Politics

Iranian Americans in San Diego Show Solidarity

By Alison St John / Reporter

Published June 22, 2009 at 11:30 AM PDT

This story was published more than 14 years ago.

Iranian Americans living in San Diego are paying close attention to the tense political situation in Tehran.

The news trickling out of Tehran suggests authorities dispersed protesters with tear gas today. Violent confrontations on Saturday led to at least 10 deaths and nearly 500 arrests.

San Diegan Kourosh Taghavi left Iran 26 years ago, but he still maintains close ties to the country. He says many well known opposition leaders were among those arrested on Saturday, and the brutal response to the protests has pushed the dissenters behind closed doors.

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“The opposition movement is trying its best to bring down the violence that’s being committed by the police,” Taghavi says. “There’s a lot of things behind the scenes that we have absolutely no information of. I think that contributes a bit to somewhat of a quiet day in Tehran today.”

He says it’s possible future demonstrations in Iran will center around commemorations of those who died in Saturday’s protest.

“In Islamic tradition, the third night of one’s passing, the 7th, the 15th and the 40th day are very important. So people will use these monumental days to remember the fallen ones and at the same time reiterate the message.”

Teghavi says the San Diego Iranian community plans a candlelight vigil on Wednesday night outside the Federal Building in downtown San Diego.

“The purpose is to show our solidarity with the people of Iran to amplify their demands,” he says. “Young people have taken to the streets because their vote was stolen.”

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Taghavi says more Iranian Americans live in Los Angeles than anywhere else outside of Iran and tens of thousands also live in San Diego.

Politics

Alison St John

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Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.