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Aref Sarayi

I have always been affected and upset by hearing bad news about our country, like all Iranians, and I believed that just hearing the news and being active on social media is not enough. As I am alone and away from many active Iranians, I thought of doing something, even small, to enrich my conscience. I took the philosophy and depth of this idea from the story of the parrot and the merchant that we used to read in childhood, and I firmly believe that with the unity of Iranians abroad, based on a single issue, we will give encouragement and hope to our fellow countrymen in Iran to move towards improving the situation of human rights and democracy.

For the first time, in March or April 2014, I decided to wear a t-shirt with the slogan of women’s freedom in Iran, and that’s how it started. After starting and doing this movement, I felt good and tried to expand it to other problems of Iran and Iranians; from the environment and wild animals to the issue of killing dogs. But ultimately, I came to the conclusion to focus on a topic that has a consensus among Iranians. As a human rights activist and being familiar with many “political prisoners”, I focused on this topic.

I believe that political prisoners are the essence of the elites and freedom fighters of all Iranians, and raising awareness about them and working towards their freedom is actually an effort to improve the human rights and democracy situation in Iran; because when we no longer have political prisoners, we will certainly be moving towards democracy and freedom. Therefore, we must all agree on at least this one issue everywhere. With this definition, the reason for pressing for the defense of all political prisoners, from any group or profession, is not only respect for the freedom of that prisoner, but also respect for freedom and democracy in Iran; as a result, we can never and should never classify a prisoner who has been imprisoned for any reason, based on unjust laws and conditions.

Based on this, I decided to expand this movement by wearing a t-shirt with pictures of political prisoners and participating in international forums every now and then to continue the movement and remind Iranians of them, and ultimately I chose to run a marathon. This decision was made while I had not been consistently exercising, especially running, since my early twenties. But this idea became the reason for me to start exercising professionally again. Interestingly, I was suffering from back pain and a mild neck disc, but with regular running and exercise for marathon preparation, I almost got rid of these illnesses that had been bothering me for years. I must say that every time I wear these t-shirts, I feel a heavenly and great feeling, and this statement is not an exaggeration; although it may be due to my conscience being satisfied with doing this.

The Tokyo Marathon in February 2015, which is considered one of the six major marathons in the world, was the first marathon I participated in. After that, I decided to promote this activity by taking pictures of my training in the city and posting them on Facebook, not only for running, but also for any kind of activity in the city, so that I may find more and more companions around the world and increase our numbers.

Unfortunately, it must be said that we Iranians have weaknesses in group activities and practicing them. One of the main reasons for this could be the lack of education and not following simple methods of group activities that everyone is capable of. I believe that if, for example, this activity is done regularly, it can definitely strengthen the sense of empathy and teamwork among Iranians. With the existence of social networks such as Facebook, it is not necessary for us to be physically together to do a team work and we can transfer the feeling of teamwork through this space. Whatever perspective we have, it is enough to choose a prisoner and raise awareness for them and share our photos with any daily activities on the internet and gradually do bigger tasks and find each other with our common goal, which is to improve the human rights and democracy in Iran. In this method, there is no leader or commander and each of us can be the leader of our own activity.

After the last marathon that took place on October 11th of this year in Chicago, my next marathon will be in Queenstown, New Zealand next month and after that, I will participate in the Stockholm and Berlin marathons next year and so on until the end.

We must not forget that the greatest ideas are the simplest. The work I am doing is not complicated or difficult; it is something that anyone can do and, of course, its impact on the spirit of myself, prisoners, and the people of Iran is greater than anyone can imagine. It is also not necessary to be Iranian for this work, and we can use the support of non-Iranian friends as well.

I intend to request support from Hollywood actors and Nobel Prize-winning scientists to support the cause of hope for the planet, from the US military for Amir Hekmati, from journalists for Jason Rezaian, from Baha’is for Baha’i prisoners, from Christians for Christians in prison, from all groups and political parties for their prisoners, and from humans for humans. Even if one person responds positively, I will have succeeded and become the winner of the marathon of my life. An Iranian for a prisoner; as a member who has suffered in this world, may the other members not remain in pain.

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