{"id":147465,"date":"2022-12-01T12:29:52","date_gmt":"2022-12-01T11:29:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=147465"},"modified":"2026-01-16T16:50:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T15:50:17","slug":"wish-tree-on-campus-to-support-students-in-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2022\/12\/01\/wish-tree-on-campus-to-support-students-in-iran\/","title":{"rendered":"Wish tree on campus to support students in Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"

Students handed out roses to passers-by between the Erasmus Pavilion and the food court on Wednesday afternoon. The roses symbolise the oppressed Iranian people.\u00a0Students also had the opportunity to add a card to the tree to express their desire for peace.<\/p>

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The campaign was organised by Psychology student Forough Hatami. She\u2019s from Iran herself, as is co-organiser Aura*. Both their fathers spent time in prison in Iran before fleeing to the Netherlands as political refugees. \u201cThere are plenty of students here who have first-hand experience of the situation\u201d, said Hatami, pointing out a fellow student who lost friends in the protests in Iran. \u201cWe want to raise awareness of what\u2019s going on there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rainbow<\/h2>

The roses that were handed out symbolise the people being oppressed. \u201cWhite ones for the dead and red ones for the people who are still alive, though we\u2019ve included some other colours too.\u201d Those other colours served to commemorate a young boy who was accidentally killed during a protest in Iran. \u201cHe was always praying to the rainbow god\u201d, explained Hatami. There was a photo of the boy on the ground, as well as other posters in remembrance of people who died.<\/p>\n

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Aura*<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJosephine Hartmann<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

The tree was adorned with cards expressing the desire for peace. At lunchtime, the campaign had only just gotten under way, yet the tree was already completely full. \u201cStudents will be able to show their support for people and students in Iran throughout the day\u201d, said Aura.<\/p>\n

Freedom<\/h2>

Iranian Psychology student Sepehr Tabatabaei also hung a card in the tree, along with his Polish fellow student Julia Kubiak. \u201cWe\u2019ve written \u2018women, life, freedom\u2019 in the three languages we speak, namely English, Polish and Persian\u201d, said Sepehr. Both were pleased that the campaign had been created. \u201cEven just the banners and pictures will get students thinking about the issue and make them realise just how much freedom we actually have here\u201d, said Kubiak. Tabatabaei\u2019s family lives in Iran and he regularly keeps in touch. \u201cIt\u2019s great to see that we can protest like this here. It\u2019s a breath of fresh air.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sepehr and Julia wrote 'women, life, freedom' in three languages.<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>

PhD student Marcelo Malbec also added a card. As a Chilean national, he said he could relate to the plight of the people in Iran. \u201cWe\u2019ve experienced plenty of oppression in Chile too. I\u2019m hoping for a brighter future.\u201d His hope echoed that of all the students who gathered here. Aura already had a clear idea as to what form she wanted her contribution to take: \u201cI intend to return to Iran and spread the good stuff, the freedom, that we\u2019ve learned here.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Marcelo is hanging a card in the wish tree.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJosephine Hartmann<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t

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Lees meer<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t