Roxana Saberi visits ChiArts this Thursday at 12:30 to speak with an audience of scholar-artists representing all grade levels who have chosen to participate in this event.
The following is an excerpt from a recent story on The Huffington Post about Ms. Saberi and discusses her visit to Chicago this week. You can read the entire article here.
You’re appearing Wednesday night in a community event presented by Facing History and Ourselves. In what sense were your captive months in Iran part of modern history and how does that history continue to evolve?
I was just one of many prisoners who was unjustly incarcerated in Iran, and today, more than 500 Iranian prisoners of conscience remain behind bars. They are being punished for peacefully exercising universal human rights, such as the freedoms of expression and assembly. Their pursuit of these rights is part of a historical process in Iran, where a movement for democracy began more than a century ago. These people are also shaping the future of Iran. They are struggling so their friends, families, and future generations can write news articles without getting accused of anti-regime propaganda, hold peaceful rallies without being beaten up, and call for equal rights for women without being thrown in jail.
I was also one of a handful of Iranian Americans detained in recent years in Iran. I was fortunate that my ordeal attracted a great deal of media and international attention, which showed the growing power of the Internet as people in several countries spread the word about my detention and signed petitions on my behalf.
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