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On Sunday I shared an e-mail from my friend Shahriar, who is in Tehran. He told us about his anxiety about the unrest triggered by a disputed presidential election.
Thismorning, another message from Shahriar landed in my inbox in which he discussed the effect of the turmoil on daily life. Below is an excerpt from his message, which he agreed to share with our readers. The Times is withholding Shahriar’s last name to protect his safety.
--Amber Smith in Los Angeles
People talk about recent news and observations in addition to rumors while they are shopping, at work and even in gatherings. My friends don’t go to school because it’s final exams time. Some universities have already postponed final exams, and in some other universities students went on strike demanding final exam postponement. I guess the government also don’t really want to have students at universities at this time for any reason because gatherings at universities could mobilize student activists and may cause problems for the government. I haven’t seen or even called many of my friends so far because really it’s not a good time to hang out and have fun while all these things happening out there in the streets (even if ur not involved) As I told you before, situation is getting calm down so there is a chance that I can hang out with my friends...
...When I talked to my friends they mostly prefer to hang out at home than going out, which is not risky from my point of view but some folks are more conservative. Even Basij checkpoints don’t seem that are looking for boys and girls or drunk people but more for demonstration organizers and activists.
Some people like my mom is so nervous and stressed, but I always try to remind her about 8 years Iran-Iraq war that we already passed and was so much more intense than the current situation but she responds that this is more stressful because it is happening between Iranian people??
I also talk to my brother a few times a day at work, and we tell each other about recent/hot news. He works for a private bank and the main discussion at work is the current situation. An unclear and uncertain future takes a lot of key businesses into halt.
Another friend who has a jewelry shop in central Tehran had to close down his shop for safety issues a few times because of demonstrations and even possible ones around that area.
Midnight ‘Allah Akbar’ (God is great) is still going on, but I am not sure how long this would go on?
My mom even gets nervous and stressed by that, and I guess she just became so sensitive because of the violence she has seen on TV’s and photos. which was totally rare after revolution 1979 …
Cheers,
Shahriar