“We feel like we want to scream, but something is blocking our throats,” wrote the man – one part of a series of staccato messages sent from Tehran as internet connections in Iran came back into service.
In the aftermath of the most brutal crackdown on protests in their country since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iranians are caught in a sense of despair, hopelessness and confusion about what they endured, and what their futures hold.
“I don’t know how to explain what happened, or what it has done to us,” one journalist from Iran told The National. “Life goes on? That depends on what you mean by life.”
Amid grieving for loved ones killed in the protests, rage at their government’s seemingly limitless ability to use violence to quash dissent, fear over the prospect of another conflict with the US, and continuing struggles with sky-high inflation, many Iranians feel hopeless and angry.
“The city has basically returned to its normal rhythm. But everyone is angry and upset,” said Ahmed, a protestor who was injured and lost a friend during demonstrations in the city of Isfahan last month. “It’s impossible to turn a blind eye to this massacre.”
The Iranian government has published the names of nearly 3,000 people killed in the unrest, which it blames on a US and Israeli-backed plot against the country. Many who took part in the protests dispute those claims, and activists outside the country say the death toll is at least 6,800, most of them protesters.
Life goes on? That depends on what you mean by life Anonymous Iranian journalist
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