WUNRN
USA - LETHAL IMMIGRANT DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE
Elahe Amani – WNN Special
Featured Commentary
(WNN) - February 18, 2014 - California, USA: Today her body
lays lifeless as her hopes and dreams for a life of accomplishment in the
Almost exactly one year to
the day before she was taken to the hospital due to her life-threatening
injuries, Sanaz quoted a message that tried to answer the riddle of life and
death itself in her
Facebook page.
“The real question is not
whether life exists after death. The real question is whether you are alive
before death,” said Sanaz’s December 9, 2012 Facebook post as she quoted a
mystic from
“May the stars carry your
sadness away, may the flowers fill your heart with beauty, may hope forever
wipe away your tears. And, above all, may silence make you strong,” said
another quote posted by Sanaz in July 13, 2013. This time Sanaz placed the
quote in her Facebook page only four weeks before she would marry her now
jailed husband.
But the truth is that
‘silence’ did not make Sanaz ‘strong’. It actually may have contributed greatly
to her death and the lethal injuries she received under what has yet to be
revealed in court as a severe domestic violence case.
“A domestic violence victim
may stay with her abuser rather than calling the police,” says the AIC – American Immigration Council – Immigration Policy
Center.
“Precisely because so many
immigrant women suffer in silence, [U.S.] lawmakers can easily overlook the
specific reforms necessary to ensure that CIR [Comprehensive Immigration
Reform] does not inadvertently create new barriers and establish eligibility
criteria that are beyond the reach of some immigrant women,” continues the AIC.
As a community activist
working on issues of violence against women I know firsthand how educated and
bright young women can take dangerous risks. At one point, in one of the
battered women shelters I visited in
“Battered immigrant women
often feel isolated from their communities, both domestically and
internationally. Moreover, foreign-born women are frequently uninformed,
unfamiliar with or simply confused about, their legal rights and the social
services available to them in the United States,” says the American University Washington School of Law.
“This is due, in part, to
the lack of interactions between immigrant victims and government agencies.
Unfortunately, too often both, governmental and non-governmental agencies that
help to redress domestic violence are not prepared to meet the diverse needs of
battered immigrant women,” adds the School of Law.
With unresponsive brain
injuries and severe swelling in the brain, doctors declared Sanaz brain dead
soon after she arrived at her second medical stop,
Fast medical intervention
is important for a brain injury like the one Sanaz received as each minute, and
each second lost, brings death closer.
Consistent today within
other global societies, particularly in Western and Southern Asia, women in
Iran continue to be ostracized, blamed and re-victimized whenever they choose
to leave, not stay in, abusive relationships. I know several of these women in
my community advocacy work who have stood up for themselves and I am very proud
of them.
A certain amount of
responsibility though can be laid on a woman who may take risks by marrying
someone she hardly knows. But the government of
“This is a parents worse
nightmare come true…,” said Gail Brandly, Nurse Supervisor for
“I figured she [Sanaz] was
probably a student, and so I thought perhaps she would be on LinkedIn or
Facebook or something like that,” said Brandly when Sanaz first arrived at the
hospital. “So I found an absolutely beautiful resume, complete with a picture, that just
showed me that she was a fabulous person,” the Nurse Supervisor added. “At the
time the staff did not know anything about this young woman who came in with
critical injuries.”
When Sanaz was admitted to
Michgan’s
Warning Signs of
Danger
Without knowing anything
about him previously Sanaz met 34-year-old Nima Nassiri online in Facebook,
outlined her sister Sara in a recent interview with IranWire. Born in the
“Many battered women dated
or knew their abuser for less than six months before they were engaged or
living together,” says “Signs to Look for in a Battering Personality,”
a 2004 report from California State University in Fullerton.
Married on August 19, 2013
in
No one noticed then, but
dangerous warning signs were growing the moment the brand new newlyweds left
As she traveled to the
This kind of situation can
be seen over and over again with numerous immigrant women who have faced
domestic violence.
“Battered immigrant victims
who have only lived in the United States for a comparatively short time may not
have made as many trustworthy personal relationships, and as a result, have a
harder time seeking support outside their relationship with the abuser and his
family,” outlines American University Washington College of Law. “In addition
to threats associated with immigration status, an immigrant woman may also
encounter challenges from her cultural community as she begins to explore
addressing her abuser’s domestic violence,” continued the
With a height that only
reaches less than five feet tall, Nima Nassiri is a small man. Standing next to
Sanaz who was over five feet seven inches in height the couple would definitely
have attracted attention. Referring to other young men as “dude” in his
Facebook page Nima’s ‘online persona’ has a side that may have been shrugged
off by others as insignificant, but it isn’t insignificant.
