Every Saturday at 3:00 PM, a small group gathers near Kamloops City Hall for our weekly Stand with Ukraine gathering. We have been there since February 24, 2022—through snow, rain, and summer heat—bearing witness to a people’s struggle for freedom against authoritarian violence. Today, I write to extend that same solidarity to the people of Iran, who are experiencing state violence on a scale that demands our attention and compassion.
A Weekend of Blood
The reports emerging from Iran are staggering. What began on December 28 as protests over the collapse of Iran’s currency quickly transformed into a nationwide uprising—and then into a massacre. According to senior officials within Iran’s Ministry of Health who spoke to TIME, as many as 30,000 people may have been killed on January 8 and 9 alone (Serjoie et al., 2026). The slaughter was so overwhelming that body bag supplies were exhausted and eighteen-wheel semi-trailers replaced ambulances.
The Associated Press reports that more than 400 cities were involved in the protests, with witnesses in Tehran describing tens of thousands of demonstrators in the streets before authorities severed internet and phone communications (Gambrell, 2026). Then the gunfire began.
A surgeon who treated casualties in Tehran described the transformation in horrifying terms. Before January 8, injuries were mostly from pellet guns—painful but survivable. Then everything changed. Patients began arriving with wounds from live ammunition, war bullets designed to pass through the body (Anonymous, 2026). In a hospital that would normally perform two emergency surgeries in a night, medical staff carried out approximately 18 operations between 9:00 PM and 6:00 AM.
Conservative estimates place the death toll in five digits. As investigative journalist Shay Khatiri (2026) notes, the Islamic Republic may have killed more of its own citizens in four nights than the United States lost troops in two decades of continuous war in Afghanistan and Iraq combined.
Why This Matters to Us
As Ukrainians, as Canadians, as human beings—we cannot look away.
When I left Ukraine in 2004 to study at the University of Manitoba, I carried with me the weight of a people’s struggle for dignity and self-determination. The Orange Revolution had just begun. Later, when I already become a Canadian citizen in 2013, I watched from afar as my birthplace faced invasion in 2014, occupation, and daily missile attacks. I have organized gatherings, raised funds, written letters, and done everything in my power to ensure that Ukrainians are not forgotten.
Now I see Iranian families experiencing that same terror—the knock on the door, the disappearance of loved ones, the impossible choice between silence and survival. The Human Rights Activists News Agency reports that more than 40,000 people have been arrested, with fears growing that some may face execution (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation [CBC], 2026).
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard commander has warned that his forces stand “more ready than ever, finger on the trigger” (CBC, 2026). This is the language of terror. We have heard it before from Moscow. We recognize it.
Canadians Are Already Standing Up
The solidarity is already happening. On Saturday, January 10, more than 35,000 people marched through Toronto in support of the Iranian people—one of the largest demonstrations in recent Canadian history (Iran Star, 2026). The march proceeded from 16th Street to the Richmond Hill area, with police closing both directions of traffic along the route to accommodate the massive crowds.
The gathering began with approximately 2,000 people before noon, swelling to over 25,000 by 1:00 PM and continuing to grow. The crowd was predominantly young people and women—mirroring the demographics of the protesters in Iran itself. Despite freezing temperatures hovering at zero degrees Celsius under cloudy skies, demonstrators filled the streets peacefully, with no reported conflicts.
The Mayor of Richmond Hill expressed hope that this movement would succeed. Drones captured footage from above, documenting the scale of Canadian solidarity with the Iranian people’s struggle for freedom.
This is what community looks like. This is what solidarity looks like.
Supporting Our Iranian-Canadian Community
In Kamloops, in Vancouver, in cities across Canada, Iranian-Canadians are watching their homeland burn while cut off from family members they cannot reach. The internet blackout means that many do not know if their parents, siblings, or children are alive.
This is a moment for our communities to come together—as Toronto has shown us:
Listen. Create space for Iranian-Canadians to share their grief, their fear, and their hopes. Do not ask them to explain or justify—simply be present.
Amplify. Share verified information from credible sources. Combat the regime’s narrative that peaceful protesters were “terrorists” or foreign agents. The video footage shows crowds of people—including children and families—chanting, dancing around bonfires, and marching through their streets (Gambrell, 2026).
