Los Angeles is home to many activists who devote their lives to improving the lives of others in the Middle East, but few are more committed than Laila Al-Marayati. An obstetrician, a writer and a public speaker on Palestinian affairs, Dr. Al-Marayati is the mother of four children and the cofounder and chairperson of KinderUSA, a humanitarian organization that focuses on the well-being of Palestinian children in the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon.

The Shams Ensemble arrived in Irvine in March during the Iranian new year period for a series of performances at the ultra-beautiful Segerstrom Center for the Arts. For several nights, the band of Iranian master musicians partnered with the Pacific Symphony and other guest musicians/composers for a program celebrating Nowrouz. But on the final evening (Tuesday, March 27th) the Shams Ensemble took the stage unaccompanied, and even with some members missing due to various issues, managed to blow the roof off a rapt audience.

Despite the Islamic Republic Iran's use of any and all available methods to quell dissent—including propaganda poems, novels and films—in a country that even the uneducated bricklayers recite poems by heart, the voice of the poets cannot be silenced. Like rain it will seep into every crevice and feed the seedlings. In Iran's Green Movement we see signs of saplings that have broken through pavements and are growing fast in the streets and squares.