Nima’s words clearly depict
frustration, anger and conflict with the world.
“…they’ve got you so
confused, so divided inside that you cant even see right, you’ve been conned
into thinking the grey areas are ok but its their of making sure you stay mixed
up in your head. buy them prescription drugs instead, fattin’ ya up like cattle
when it comes to battle. so they can wipe you out with a weak mind and soul,
they are cowards this is how they roll,” said Nassiri in a jumble of words
similar to numerous other original poems that can be found on his Facebook
page.
Nassiri’s disturbing
Twitter account, that abruptly stops in April 2012, can still be found online.
In it are words that are littered with profanity and ghetto-slang. Along with
this is one very troubling music video: showing a fictional depiction of a
violent murder of a young woman who’s death is hidden and covered up by a male
murderer as the dead woman’s body is systematically rolled up in a carpet to
hide her body following her death. But should this have been important to Sanaz
or her family?
Do violent images in media
film or video, as well as violent references in rap or rock music, actually
provoke violent behavior? No one knows for sure. But some studies say yes they
definitely do.
A study by the American
Psychological Association, based in
“Aggressive thoughts can
influence perceptions of ongoing social interactions, coloring them with an
aggressive tint,” said lead researcher Craig A. Anderson, Ph.D. in the study
from
Other researchers have come
to the same conclusions about the effects of violent media and music.
“It is apparent that there
is a direct correlation between violent music videos and people behaving
violently,” said researcher Eliana Tropeano after conducting detailed
research and a specific study on the topic of music and violence for Western
Connecticut State University in 2006. “An operational definition of violent
behavior is physically and verbally hurting others, cursing, stealing,
inappropriate gestures and negative views of women. Whether it is the lyrics,
the beat, or watching the entertainers act violently, people in general who are
viewing these music videos are behaving in an inappropriate way,” continued
Tropeano.
But is part of the problem
in violence against women stemming from misdirected male aggression?, ask
numerous female women advocates who are working to stop domestic violence.
“…we still live in a
patriarchal society. Expectations that men should be strong, masculine, and
more powerful than women can be very destructive to a man at risk for becoming
violent. The shame triggered by the idea that
they are appearing weak or unmanly can trigger some men to become enraged or to
act on violent impulses,” says author, speaker and PhD Clinical Psychologist Lisa Firestone, who has spoken as an expert
for forensic crime teams in the past.
Becoming an Organ
Donation Hero
After suffering under what
prosecuting attorneys in the case have called ‘a lethal attack’ Sanaz managed,
even with critical injuries, to call the police for help. Her voice was hardly
coherent on the phone though when she called 911, outlined the postmortem
police report.
“In the late evening of
12/8/13 a phone call by Mrs. Nezami had indicated that she had been assaulted
by her husband…Mrs. Nezami had sounded lethargic and Houghton County Sheriff
deputies were dispatched to the residence,” states the police report. When the
police arrived they found “Mrs. Nezami was unresponsive with some blood
around her mouth.”
“…every parent just wants
to know that their child is – if they’re hurt, they’re surrounded by people
that care,” continued Nurse Supervisor Gail Brandly describing Sanaz’s time
before and while she was in the hospital in Marquette. Through the work of the
medical team they managed to work closely with her family in
“And they want to be able
to say goodbye to their child, and you should have that opportunity. So we were
bound and determined that we were going to do everything possible to make that
happen,” she added.
Using Yahoo Messenger video
conferencing, the nursing team at Marquette General Hospital came up with an
innovative way for Sanaz’s family to be far away yet virtually present right
there beside Sanaz during her last hours. Setting a computer laptop near
Sanaz’s hospital bed her family could watch as the nurses came to sit with
Sanaz as the family’s instructed them to stroke her hair, to kiss her on the
forehead, and to tell them that she is loved as they worked to help her. They
worked even in Sanaz’s ‘brain dead’ condition, to help her feel the love of her
family surrounding her.
As the process to turn off
the machines that supported Sanaz’s body drew near, Nurse Supervisor Gail
Brandly mentioned the idea of organ donation to her father. The tragedy in the
death of Sanaz was doubled by her family history. It was only a few years
earlier that Sanaz had lost her own mother to a car wreck in
“…this was a truly loving
family, and there were many of them. I actually met many of the family members
[online], and then eventually, it got to the point where we did discuss the
organ donation. The moment I looked at this girl’s resume, I knew that she
would want to be an organ donor. And her family didn’t hesitate. They said yes
right away and truly believed in helping others.”
