A group of people circled around speakers and singers in Jefferson Square Park, Sunday, filling the local government square with songs as they rally against actions by the Trump administration and current politics.
Another grievance was added to their list after the U.S. and Israel joined forces attacking Iran on Saturday, killing the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and unsettling the regime in the country.
“I feel very powerless, like there’s not that much that I can do,” said Marissa Beinhauer who came to the gathering for relief. “That’s why coming here is nice.”
Organizers of the event, Singing Resistance Louisville, added a song to their list to sing, the leader singing the words ‘ceasefire now’ as the crowd repeats them back.
“The Ceasefire Now song was added today because of the events from yesterday,” said Emily Smith, part of the organizing team for Singing Resistance Louisville. “People’s breath and heart rate literally sync up when they sing together, so we are embodying unity and peacefulness as part of our protest and our advocacy work.”
After Saturday’s attack, Farah Mokhtareizadeh, an Iranian-American in Louisville, is even more afraid.
“We’re terrified, terrified of what what could happen because I don’t believe that the leaders of this country or of Israel have the best interest of their own people or the Iranian people at heart,” Mokhtareizadeh said.
Mokhtareizadeh said communication is limited with friends and family in Iran. She said there’s limited internet access and it’s not safe to talk about political topics over the phone.
She said the situation is a ‘very complicated feeling’ because she disagrees with what the regime has done for well over four decades, but she says she believes American tax dollars are better spent in the states.
“We can work out our problems through diplomacy and dialogue, not through killing and violence and brutality,” Mokhtareizadeh said. “It’s not going to create a peaceful Middle East and it’s not going to create a peaceful United States or Israel.”
WHAS11 heard from Iranian-Americans across Kentuckiana, Saturday, who celebrated the action and thanking those who made it happen for taking down their dictator.
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