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 Motlaq…
A reputable man with a tender and poetic spirit; he has left a number of poems behind, written while he was in prison.
Mohsen Mohammadpur Man'iyat…
Mr. Mohammadpur was a young 17-year-old ethnic Arab from the city of Khorramshahr. He went to school in the morning and worked as a mason in the afternoon in order to pay for his education and to help out his family. He was a happy and energetic person.
Amir Hossein Purja'far Katamjani…
At three months old, he experienced an episode of high fever and severe seizure which resulted in loss of hearing in one ear and disability in one leg. Physical problems, in addition to the the treatment he received from school officials, had turned him into a belligerent loner.