'We Will Build a Nation' is the last song of the late Marjan, a duet performed with Rouzbeh Emad. The celebrated actress and singer, Shahla Safi Zamir, popularly known as Marjan, died on Friday, June 5. She was 72. Using her distinctive voice as a weapon against those who tried to silence her, Marjan’s political fame rivaled her enduring celebrity.
Marjan became a household name in the 1970s after building a successful movie career that spanned a decade. In exile, Marjan performed at multiple conventions of pro-democracy dissidents, including a 2005 gathering in Washington, D.C., attended by thousands of Iranians from across the U.S., as well as at an annual NCRI rally attended by 100,000 people at Villepinte, near Paris, which the Iranian regime plotted to bomb in 2018.
Marjan's legacy is rich with personal sacrifice motivated by an unconditional love for her people. "From now on," she told a magazine after arriving in Los Angeles, "until my enchained people are freed, my voice will be my weapon. I prefer not to use it in concerts, but rather in opposition rallies held against the mullahs ruling over my country."
