August 2021

A very heartfelt thank you to those who signed, donated and worked for the successful effort to get the Emergency Appeal published in the New York Review of Books.  With your participation, we raised $12K of our $15K goal in one month, getting donations from six countries and over 50 cities. Thanks to those who donated generously, to those who held yard sales, went to co-workers and family members. Thanks to those in the Iranian Diaspora, including ex political prisoners, who went all out to make this happen.

We are close to paying the $12,500 for The New York Review of Books full back page print ad now on the newsstand. The cost of $600 for an ad in The Nation and $637 for an ad in Ms.Magazine in June were loaned to the campaign, as were hundreds of dollars for postage to mail hard copies of the NYRB to some signers and donors. While $12,000 in one month is an important collective accomplishment, we need to wage to fight through for the remaining $3,000 now. It is not just to pay bills. This campaign is part of the fight to build a real mass movement, relying on the conscious initiative of the people who desire and will sacrifice for a better future. That is what is represented by the first $12K we raised.

A special thanks must be given Ariel Dorfman, whose thoughtful and caring statement opened many hearts and doors. One M.D. who signed the Appeal emailed the campaign that she will “…send it to Persian-Iranian friends who have wide networks, including in Europe. I realize you all have done a wonderful job of recruiting luminaries and for that I am so happy (if one can be happy in this situation).”

Our Appeal is clear that our goal is to fight for the political prisoners to be free. The NYRB ads have put our Emergency campaign into the public square in a major way.  It's a tremendous tool we have. The content is strong; it's visually striking and its very publication is an "event," impactful and incredibly timely, especially with the Khuzestan uprising and the upcoming Ebraim Raisi inauguration.  We need to push and project and seize the time -- look for all the openings and angles we can to maximize the Appeal’s publication impact in the U.S. and internationally by taking advantage of it being on the scene in the midst of the political turmoil in Iran.



Let's together figure out how we can compel and inspire progressive media with reach and big-time media to cover this...what are your ideas, your availability? We should reach out to The Guardian and Observer of London, Le Monde Diplomatique and France 24, Reuters or Die Zeit (which has an online English edition). Can you help get coverage in the Chronicle of Higher Education?  What about the situation of Nahid Taghavi, a dual citizen held by the Islamic regime even as they released the other nine COVID positive prisoners from Evin but not her.  Can we raise public awareness and put more pressure on the German government to get her a medical release immediately and unconditionally?  

Please let us hear back from you on how to reach maximum impact of this NYRB ad. Donate NOW if you haven’t and again if you have so we can max out on getting this ad to others.  Stay tuned for announcement of further major publication plans and requisite fundraising goals to achieve all we must.

We will NOT let these precious prisoners down as per the challenge from Ariel Dorfman. We will fight until they are free.

With warm regards,

Dolly Veale for the International Emergency Campaign FreeIransPoliticalPrisonersNow.org