(What you are reading are my memories from those twenty endless days when the Islamic Republic regime cut off the internet and SMS across the whole of Iran. A month has passed since then, and for about ten days now the internet has come back—sort of—across the country, but at a crawl so slow it barely counts. Rumors swirl that the regime plans to keep the internet chained and limited for Iranians, so our voices can never reach the world again. But they will never succeed.)
My sister told me about a satellite video that had been broadcast, showing bodies being identified at Kahrizak (the big cemetery in Tehran). It was heartbreaking… a truly horrifying clip.
Ten full days into the total blackout, the situation remains unbearable. I’m someone who never gets used to anything like this—my whole being is restless, anxious, lost in confusion.
The government has completely shut down the SMS system for ordinary people, yet they bombard the phones of 90 million Iranians with their own state messages, day and night.
Those idiotic, infuriating texts keep coming, full of nonsense that grates on every nerve.
Messages claiming they have “neutralized terrorists” (their code word for innocent people who rose up unarmed against armed criminals in power) and that the public should not worry. How foolish do they think we are? Do they really believe anyone still falls for that tired old trick—calling protesters “terrorists,” “seditionists,” “foreign enemies”?
Cut off from the world, with no satellite TV, I dug out an old radio and tried to catch long-wave signals. Maybe, just maybe, I could find an opposition station like Radio Farda or BBC Persian… and jackpot! Radio Farda!
Listening through the crackle and hiss, through waves of piercing static, I finally heard the voice of the presenter reading the news…
- Trump, in a press conference, urged the people of Iran to keep fighting, never give up, and to identify those responsible for the killings and make their names known. (Excuse me—from where? Our hands are tied; everything is cut off, damn it!)
- Someone managed to get thousands of kilometers away from home, found internet access, and sent a video to BBC News showing countless bodies of the fallen. I didn’t catch all the details. Maybe when the net comes back, I’ll search…
P.S.: That horrific video of bodies stacked one upon another at Kahrizak (the giant cemetery’s cold storage) shook the world.
- The numbers they’re reporting are terrifying. While state television stays silent, Iran International is saying 12,000 killed. Trump himself declared that even one death is too many.
- Trump has ordered countries cooperating with Iran to face 25% tariffs. (Come on—do something real! Have a shred of pity for us! We’re going mad here!)
- He also said the people should keep protesting, never surrender, and that help is on the way! Help is coming… really? When, exactly?
Another piece of news…
They say families must now pay “bullet fees” to collect their loved ones’ bodies from hospital morgues! They have to pay for the very bullets that tore through their dear ones!
Honestly, that is the most painful thing I have ever heard in my life.
Oh—and yesterday… my sister was arrested…
