As an American, I'm sorry that both our governments suck. :(
Sorry for late response just got internet access. Yes both suck. I live in a theocratic dictatorship which murders their own people as much as needed to keep their grip on power. Trump is definitely an old asshole billionaire like the rest of them. This guy promised to help us and now he is negotiating a deal with these murderers. guess nobody actually cared...
Very cool. You speak English and Persian. Are there different dialects of Persian and if so how many do you know?
There are a few I can understand some of them We have:
azari (آذری) or turki (ترکی)
shomali (شمالی)
Kordi(کردی)
Lori(لری)
Threre are also Afghan people they speak a dialect call pashtoo (پشتو)
Some people speak Arabic here too mostly in Southern parts of the country
There are others too these are the most prevalent ones
Ofcourse the official one is called Farsi (فارسی)
Most people here speak understand this one
When you shop and do day to day things , is Farsi the language typically used?
Sorry for the late reply I just got internet access today. Yes of course. I mean why not
What's your current method/workaround for connecting to the internet?
Also, I almost typed "salam" as an attempt at an informal greeting, until I realized I was thinking of Arabic, heh. How similar/close, if at all, are Farsi and Arabic?
They alphabetically look the same to foreigners but they are totally different languages
Why are you interested in how I'm connected?
I'm a network engineer, and curious about workarounds and wondering how thoroughly regular internet access is blocked. Is it enough to use a VPN these days, or do you need more off-grid technologies such as satellite or packet radio?
It is in a whitelist only mode right now only afew select websites are accessible here
I'm connected through a VPN bought through blackmarket. Yes there is a blackmarket for vpns for a very steep price so every MB counts
Miserable right? That's how I describe it
How those VPNs work? They have connections in a select few government run datacenters that are still somewhat connected and get whitelisted ips servers and traffic that they sell for a unimaginable profit
Edit: people call them outbound sellers here. powerful rich people connected to the regime
How much of an impact does federal/local government (or equivalent distinctions in Iran) have on your daily life? What does a typical day look like for you?
No much, providences do not have any kind of power here. they follow the orders and laws from capital on all matters
Daily life is mostly miserable here right now. Can you imagine triple digit inflation?
It's a reality here for years now for us
most government systems and programs are collapsing
People are just hoping that one day this brutal dictatorship gonna collapse and everything will finally end
They murder whoever speaks up against them in a whim
We don't have guns how can we fight these people on our own? That's why we look to outside powers to help...
We have no choice
That's horribly bleak. For what it's worth, I hope you stay safe and have your basic needs met.
Thanks I just hope that this phase will one day finally over
Are you angry at the United States, your fellow Iranians, the Iranian Government, or anyone in particular? Does the average Iranian have malice towards anyone like that?
Sorry for late response just got internet access. Average Iranian Absolutely despises this government and whatever they stand for. These people committed attriosities beyond believe over the years... nobody likes them only a small percentage of the population who benefit financially from them like these people. The US? We are angry but not for the reasons you think we were expecting the US to hit these people hard with a ground attack not just air strikes giving us a chance to fight when eventually the regime falls into chaos...
Do people talk to each other about their anger and distrust of the government, or do people keep that bottled up? Is it an "open secret"?
Sorry to ask so many questions, I missed you here the first time and wanted to get questions + follow up in, just in case you return.
Sorry for the late response just got internet access today. Yes they do. Actually a lot but not out loud in smaller groups with friends family coworkers etc. Why? Because regime Goonies (we call them عرزشی) are everywhere listening and if they think you are an issue enough you're done for and probably get a long prison sentence or the worst get hanged for being an Israeli spy!
what do you usually eat for dinner / lunch?
Do you pay for healthcare (doctors visit, dental exam, vision exam?)
What have you been doing to pass the time without internet/tv?
Sorry for the response just got internet access today. For lunch today I ate Persian lentil rice for lunch and afew boiled eggs for dinner
Health care is little complicated here. most people who work in government owned or semi private companies offices agency etc have a insurance attached to their job but the quality of that insurance varies widely depending on how well of that company or office etc is. Privately working people mostly pay for their own insurance
We made and run a small social media platform with our friends on a rented VPS in datacenter. Kinda a small Twitter if you will talking about stuff. Sign up is very control to keep the outsiders and regime Goonies out
I’m interested in going to a Persian restaurant next month. Any favorites you would recommend?
Also are there things internet strangers can do to help support Iranian people other than staying informed?
Just one thing Please don't believe what this regime people say on social media they have whitelisted Simcards and are paid and told to speak regime propaganda 247 on western social media.
For a persian Delicacy I suggest: خورشت فسنجان
In English: khoresht fesenjan
I know it's hard to pronounce but it's delicious and you for sure gonna enjoy it
Thanks! Good to know.
The khoresht fesenjan looks tasty! I’ll give it a try.
