Below is a field report, posted by the Coordinating Council of Teachers’ Trade Unions, 10 days after the start of the United States-Israel war.
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It has been ten days since Tehran, the city that never sleeps, has fallen into an unsettling silence.
The streets are emptier than ever, and the shop shutters are down. Here, life and the economy no longer function; the only concern is surviving until tomorrow morning.
In days when anxious people need safety and shelter more than anything, the face of the city has strangely turned military-like. In the main squares and crossroads, vehicles for repression and the heavy barrels of machine guns are on display.
The numerous checkpoints across the province cast a heavy shadow of fear over the few tired and anxious passers-by. It seems that before we worry about the sky, we must be afraid of the streets of our own city.
Under this volatile sky, another silent war has begun, with empty tables of the people.
In these 10 days, the price of even the simplest essentials for survival, like eggs and potatoes, has tripled. The suffering of a father who, in the midst of the war’s anxiety, can no longer afford a simple meal for his family, is no less than the devastation caused by bombs. The long lines at gas stations and bakeries (especially in the early days) must also be added to the daily pressures.
But the nights are the cruelest part of this story. The continuation of attacks and the news of civilian deaths have stolen sleep and peace from the city. The heaviest burden of this terror lies on the minds of displaced children, who tremble at every terrifying sound and have no shelter other than the trembling arms of their parents.
The greater tragedy is our absolute helplessness; there is no siren to warn us and give us a chance to take shelter, and no shelter has been prepared where a mother can hide her child.
Tehran’s citizens, abandoned and defenseless, are simply waiting for fate.
And more bitter than all this is watching groups of regime supporters marching in these grief-stricken streets, claiming to mourn, but with slogans and speeches full of threats.
These displays of power in days when society’s psyche is shattered by fear of bombing and death plant a deep sense of insecurity and alienation in the hearts of the citizens. It’s as if we are the loneliest and most defenseless humans on earth in our own home.