This song “Oh Yaran (7 Years)” was inspired by the #7Bahais7years campaign. The song was written by Phoenix Hip-Hop artist Colby Jeffers, and features Russian singer Emphavoice.
#7Bahais7years was a global campaign which took place from 14–21 May, 2015, and set out to create awareness and a show of solidarity for the Baha’is being persecuted in Iran.
The campaign focused on the seven former Baha’i leaders (also known collectively as ‘the Yaran’ which means ‘friends’ in Persian) who, because of their belief in the Baha’i Faith, were arrested and have now been in prison for seven years. The global campaign was based on the theme “Seven Days in Remembrance of Seven Years for the Seven Baha’i Leaders”, and each of the seven days focused on a different member of the seven arrested Baha’i leaders, who’s names are: Mahvash Sabet, Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm.
You can read about the campaign here: Join the Global Campaign to Help Free Imprisoned Baha’is – #7Bahais7years
And also see some examples of the global show of support here: #7Bahais7years – A Glimpse of the Global Campaign
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Naysan is passionate about using the arts and media to explore the teachings of the Baha’i Faith. Back in 2011, Naysan started up the Baha’i Blog project, channeling his experiences in both media and technology companies to help create a hub for Baha’i-inspired content online.