close button
Switch to Iranwire Light?
It looks like you’re having trouble loading the content on this page. Switch to Iranwire Light instead.
Society & Culture

What the lifting of sanctions means to me: 10 ordinary Iranians speak out

January 19, 2016
IranWire Citizen Journalist
5 min read
What the lifting of sanctions means to me: 10 ordinary Iranians speak out
What the lifting of sanctions means to me: 10 ordinary Iranians speak out

An Iranian citizen journalist, who writes under a pseudonym to protect her identity, wrote the following article on the ground inside Iran.

 

I have been waiting for a long time for international sanctions against Iran to be lifted. I have pretty much been counting the minutes. On the night the deal was finalized, my family and I stayed up until Mr. Zarif and Ms. Mogherini made the announcement that the sanctions were over. That made us very happy.

Today, as I was on my way to university, I thought it would be a good idea to ask 10 ordinary people about their hopes and expectations now that sanctions have been lifted. I wanted to know what their predictions were for the future. I selected 10 people and asked them what it meant for them. Although it was a random selection of people, I tried to talk to both men and women, and people young and old. Their answers were interesting to me, and I wanted to share them with you.

 

Morteza, 32, cleaner for a private company

I don’t think about these things a lot. I only heard the news and noticed that people were happy. I have no idea about the results will be — but I hope they increase my salary.

 

Hamid-Reza, 53, taxi driver

My first expectation is for prices to go down. When the sanctions began, everything became expensive. The cost of most commodities went up, and people were really under pressure. Now that the sanctions have been lifted, I think goods that had been imported by third parties — with much difficulty and at a high price — will now be imported directly, and prices will come down. These years have been very difficult; the high prices really devastated people.

 

Behzad, 39, former construction company worker

I worked for a relatively large construction company for about 12 years. It did fiberglass work for large construction projects and had a workforce of 15. But in the past few years there has been a slump in construction projects. Many of my co-workers were either fired or, like me, laid off with compensation. I have no idea whether the lifting of sanctions will have any effect or not. I hope companies like ours will flourish again and find new areas to develop. Many people like me have lost their jobs. It will be great if the lifting of these sanctions improves the job market and ends the recession. This is my main expectation.

 

Maryam, 28, private company employee

There’s an old saying: When you stop losing, you are gaining. In any case, each one of us have experienced the very bad results of the sanctions on our lives. So I hope we will at least see some good results from the lifting of the sanctions. I hope for better days. And I hope that the income generated from this relief will be used to build our country and improve the situation here.

 

Zahir, 69, retired railway employee

Our people are simpletons if they think that the sanctions being lifted will solve their problems. The real problem in this country is something else altogether, and until this problem is solved, nothing will happen. Our people are not used to thinking, and if this continues, the government, which is made up of mullahs, will remain in place. Whatever Western governments — and especially England — decide, that is what is going to happen. They wanted this government, so there it is. If one day they decide they do not want it, it will be gone. Sanctions or no sanctions, it makes no difference. You are young and naïve and green if you think that the lifting of sanctions will do something for this country.

 

Simin, 51, housewife

I don’t know much about it, but it would be enough if young people could find jobs, and if things got cheaper. I do not know whether the lifting of sanctions will have any effect on these things or not, but it will be great if it does.

 

Kayarash, 40, government employee

I think if we look at it carefully and systematically, it is too early to arrive at conclusions or optimism. It is possible that one side or the other could put a new card on the table at any time, but there is a chance for the situation to improve. But as of now, the best result of the nuclear deal is that it is restoring the lost prestige and credibility of this country and its people to the world. I only hope that neither side will begin new games and sabotage the agreement.

 

Shabnam, 45, director of a private company

This morning I heard some of my colleagues repeatedly saying that only other people will benefit from the sanctions being lifted. I have a question: Wouldn’t our country benefit, no matter who gets what? Is it only important when we ourselves benefit? Isn’t our country and its future important to us? I believe that we will all benefit from the sanctions being lifted. At the very least, we will be able to import necessary and needed parts and commodities without trouble, and directly. And we will have an easier time traveling to many countries. This by itself is cause for joy and hope. We have to be thankful that after so many years our relations with the rest of the world are improving.

 

Saeed, 34, freelancer

I don’t how good it will be. But it will be useless if we spend the unblocked funds on Syria, Palestine, Lebanon and countries like them. Don’t we have enough poor and needy people in our own country? Look at all these homeless people and drug addicts right here in Tehran. Why shouldn’t this money be spent on these people to improve their lives? I believe it’s better to actually keep sanctions in place i if we are going to spend the new, unblocked funds on those countries.

 

Ava, 29, university student

When all these troubles started and then sanctions were put in place, I was very young, 19 or 20. Now I am 29. I lost 10 years suffering various hardships. I can never get those years back. I hope that at least now the situation will improve and compensate us for those difficult days. I hope I can find a job easily after I graduate. This is what I really hope.

 

By Firoozeh Khosravi, Citizen Journalist, Shiraz

 

Related articles:

 

What Does The Deal Mean for Iran's Economy?

Sanctions: When Business is Good

Iran Sanctions Have Cost the U.S. $175 Billion

comments

Society & Culture

#NotACrime Sydney: Giles Fryer, Krimsone and Scott Nagy

January 19, 2016
Amy Fehilly
3 min read
#NotACrime Sydney: Giles Fryer, Krimsone and Scott Nagy