Irene Shirazi planned a trip to visit relatives in Tehran when protests erupted in Iran in January, leading to a brutal crackdown by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and a widespread internet shutdown.
Iranian Protests Met With Deadly Force
Before the internet shutdown began, Shirazi sensed escalating tensions. Protests had been ongoing for over a week, originating in the grand bazaars of various cities and showing no signs of abating.
On the evening of January 8, Shirazi was in Tehran visiting family before returning to New Zealand. She received reports from family and friends in other cities that internet access was being cut off.
Shirazi described the internet shutdown as a gradual process, weakening city by city until it was completely severed. Before the connection was lost, she sent an email to her parents in New Zealand expressing her love and concern.
Following the internet shutdown, internal communications were also blocked. Landlines and mobile calls failed to work after dark, isolating people from one another.
The IRGC then began suppressing protests with lethal force, firing military-style weapons into crowds. Protestors were shot at close range, beaten, and subjected to tear gas. The “Supreme Leader” Ayatollah Khamenei labeled protestors as terrorists on State TV, justifying the violent response.
Shirazi reported that more than 30,000 people were killed in just 48 hours.
A neighbor who participated in the protests described blood-stained streets lined with the bodies of young people – teenagers and those in their twenties – who were seeking freedom.
A doctor friend, fearing repercussions, communicated that hospitals were overwhelmed with casualties. Regime forces were reportedly patrolling hospitals, searching for and targeting wounded protestors.
Families were forced to search through corpses and pay fees for the return of their loved ones’ bodies, with additional charges levied for each bullet found in the body.
Shirazi was staying with family in a gated community and felt relatively safe, but was deeply disturbed by the events unfolding nearby.
In a display of hypocrisy, the IRGC advertised its own pro-regime protest via text message to all registered phone numbers after cutting off access for ordinary citizens.
After regaining internet access upon returning to New Zealand, Shirazi viewed videos of the protests and the crackdown, expressing pride in the bravery of the Iranian people and noting statements of support from the European Union and Australia.
She expressed disappointment with the limited response from New Zealand.
‘They’re butchering everyone’
As internet access has been partially restored, reports of ongoing atrocities are emerging, including families learning of the deaths or detentions of their relatives.
A message from a family friend’s university alumni group translated to a report of a 15-year-old boy being kidnapped by regime forces and his corpse later returned to his family.
“They’re butchering everyone,” the message read.
Iranian people have had enough
Shirazi stated that for 47 years, the Islamic Regime has oppressed Iranians, stripping them of their dignity, autonomy, and basic rights while enriching themselves and sending their families to Western countries.
She believes the Iranian people have reached their limit, and the regime is aware of its eroding power.
Wounded protestors are being taken from hospitals, and individuals are being kidnapped from their homes, facing imprisonment, torture, and execution after sham trials.
Despite the repression, protests are reportedly resuming, with students demonstrating on university campuses.
Back in NZ: Pretending everything is normal
Shirazi described the experience for Iranians in New Zealand as living in a state of worry and helplessness, attempting to maintain a facade of normalcy while fearing for their families back home.
She noted that some Iranians in New Zealand have learned of the deaths of family members in the crackdown, and that a family friend’s brother-in-law was kidnapped with no information provided about his whereabouts.
Shirazi expressed frustration with the slow response and condemnation from New Zealand politicians.
While Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has introduced a travel ban for Iranian ministers, Shirazi noted the silence from other politicians as “deafening.”
* Author’s name has been changed to protect her identity.
‘Just bodies upon bodies’ – Watch this story on TVNZ+
Discover more from Archyworldys
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
