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The MENA staff and board express their deep sorrow and pain at the images of destruction and civilian casualties coming from the streets of Tehran and across Iran since June 13. Images that we are all too familiar with since the beginning of Israel’s war in the region in 2023 and even before, but which we must be diligent never to normalize today and for as long as a lasting peace eludes the MENA/SWANA region.
Our hearts are with our family in Iran, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon and all other lands currently facing war and genocide.
As a community of intergenerational and intersectional MENA/SWANA subjects, MENA Film Festival understands that our community’s futures and aspirations are deeply entwined, and that our common liberation depends on standing against oppression wherever it appears.
As with the Woman Life Freedom uprisings, MENA stands in solidarity with those within Iran and our friends, colleagues and neighbours from across the Iranian diaspora who are daily watching their screens and contacting home for the latest news from friends and loved ones.
Please see below for some reliable pages we suggest following on the situation as it develops, as well as resources on actions you can take from home to help bring this war to a lasting end, in the hopes for peace, self-determination and freedom for the people of Iran.
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