Students Learn True Meaning of 'Safe Place' By Hearing Author's Journey

Chloe Turner ‘26
Last month, the Diversity group interviewed former political prisoner, activist and bestselling author of Prisoner of Tehran: A MemoirMrs. Marina Nemat. She shared her experiences growing up in Iran and her journey to Canada. Mrs. Nemat told us about her childhood and how her freedoms to dress and speak were taken away. She bravely stood up for her rights by attending rallies, and as a 16-year-old who wanted to learn about calculus and not political propaganda, staged a walkout at her school. As a result, Mrs. Nemat among other young people were later arrested and imprisoned in Iran’s notorious Evin prison. While in prison Mrs. Nemat witnessed many deaths of her friends and underwent torture which forever changed her life. 
Along with the Social Justice Club, the Diversity group created the content for the Senior School Advisor morning held last Thursday, December 8th. Students were given questions to discuss with their peers periodically throughout Mrs. Nemat’s recorded interview. We discussed how hearing Mrs. Nemat’s story made us feel, and how we can stand up to oppression even at personal risk. We also talked about what it means for somewhere to be a ‘safe place’, how we can make people feel safe and welcome, and how we can support our friends if they’re going through a rough patch. We also talked about how little most of the students knew about Iran’s history and why it is so important to share our stories and experiences with others.
 
On Friday, December 9th, there was a dress-down day to support two charities that are near and dear to Mrs. Nemat’s heart: The Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture and Romero House for Refugees. As Mrs. Nemat said, we can make a difference by finding creative ways to show our moral support for men and women who are being victimized around the world. People in our lives and those around the world need to know that we care. We are happy to report that more than $620 was raised for these two charities from last Friday’s Dress-down day. Thank you to everyone who contributed.

This was an enlightening experience for all of us and really made us think about the state of our world and the freedoms we take for granted living in Canada. Mrs. Nemat’s courage, bravery and incredible resilience will continue to be an inspiration to us all.
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13415 Dufferin Street King, Ontario L7B 1K5 
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Founded in 1972, The Country Day School is a co-educational private school offering programs in JK-12 and located on 100 acres north of Toronto in King.