Advocate. Contact your Member of Parliament. Urge the Canadian government to impose targeted sanctions on regime officials responsible for the violence, to expedite family reunification for Iranian-Canadians, and to support independent efforts to document human rights violations.
Remember. In Iranian tradition, memorial services are held 40 days after death. Around February 17, the country may see renewed demonstrations as families gather to mourn. We must be ready to stand with them.
The Universality of Care
In social work, we speak of the dignity inherent in every human being. We teach that care knows no borders, that suffering anywhere diminishes us everywhere. This is not abstract theory—it is lived reality.
The surgeon in Tehran described operating through the night on people shot by their own government, saving lives while his own heart was breaking (Anonymous, 2026). In one street, he witnessed blood pooled in a gutter—nearly a litre—with a trail stretching several metres along the ground. Someone who loses that much blood does not survive long enough to reach a hospital.
In the city of Rasht, security forces reportedly set fire to the bazaar, forcing vendors and customers toward the exits where guards opened fire, killing hundreds in minutes (Khatiri, 2026). A diaspora member who spoke with local officials reported approximately 600 fatalities in that city alone—nearly one per thousand residents.
These numbers are difficult to comprehend. For context, if the five-digit estimates prove accurate, this would constitute one of the largest single episodes of government violence against civilians in the 21st century (Khatiri, 2026).
A Call to Action
When Russia invaded Ukraine, many people told us that nothing could be done, that the world had too many problems, that it was not their concern. We proved them wrong. Through sustained advocacy, through community organizing, through refusing to let the world forget, we have kept Ukraine’s struggle in the global consciousness and keep doing it every day.
Now we must do the same for Iran.
As U.S. warships move toward the Persian Gulf and tensions escalate (Al Jazeera, 2026), the situation remains volatile and uncertain. What is certain is that millions of Iranians have risked everything for freedom—and thousands have paid with their lives.
Every message coming out of Iran is begging for the world to pay attention (Khatiri, 2026). They have done everything within their power. Now they need us to do everything within ours.
On Saturdays, when we gather for our weekly Stand with Ukraine vigil, we will also hold space for Iran. Care is universal. Solidarity is not a limited resource. The struggle for human dignity connects us all.
Слава Україні. آزادی برای ایران.
Glory to Ukraine. Freedom for Iran.
References
Al Jazeera. (2026, January 25). Trump says ‘US armada’ moving towards Iran as tensions escalate [Video]. Al Jazeera Newsfeed. https://www.aljazeera.com/video/newsfeed/2026/1/25/trump-says-us-armada-moving-towards-iran-as-tensions-escalate
Anonymous. (2026, January 25). ‘Pools of blood, hundreds of gunshots’: I am a surgeon in Iran—this is the horror I’ve witnessed in the crackdown. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/jan/25/iran-protest-doctor-first-hand-account-shooting-of-protestors
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. (2026, January 25). As U.S. moves ships toward Iran, Revolutionary Guard commander warns his force has its ‘finger on the trigger.’ CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/iran-revolutionary-guard-warning-9.7060004
Gambrell, J. (2026, January 23). Scale of Iran’s nationwide protests and bloody crackdown come into focus even as internet is out. Associated Press. https://apnews.com/article/iran-protests-nationwide-scale-us-trump-0eecd9962240600150530261dfab03f2
Iran Star. (2026, January 25). راهپیمایی بیش از ۳۵,۰۰۰ نفر در تورنتو در حمایت از مردم ایران [More than 35,000 people march in Toronto in support of Iranian people]. Iran Star. https://iranstar.com/fa/posts/راهپیمایی-بیش-از-۳۵۰۰۰-نفر-در-تورنتو-در-حمایت-از-مردم-ایران
Khatiri, S. (2026, January 23). Iran’s weekend of blood: How internet blackouts, morgue data, and medical testimony point to a five-digit death toll. Quillette. https://quillette.com/2026/01/23/irans-weekend-of-blood-protests-tehran-islamic-republic/
Serjoie, K. A., Saberi, R., & Jamalpour, F. (2026, January 25). Iran protest death toll could top 30,000, according to local health officials. TIME. https://time.com/7357635/more-than-30000-killed-in-iran-say-senior-officials/
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