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Support Trauma Healing This Nowruz
Nowruz, commonly known as Persian New Year, has been observed for more than 3,000 years across Iran and much of Central and Western Asia. Marking the first day of spring, it traditionally reflects renewal, continuity and resilience — a moment when families gather to honor the possibility of new beginnings.
But this year, Nowruz arrives at a time of extraordinary emotional turmoil for Iranians everywhere.
For many, this moment unfolds against a backdrop of both recent and long-standing trauma. In January, thousands of protesters and civilians were killed following state-directed violence. Over decades, millions have endured repression, imprisonment, displacement, war and fear under successive crackdowns and state policies. Entire generations have lived under sustained strain. Families carry grief that stretches across years. And now, the Iranian people face the realities of war.
Today, Iranians are holding multiple, often conflicting emotions at once — emotions that are difficult to reconcile.
There is grief and mourning. Fear and uncertainty. Relief and fragile hope.
Hope sits alongside anxiety about bombs. Sorrow for ruined cities and lost lives exists alongside a longing for change.
This emotional simultaneity — mourning and release, fear and hope, exhaustion and fragile optimism — can be psychologically overwhelming and compound years of difficulty. In moments like these, trauma-informed support is essential.
That is why I am raising funds to support trauma-healing initiatives led by The Center for Mind-Body Medicine through their Earth Relatives programming, providing culturally grounded psychological support to Iranians in need.
Why This Matters For Me
I am a London-based Iranian-American and the author of Silk Roads: A Flavor Odyssey from Baku to Beijing.
Both Nowruz and this moment are deeply personal to me. The photo above shows my father celebrating one of his first Nowruz gatherings in America in the 1960s.
I grew up understanding Nowruz as a symbol of resilience and continuity. But when thousands have recently lost their lives and millions have lived through decades of strain, renewal cannot remain symbolic. Healing must accompany hope.
Supporting trauma-informed care is one way to honor both grief and possibility — ensuring that this moment is met with compassion and practical support.
Solidarity matters. Action matters more.
Why Trauma Support Is Critical Now
Trauma is not always a single event. It often accumulates over years and decades.
When emotions collide — grief with relief, fear with hope — the psychological burden can become overwhelming. Unprocessed grief becomes generational. Chronic fear becomes normalized. Collective overwhelm can lead to paralysis.
Trauma-informed psychological support helps individuals regulate fear, process loss and build resilience during periods of extreme uncertainty.
Light alone does not heal. Healing requires care, tools and community.
What Your Donation Will Support
For five years, CMBM, EARTH, #CookForIran, and TanoJan have worked together to unite communities through food and provide trauma-healing support to Iranians around the world.
Impact to date
• 9,500+ people served
• Programs in 15 countries
• 31 cities inside Iran
• 140 cities globally
In the last month alone
• 500+ pro bono participants
• Thousands more waiting for access
Your support will help provide:
• Trauma-informed training for clinicians and community leaders
• Mind–body tools to regulate fear, panic and shock
• Small-group healing spaces for collective processing
• Psychological first aid for individuals and families
These spaces allow people to:
• Be heard
• Share grief, anger, shock and uncertainty
• Begin transforming pain into resilience
• Participants inside Iran receive priority placement.
Most sessions take place on Zoom to ensure safety and accessibility.
How Your Support Helps
• $200 → A 2-hour workshop (up to 100 participants)
• $3,000 → An 8-week healing group (10 participants)
• $3,000 → Training for a new facilitator
• $5,000 → Full trauma-healing certification
This model multiplies access to care, equipping more facilitators to support communities experiencing acute emotional strain.
Providing trauma-informed care helps people regain steadiness, dignity and resilience in the face of profound uncertainty.
Your support helps ensure that Iranians navigating this moment have access to the psychological tools and community spaces needed to begin processing what they have endured.
Thank you for your support and solidarity.
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