I sent a message to Zobayda a week ago on Telegram, checking on her right after I read about Iranian demonstrations. Due to the communication shutdown in Iran, I haven’t heard back from her yet.

I pray she’s safe and okay!

Iran has been cursed with an authoritarian regime like many of our countries in the Global South. I wonder how different would Iran be now if that 1953 coup didn’t occur? How progressive and democratic could it be if the US and UK didn’t back up the coup that overthrew the elected government?

How would her life, mine and those of many others be if our countries haven’t been through this long history of Western colonialism and neo-colonialism?

Europe and the US colonize nations, kill indigenous, ignite wars, provoke unrest, fund dictatorships, exploit resources, dump their waste into our countries. And when our people flee wars and seek refuge in those Western countries, their people complain about it while their governments enforce restricted procedures to contain “the migration crisis”.

Even looking at the current protests in Iran, we have to see them from anti-imperial lens. Protestors are frustrated with the oppressive regime, that's very true. But Western countries closely watch everything, in an attempt to exploit and redirect it to their ulterior goals.

The West and its people thrive on racial superiority and they don't want to give it up, leading the whole world to chaos and destruction.

I hope they will wake up before it's too late to save the world.