iPouya

A friend of mine has a cousin in Iran who works as a lawyer. This cousin’s husband is an engineer who runs his own business importing and selling German appliances. They are both civilians; neither of them have any relationship with the Iranian government. Yet, the US-imposed sanctions on Iran’s financial sector has hit them hard.

The sanctions have caused a spiraling exchange rate, meaning that less and less Iranian customers can buy such products that now cost so much that they are out of reach. Consequently, the lack of sales has put his company and the jobs of his employees in jeopardy. The couple have a little girl and boy to support. Should the company go under, they can rely on her training as a lawyer in the short-term to keep the family afloat. Yet, the employees, some of whom are the main breadwinners of their families, may not have such fallback options.

These are the unforeseen consequences of the US sanctions on Iran that go unmentioned and uncovered by the US media and government.

Like many of us Iranians, a friend of mine has a lot of family in Iran. Unlike me, however, her mother and father are in Iran. They are retirees who own their own home. They no longer need to support their children or have related costs, i.e. diapers, tuition, school supplies, etc. Yet, the sanctions have negatively affected them. With their children now living as adults, these retirees spend much of their evenings hosting friends for dinner or being guests at their friends’ houses. With the cost of basic food items increasing exponentially as a result of the sanctions, these retirees have been hosting less and less gatherings at their home. Conversely, they’ve been invited to less gatherings because their friends are likewise unable to afford to have friends over.

Friends and allies, I have a sincere request. The US sanctions are crippling the lives of countless Iranians, and we hear very little about their stories in the mainstream media.

Thus, I will be posting as regularly as possible about how the sanctions affect the civilians inside Iran. I invite you to share with me via direct message any news sources–English or Persian– you come across that demonstrate such inhumane effects. More importantly, if you have friends and family in Iran that have shared with you the real-life struggles that they face because of the sanctions, then I urge you to share their stories. If you are not one to divulge such information publicly then I completely understand. In that case, please get in touch with me, and I will relay the information on your behalf anonymously (a real-life sample to follow). People in the US and the English-speaking world must gain insight into such needless hardship.