With generosity from the
heart Sanaz’s father asked that the organ donations be accompanied by one
thing. A prayer that would be read outloud in the operating room.
“I’ve been a nurse for 30
years and I’ve been involved in organ donation – I’m actually the organ
donation liaison at our hospital – and I’ve never had a family give me a prayer
to read in the operating room. He asked us to read to the transplant team when
they arrived before the [organ] recovery began, ‘God I give you my child, so
that she may save many great lives, for we are all your children.’ And for a
father, that just really gives you a sense of his character,” outlined Nurse Supervisor
Brandly.
Each separate transplant
team that brought Sanaz’s organs to recipients in different U.S. States heard
the prayer from her father. All told seven lives were immediately saved when
that act of courage and generosity took place.
“She saved seven lives.
There were five teams that came from four different states. Her heart, lung,
liver, pancreas, kidneys and intestines were recovered for transplant. They
were transplanted into seven individuals all successfully, and she saved seven
lives. But it’s not just the seven lives that she saved. She also – I mean, she
helped thousands of people. For one thing, everyone who loves those people are
all affected by this transplant. I mean, she’s a hero,” continued Brandly.
“It is sad when a life is
lost so young. But it is especially sad when the life is taken. As the
recipient of two organs [a kidney and a pancreas] from young organ donors, I am
always amazed at the generosity of parents and loved ones to give the gift of
life at the time of their loss,” said WNN – Women News Network staff member
Deborah Mazon who is herself a double organ transplant recipient when she heard
about the fate of Sanaz. “Thank you dear family. Please know that your gift is
cherished!” Mazon added.
Stopping Deadly
Domestic Violence
As a tragic hero the lives
of those Sanaz touched also reach further than those who received a life-saving
organs or the community that surrounds organ recipients. Iranian students at
Michigan Tech, were excited to meet Sanaz when classes began on January 13,
2014, but that day never came.
In a quest to pursue her
dreams by launching her doctorate education as a PhD candidate in Environmental
Engineering at Michigan Tech, Sanaz wanted deeply to reach her full potential,
conveyed Sanaz’s sister Sara. Michigan Tech seemed to be the best fit for Sanaz
as the MT Graduate Program in Engineering Sciences is known for its excellence.
Michigan Tech has also been actively working to encourage female
students from around the world to enroll.
In contrast to her husband,
Sanaz was proficient in three languages with a completed Master’s Degree in
Translation Studies and a Bachelors in Environmental Health Engineering from
But, like other women who
have suffered under intimidation and/or violence in their home, Sanaz’s shining
intelligence and ambition did not work to protect her from the violent danger
that became part of her future. It especially did not protect her from the
deadly violence that would erupt inside her own
Under a 5 million dollar
(USD) bond, Nima Nassiri, is now in jail waiting for his case to be heard under
a second-degree murder charge. On Wednesday
February 12, 2014, two days before Valentine’s Day, Nassiri appeared before the
judge in the preliminary procedures at the Houghton County Courthouse as he
‘stood mute to his charges’. A motion for Nassiri to undergo a mental exam as
well as to fully cooperate with the forensics lab team has been granted by the
court.
Every day in
It’s vitally important for
women, as well as family and friends, to know the warning signs for domestic
violence. Unfortunately the rescue for Sanaz was not recognized or put into
place in time before her deadly assault took place.
In the
In response to the case of
Sanaz Nezami and her tragic death, that made the hearts of all women advocates
heavy, a group of Iranian women including myself initiated an open letter petition to the leadership
authorities of Michigan which includes numerous signatures of concerned Iranian
men and women.
While Sanaz was far from home,
those who did surround her at her death treated her like a ‘beloved’ family
member. Sanaz’s donated heart was small enough to be used to save the life of a
12-year-old girl organ recipient.
“We just wanted to hug her and hold her and rock her because she [Sanaz] was so far away from home,” said Nurse Supervisor Gail Brandly as she described the nurses who cared and loved Sanaz Nezami during the last hours of her life.
WEBSITE LINK INCLUDES VIDEO:
This video focuses on
the unique challenges immigrant women face in navigating the road to
independence that arise from language barriers, cultural differences, social
isolation, and economic insecurity stemming from their inability to obtain
legal employment. Five brave survivors of domestic violence describe the
hurdles they faced in escaping abusive circumstances, accessing social and
legal services, and attaining legal immigration status. Social workers, health
care providers, law enforcement officers, and lawyers who wish to assist
immigrant victims of domestic violence should find this video useful. This
video has been created for the University of Pennsylvania School of Law
documentaries and Law Program.