Members of the MEK are isolated from the outside world. Even inside the group, they are often made isolated from their peers as part of the group’s regulations and even punishment. They are not allowed to have intimate relationships with their comrades and family members –if they are members of the group too. leaders of the MEK use cult-like practices to maintain their control over members, a ruling system that forces members to stay single, to work hard without payment, to wear the group’s dress code in particular forced hijab, to forget family, friends and normal life. One of the outcomes of such a suppressive ruling is suicidal ideation.
Suicidal ideation is associated with depression and other mood disorders. Under the manipulative system of the Cult of Rajavi, most members are at risk of suicidal ideation. They are depressed, suppressed and helpless. They perceive no image of a normal life outside the group. In one sentence: they have lost hope.
Several members of the MEK have so far committed suicide. On the eve of World Suicide Prevention Day Isa Azade, a former member of the group, presents a list of MEK members who committed suicide under the suffocating ruling of Massoud and Maryam Rajavi, on his Facebook account. According to Isa, the reason for so many suicidal attempts –of which several succeeded- was that hope and love has been killed by the leaders of the MEK. He recounts the heart-breaking stories of these people:
Parvin: She fell in love, but love was forbidden in the MEK. This was her crime that led her to commit suicide.
Kamal: He was also in love. He did not want to obey the rule of “Forced Divorce” but he had no way out. He killed himself.
Alan: She was teenager, smuggled from Germany to the MEK’s camp in Iraqi deserts. MEK commanders forced her to wear hijab and military uniform. They trained her as child soldier. They told her that she could never get back to Europe. She shot herself in head.
Shamsollah: he was fed up with the mafia system of MEK commanders. He killed himself a few days before the group’s relocation from Iraq to Albania.
Isa Azadeh also writes of Minoo, Masoumeh, Mehri, Zahra, Marjan, Homa, Yasser, Elias, Soheil, Khodam and Saeed. They all committed suicide because they had lost hope under the excruciating pressure of Rajavis’ ruling.
Each year on September 10th, World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) is valued by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) and endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO). WSPD marks global commitment to suicide prevention. It is organized to raise awareness about suicide prevention and mental health. On the occasion of this day, IASP consider the importance of holding on to hope every day.
Nejat Society and its sister organization in Albania, the Association for the Support of Iranians Living in Albania (ASILA) are two entities founded by defectors of the Cult of Rajavi and families of members of the cult who are still taken as hostages inside the group’s Camp Ashraf 3, in Manez, Albania. Nejat and ASILA’s main mission is to keep the light of hope burning. All their activities are directed to create a sense of hope for every member of the Cult of Rajavi. Hope is a key ingredient for life and can be an antidote to suicide and a powerful tool to break the metal and physical bars of the cult.
By Mazda Parsi