'Rough night’ for Iranian Canadians awaiting word from families as conflict unfolds
CBC
Shahram Yazdanmehr was watching the news Friday night from his home in Parkland County, Alta., when there was a flash about the United States-Israel attack on Iran.
Yazdanmehr, who came to Canada as a refugee in the 1980s, called it a “rough night” as he followed the news. He lived in Yellowknife for more than 30 years and recently moved to Alberta.
Just hours earlier he had exchanged a text with one of his nieces in Tehran. She told her uncle she was going to call him soon.
“She was busy, but it was early in the morning. And that was it,” he said.
“That was the last time I heard from her. And then, you know, within an hour the bombardment started.”
He said he thinks there is an internet blackout, phone lines are disconnected and so all communication in and out of Iran is dead.
Iranian Canadians in the North have been following the joint military strikes on Iran closely, with many anxiously awaiting word from their families while cautiously hoping for a quick and peaceful end to the war.
Yazdanmehr’s sister, who is about 70 years old, lives in Tehran with her children and extended family.
He said it is scary thinking of what they must be going through.
“They have children in school. So I assume that they have to go and get the kids out of school and bring them home,” he said.
“And hunker down and stay as safe as they can to just wait it out and see what happens over the next 24-to-48 hours or so. And then make a decision about their lives.”
He said he is keeping his family in Tehran in his thoughts and prayers and hoping they are safe.
Pedram Moradi, who has been in Yukon for three years, said he has “mixed emotions” about the strikes and is hopeful about a possible Iranian regime change.
He spoke with his family at 9:47 p.m. on Friday, but hasn’t been in touch with them since.
