"I was a student in Iran, but after the 2009 elections, I knew it was time to emigrate. People in the United States don't understand how a country can change in a night, in a week, but it can. Friends of mine, other students, were being killed, all because of politics. There was no such thing as saying, 'Oh, the elections don't affect me; I don't worry about them.' No. You have to."