"Dear BRG Community,
‍
On September 16, 2022, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini (also known as Jina Amini) died after being detained by Iran’s morality police for “improper attire”. Her death has led to the biggest women-led protest in Iran’s history. For the past two months, numerous protestors have been killed, injured, and imprisoned fighting for basic human rights. A majority of which are under the age of 30 and even children.

I am a second generation Iranian, with family in Iran and these events have had an emotional effect on my day-to-day life. I am constantly checking social media, news, WhatsApp, anything to give me updates on the situation. I have been experiencing so many emotions: excitement, sadness, fear, anger, and of course an overwhelming feeling of helplessness. I started to use the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) counseling sessions, that BRG offers, to assist with my emotional health concerns and it has made a dramatic difference in coping with my emotions.

As a community that cares about those who might be affected by this, in particular employees who are from Iran and need our solidarity and support in the wake of this uprising, I wanted to bring awareness to this current event. I also wanted to write something for anyone who would like to connect and start a support group to please contact me.

My final message that I wanted to share is that we stand with all of those around the world peacefully protesting for human rights and we show solidarity with the people of Iran. Thank you."

Manijeh Bonshahi

(she, her, hers)

Accounting Manager