South Floridians sneak Iranians past Web censors

South Floridians sneak Iranians past Web censors

South Florida Iranians are not just attending rallies and vigils for compatriots back home, but actively helping them through the Internet.


BY JARED GOYETTE AND TRENTON DANIEL
tdaniel@MiamiHerald.com


One day after post-election protests engulfed Iran, a Boca Raton attorney hurled himself into a fight that was being waged half a world away but still close to home.

Seeking to bolster a burgeoning opposition movement in Iran, Omid Ghaffari-Tabrizi tapped into an urgent need. He set up a proxy server on his computer, allowing Iranians thousands of miles away to elude regime censors by connecting to his desktop.

''I think access to information that's unfiltered, uncensored is incredibly important for people to get an understanding of what's going on,'' said Ghaffari-Tabrizi, 25, whose parents emigrated from Iran.

Ghaffari-Tabrizi is among a small group of Iranian Americans in South Florida who have taken the opposition cause beyond the street rallies and candlelight vigils. They are lending a direct hand, whether it's setting up Internet servers or e-mailing updates to supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi, the second-place candidate who was defeated in the June 12 presidential election that many say was rigged. The Islamic republic declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the victor.

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