Kian Pirfalak
Remembering the life of a brave and curious child.
Kian Pirfalak
11 June 2013 - 16 November 2022
Kian was an Iranian child who was killed at the attack on Izeh market, in a shooting by government security forces while he sat in his parents' vehicle in the city of Izeh, Iran.
His father Meysam Pirfalak was also critically injured in the assault and was hospitalized. His mother and other family members who witnessed the incident blame the attack on Iranian security forces.
The family placed Pirfalak's body on ice, refusing to keeping it at the morgue. This was due to the fear of security forces stealing the child's body, as that has happened in many cases. Hundreds of people gathered at Pirfalak's funeral and chanted anti-regime slogans in protest of his death.
"Hear it from me about how the shooting happened so they can't say it was by terrorists, because they're lying,"
Pirfalak's mother Zeinab Molaie told mourners at his funeral. During the ceremony, Pirfalak's mother criticized the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei through a poem, which read:
"How's Mister Seyyed Ali Khamenei doing? He has a long beard coming down to his chest! A chest full of hatred - his heart is like stone - all he says is nonsense!"
Impact
Pirfalak's death sparked an increase in the nationwide protests, and international support. After Pirfalak's funeral, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's childhood home was set on fire on 17 November 2022; which is being used as a commemorative museum and located in the city of Khomeyn. Protests at the University of Tehran's Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences displayed photos of Pirfalak.
A viral video circulated online of young Pirfalak testing his hand-made boat, and he stated, "in the name of the God of rainbows." The stanza "In the Name of the Lord of the Rainbow" is a poem by Mahmoud Purohab which is included in Persian 3rd grade elementary school book. As a result, many memorials about Pirfalak have referenced the God of rainbows.
Pouya Molaeirad, a relative of Kian Pirfalak’s mother, was shot and killed by Iranian security agents on June 11, 2023, during a memorial service for Kian. Eyewitnesses and videos shared on social media showed Molaeirad being shot at Pirfalak’s burial site in the village of Parchestan, Izeh, amid a heavy security presence. Iranian officials claimed that Molaeirad was an attacker who was shot in self-defense, but his family and social media users disputed this account.
We have held a birthday celebration for Kian, and painted a mural about him in Brunswick, Victoria. Learn more in this instagram story highlight.