Did you go for that? How was it? Liked it?
i have nothing to ask but can only wish you the beat and hope things turn out a better
Sorry your world is a shit show, more so right now.
I just got internet access today sorry for late response. Thanks we all hope we can get rid of these lunatic mullahs one day...
I can't think of a good question.
I just wanted to say that the vast majority of Americans have NO ill will against the Iranian citizens.
Do you say khuda hafiz commonly? Are there any towers of silence left in Iran? What's a daily stable of your diet? Do you still have devas/asuras in folklore?
Say khuda hafez(خداحافظ) essentially mean bye for now
What are towers of silence? Genuinely curious never heard about them
I would say like mean middle eastern nations we eat a tone of rice. It is a major ingredient of almost all our meals
Sorry what's devas/asuras?
Thanks for the response! Towers of silence: ancient zoroastrian burial structures
devas/asuras: divine entities in both hindu and zoroastrian culture, except our gods and demons are switched around from each other.
Sorry I know as an Iranian I should know more about Zoroastrian (زرتشتی) but actually don't know much about it
It's completely understandable, we're hoarding all the zoroastrians in India after all. Still, I would've thought that something of pre-islamic culture would've survived in the folklore of the common people.
Do you know of any such legends?
Edit: such as your name. Merlin the wizard/mage. Mage from Magi. Magi from the ancient persian Magus. Magus meaning learned ones, the ones we called the priests of fire/priests of Sun in India.
This is really cool. As an Iranian I'm ashamed I will have to expand my knowledge on this. Thank you
Glad I could inspire your curiosity!
There are other people here who know much more also there are still Zoroastrians here too definitely not as much as India though. I'm an ignorant idiot who doesn't know his culture 😑
How typical do you think you are? like what percent of the population do you think has more or less wealth than you and what level of education did you achieve vs what is typical? what is your job like and what all did you need to do to get there?
Sorry for late response just got internet access today. I would say I'm pretty typical. Average wages average job average education. I have a bachelor's degree. I'm a mechanical engineer and This is pretty typical most Iranian have higher education here. I work as an inspector for CNG fueled cars. Yes many cars here can run on dual fuel both gas and CNG. Natural gas is pretty cheap here so that's the logic
natural gas is cheap over here to but they never took off although my brother owns one.
It seems like you really looking forward for a ground invasion to remove the regime. I can totally understand that.
I feel the reluctant on the U.S. side is that U.S. have fought a number of these drawn out invasions with large spending and human casualties. In the end, they left these country in chaos and stagnation, arguably not much better than before.
Do you feel if there is a ground invasion of iran, will it be a different story?
Plus, how do you feel about U.S. bombing iranian universities; do you feel it is necessary?
(sorry it feels a bit like I am forcing your answers towards a direction. I am genuinely curious in what you think.
We just want an equal chance to fight this brutal murderous corrupt regime. Ofcourse I don't want to see the possibility of my country in chaos and ruin but what other choice do we have? Believe it or not with these people in power we are already heading that way in an slow and painful pace...
I believe my country is quite different to Iraq and Afghanistan. With all the respect to those people they don't have a national identity like we do. They are tribal people and loyal to their respective tribes and ethnicities. We are not like that if you ask an Iranian were they're loyalty to they don't say kord people or Arab people etc. They would say I'm Iranian and love my country and it's rich history. That's why we won't fall into chaos like them.
Also we have a revolution leader (our former crown prince Reza Pahlavi ) and a comprehensive plan and cabinet members for the country when the regime eventually falls. You can search for it. It is called project Phoenix
Peaceful protest? They see you on the street how many people be there. you and all of them instantly get shot that simple and then they call you Israeli spy!. They don't even give the bodies of the deceased to their family without a ransom and a formal declaration that their child was indeed an spy. Can you believe this? Like I'm describing an dystopian nightmarish movie to you right? Can you see the anger and resentment in my words...
You don't a shred of the atrocities these people commit here on daily basis
They murdered 40+ thousand people in 2 nights... They have no legitimacy.
The bombing you are referring to was a specific faculty in that university which was working on military research and equipment also the universities here are closed for months now because they in their infinite wisdom are so afraid of the angry students uprising that they closed them so no one was there to get hurt
Yes, I totally feel you, that is brutal, corrupt, and inhumane. You deserve better 😿
Thanks didn't mean to make you feel bad, just it angers me. it seems like the people in the west don't know anything about this regime... I don't if this is intentional by the media there or just they don't care. just please spread the word there as much as you can. I know Trump is an asshole PDF billionaire but that doesn't make the regime here the good guys... It's not black and white...
How is the government describing to Iranians, americas ridiculous invasion?
We asked US for help we needed it we could not fight these people with bare hands and untrained citizens we are not soldiers. What could we do? We protest and they shoot to kill every single person on the street...
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