Omid Memorial
The men and women whose stories you can read on this page are now all citizens of a silent city named Omid ("hope" in Persian). There, victims of persecution have found a common life whose substance is memory.
Omid's citizens were of varying social origins, nationalities, and religions; they held diverse, and often opposing, opinions and ideologies. Despite the differences in their personality, spirit, and moral fiber, they are all united in Omid by their natural rights and their humanity. What makes them fellow citizens is the fact that one day each of them was unfairly and arbitrarily deprived of his or her life. At that moment, while the world watched the unspeakable happen, an individual destiny was shattered, a family was destroyed, and an indescribable suffering was inflicted.
Hossein Takb'alizadeh…
He was a child when he lost his father. Poverty, addiction, and lack of family bonds led him and hundreds of people who went to the cinema in Abadan to a tragic end.
Mehdi Dibaj…
A convert to Christianity decades prior, Pastor Mehdi Dibaj denied the charge of apostasy against him, comparing his own belief in eternal life to those of devout Muslims.
Saeid Abbasi Fargolchi…
was shot and died during clashes following the presidential election of 2009.