Marina Nemat was born in 1965 in Tehran, Iran. At the age of 16, she was arrested on false charges and spent more than two years in the infamous Evin prison, in Tehran, where she, along with many of her friends, was tortured. She was condemned to die, but survived because one of the Revolutionary guards, Ali, pleaded for her life. But the price Ali exacted was high: Nemat was forced to marry him. Ironically, it was Ali’s family who eventually secured Marina’s release after Ali was assassinated. Marina rejoined her family but was further traumatized by their reluctance to acknowledge her ordeal.

Marina came to Canada in 1991 and has called it her home ever since. It took 20 years for Marina to tell anyone about her ordeal and now she travels the world, telling her story and tirelessly working to end the cycle of violence worldwide.

Marina visited us at Crestwood in January 2012, where she did a mini-assembly for YARRD students, as well as a small group interview with So Hee Pyo, Jenny Son, Jesse Freedman, and Lindsey Swartzman.