I came to the US in the 1990s with my young children to escape chaos and danger in the Middle East. My son, Roozbeh, graduated summa cum laude from Texas A&M in 2001 and earned Masterʼs in genetics from Oxford. On June 6, 2003, he was about to begin medical school at UT, San Antonio, when he was violently robbed from me by a mentally ill person who never should have had access to a gun.
My life was shattered forever. I don’t want other parents to experience this pain. When I kissed my son for the last time, I promised that I would keep his name alive since gun violence didn’t allow him to finish his mission and dreams.
In 2017, I discovered support from brave mothers at Moms Demand Action. Wear Orange occurs near the anniversary of the shooting that took Roozbeh and now I organize a yearly community drumming circle event which has been healing for my anger, grief, pain, and frustration. Thanks to the generous and caring musician, Edris Froughi, who helped bring to reality my dream of drumming in honor of Roozbeh.