‘I failed to convince my parents to leave the home’: The BBC journalist fears for the family in Tehran – BBC News in Serbian
I failed to convince my parents to leave the home, let alone Tehran, after US President Donald Tramp warned the inhabitants of « immediately evacuating » from the capital of Iran.
« In our years, with all health problems, that we are stuck in a traffic jam for hours and then to face the shortages of basic supplies in overcrowded cities …
« It’s just not possible for us to leave Tehran, » the father told me.
Both my parents are diabetics.
In the past month, my mother was tied to a house because of strong dizziness and could only walk with someone’s help.
The father suffers more chronic diseases and can barely cross ten meters, and then he has to stop rest.
Watch the video: Tehran residents leave the city
Can’t everyone evacuate
But my parents are not the only ones who decided to stay.
The woman in Iran explains that her parents don’t want to leave Tehran.
« They believe it is better to die with dignity in their own home than to be displaced. »
Her parents tell her, « If our home will be destroyed, we will rather go along with him. »
Another woman from Tehran explains why for many going out the city is simply impossible.
« We have neighbors who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease or some in a wheelchair ».
To those who decided to stay, or cannot leave, life is not easy.
Food and fuel shortages
Many ATMs are empty.
It was only open to each tenth store, says a woman from Tehran.
One resident told me that there was no water in his building since the start of the conflict, when the tube was broke, and there was no master to fix it.
« We sent children to a safer place, but we stayed for cats in our city, due to the security of our buildings.
« God will be coming to finish, » one man told me.
He thinks of numerous cats living on the streets of Tehran, and they are taking many residents.
Total traffic collapse
Approximately as many people are in Tehran as well as in the entire Israel – about ten million.
Imagine an attempt to evacuate this hectic metropolis with traffic collapse and limited fuel consumption.
Only 25 liters of gas daily are allowed to each driver, and those who try to leave hours are stuck in traffic.
Some people told me that they were left halfway without fuel.
Many run towards the quieter northern provinces to Mazandaran and Gilan.
For a trip that from Tehran usually lasts three to four hours, in the past few days it took more than twelve hours to some drivers.
« We followed the traffic situation for the last few days, hoping to be able to go when not a spitz.
« But in the end, we stuck in a big crowd after all, » said another resident of Tehran.
« The weather is unbearably hot, and because of the shortage of fuel, no one can use the climate.
« Some cars are broken by the way or are left without fuel.
« There are kilometer » on each gas station.
And those who manage to reach their destinations face new challenges because there are not enough housing for rent.
The food prices are dizzying, and taxi drivers charge excessively high prices.
« When they kill us, you’ll just say, ‘We told you' »
Many Iranians feel that after a decade of oppression, overnight drawn into a war that never chose.
« Neither Benjamin Netanyahu (Israeli Prime Minister) and Israel, nor the Islamic Republic does not care about us, » he said for the BBC Persian service man who decided to stay in Tehran.
« We are trapped between the brutal regime, who does not care about our own people, and those who bomb us to rockets, » one woman told me.
He believes that the call of the American president on evacuation is just an excuse to justify civilian victims.
It has a message for Donald Tramp: « What do you mean by Tehran, while sitting on the other side of the world?
« When they kill us, you’ll just say, ‘We told you. »
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