Hi guys, as title says I’m an actual Iranian living in Iran. I have a temporary internet connection and don’t know how long will it last…

our corrupt theocratic dictatorship government has cut off our internet access for months now

so ask me anything about the situation here and I will try to answer you

If you want any kind of proof that I’m actually Iranian ask

Here is me writing Persian for you guys translate it in ChatGPT if you want

سلام من ایرانی هستم و اینحام که جواب سوالات شما رو در مورد وضعیت کشورم بدم هر چی دوست دارین ازم بپرسین تا جواب بدم

    • aprehendedmerlin@lemmy.dbzer0.comOP
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      2 months ago

      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…

  • IWW4@lemmy.zip
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    3 months ago

    Very cool. You speak English and Persian. Are there different dialects of Persian and if so how many do you know?

    • aprehendedmerlin@lemmy.dbzer0.comOP
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      3 months ago

      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

  • neidu3@sh.itjust.works
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    3 months ago

    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?

    • aprehendedmerlin@lemmy.dbzer0.comOP
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      3 months ago

      They alphabetically look the same to foreigners but they are totally different languages

      Why are you interested in how I’m connected?

      • neidu3@sh.itjust.works
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        3 months ago

        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?

        • aprehendedmerlin@lemmy.dbzer0.comOP
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          3 months ago

          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

  • leoj@piefed.social
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    3 months ago

    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.

    • aprehendedmerlin@lemmy.dbzer0.comOP
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      2 months ago

      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!

  • buttmasterflex@piefed.social
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    3 months ago

    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?

    • aprehendedmerlin@lemmy.dbzer0.comOP
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      3 months ago

      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

  • leoj@piefed.social
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    3 months ago

    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?

    • aprehendedmerlin@lemmy.dbzer0.comOP
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      2 months ago

      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…

  • GooseGang [she/her]@beehaw.org
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    3 months ago

    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?

    • aprehendedmerlin@lemmy.dbzer0.comOP
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      3 months ago

      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

  • leoj@piefed.social
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    3 months ago

    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?

    • aprehendedmerlin@lemmy.dbzer0.comOP
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      2 months ago

      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

  • Hanrahan@slrpnk.net
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    3 months ago

    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.

  • harambe69@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    3 months ago

    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?

    • aprehendedmerlin@lemmy.dbzer0.comOP
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      2 months ago

      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?

      • harambe69@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        2 months ago

        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.

          • harambe69@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            2 months ago

            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.

  • HubertManne@piefed.social
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    3 months ago

    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?

    • aprehendedmerlin@lemmy.dbzer0.comOP
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      2 months ago

      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

  • spectrums_coherence@piefed.social
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    2 months ago

    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.

    • aprehendedmerlin@lemmy.dbzer0.comOP
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      2 months ago

      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

        • aprehendedmerlin@lemmy.dbzer0.comOP
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          2 months ago

          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…

    • aprehendedmerlin@lemmy.dbzer0.comOP
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      2 months ago

      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…