named Omid ("hope" in Persian). There, victims of persecution have found a common life whose substance is memory.
Omid's citizens were of varying social origins, nationalities, and religions; they held diverse, and often opposing, opinions and ideologies. Despite the differences in their personality, spirit, and moral fiber, they are all united in Omid by their natural rights and their humanity. What makes them fellow citizens is the fact that one day each of them was unfairly and arbitrarily deprived of his or her life. At that moment, while the world watched the unspeakable happen, an individual destiny was shattered, a family was destroyed, and an indescribable suffering was inflicted.
Jahangir Dehqani…
Mr. Dehqani was a religious man and believed and practiced the Shafe’i [branch of Islam] and knew the entire Koran by heart.
Azematollah Fahandej…
Son of Zia’ollah and Tabandeh, the once-young military student would earn a Pahlavi-era Order of Military Merit and a position as an air force officer’s assistant.
Hossein Khezri…
Hossein Khezri had been forced to drop out of school after eighth grade due to poverty, and had started to work in a carpet weaving shop in order to help his family make ends meet. According to his attorney, he lost 70% of his eyesight because of the shop’s unfavorable work conditions.