Personal thoughts on Iran:
Foreword: The following words are our personal assessment. In addition, we have only traveled a small part of Iran.
We had a wonderful time with so many lovely and helpful people who made our 6 weeks in Iran an unforgettable, great experience. But we also experienced Iran from another side. From a side that makes us sad and thoughtful. From a side where people complained to us about their suffering. their sorrow about a future without prospects, in which the economy is on the bottom and freedom is a foreign word. A country where you can end up in prison if you choose the wrong words with the wrong people or don't wear a headscarf. In the cities, we saw a few young women every day who were no longer wearing a headscarf as a protest. We still admire the enormous courage of these mostly very young women!
We got the impression that a large part of the population is dissatisfied with the government! But we also had the feeling, that with this mass of people critical of the government, more people should take part in these demos and it should be more widespread. But at the same time, we realized the enormous fear that people have! The fear of repression, prison and government power. The country has been shaped by fear of the government for years, and as you can see again and again, unfortunately not without reason! In addition, awareness about political situation and mobilization is made extremely difficult by the severe limitations of the internet. Social media and WhatsApp, as well as many VPNs, are blocked by the government.
For us it is unimaginable how a country that has potential in every respect can slide into such misery! All in the name of religion. But besides religion, it is certainly also simply about keeping the mullahs in power.
Besides oil and gas, Iran also has many other raw materials such as coal, iron, copper, chromium, lead, zinc and uranium. In addition, it has its own agriculture, a large industry (own car industry, etc..), a huge potential for tourism and, last but not least, a very high level of education and a good, but unfortunately crumbling infrastructure. All factors for a prosperous country. But the regime prefers to stick to the imposition of the Islamic faith and combine politics and religion into an inseparable unit. This to the sorrow of many Iranians. Many Iranians, especially young people, are not religious and want nothing more than a complete regime change that gives them freedom and an economic situation in which they earn more than a worthless $150 a month, if they even have a job at all!
Nobody can say whether a regime change will come or not. Some people we met have already given up hope completely, others think it's only a few months away. It is clear that the demonstrations will return again and again, will be bloodily suppressed again and again and will start again.
We wish the people nothing more than that they can live in a free world, that we take just for granted so much!
In the sense: Woman, Life, Liberty
