The economy situation becomes more visible when you get to see working class and under. I was at the orthopedist and this limping patient was talking to the secretary and she tells him it will be 150.000 toman. The guy says I don't have it. The secretary says that's how much it costs you need to have it. The guy yells I don't have it! I'm just a worker, I don't get paid enough to have that kind of money. The secretary goes: Calm down sir! Your leg has to get plastered! If you don't have money for it, you need to go down to the pharmacy and return all those medicines you have in your plastic bag and then you can go to a governmental hospital and get it done there. But your leg HAS to be plastered!
Of course upon seeing the scene, I couldn't sit down anymore and had to go there and pay for the guy. Right there another woman in her late 30's was complaining that she broke her knee when she was 21 but then the pain was over and she didn't care. Now she couldn't walk out of pain and when she went to a doctor close to her home, he told her she had to get a surgery. Of course she didn't have enough money for it so the doctor just told her: then go and die (in that very tone).
Seeing these scenes are truly depressing but having said that, I really didn't see any differences in the life style of people in the middle class and over. Everyone complains as usual but at the end of the day, they were living their lives normally, going to work, going on trips, etc. as usual. In fact, to my surprise I saw a lot of smile and polite manners from the people in the streets. Everyone from strangers to khodi were very warm and in general I saw a much better atmosphere compared to let's say, 8 years ago. and most important of all, I didn't see any sign what so ever that IR were gonna leave any time soon. In fact, just the other way around.
So much talk about money losing it's value etc. yet you see lots and lots of new huge buildings being built, including a gigantic shopping center outside Tehran which they claim is supposed to become the biggest shopping center in the world. Around it you see many new sky scrapers being built and in general, you can not see that this is a country in a vast economical crisis.
An interesting thing for me was to see that women were having comparatively more social freedom. Just as few years back, you could see women without veils in their cars only in higher quantity. This time around, you could see a minority losing their veils in malls, in doctors' waiting rooms and while sitting on riding motor cycles. I did not see any sign of the usual gasht and police, chasing boys and girls. Young people were freely having "patogh" until late at night in coffee shops and restaurants, freely holding hands, etc.
Last but not least everyone was desperate to leave Iran one way or another!
Of course upon seeing the scene, I couldn't sit down anymore and had to go there and pay for the guy. Right there another woman in her late 30's was complaining that she broke her knee when she was 21 but then the pain was over and she didn't care. Now she couldn't walk out of pain and when she went to a doctor close to her home, he told her she had to get a surgery. Of course she didn't have enough money for it so the doctor just told her: then go and die (in that very tone).
Seeing these scenes are truly depressing but having said that, I really didn't see any differences in the life style of people in the middle class and over. Everyone complains as usual but at the end of the day, they were living their lives normally, going to work, going on trips, etc. as usual. In fact, to my surprise I saw a lot of smile and polite manners from the people in the streets. Everyone from strangers to khodi were very warm and in general I saw a much better atmosphere compared to let's say, 8 years ago. and most important of all, I didn't see any sign what so ever that IR were gonna leave any time soon. In fact, just the other way around.
So much talk about money losing it's value etc. yet you see lots and lots of new huge buildings being built, including a gigantic shopping center outside Tehran which they claim is supposed to become the biggest shopping center in the world. Around it you see many new sky scrapers being built and in general, you can not see that this is a country in a vast economical crisis.
An interesting thing for me was to see that women were having comparatively more social freedom. Just as few years back, you could see women without veils in their cars only in higher quantity. This time around, you could see a minority losing their veils in malls, in doctors' waiting rooms and while sitting on riding motor cycles. I did not see any sign of the usual gasht and police, chasing boys and girls. Young people were freely having "patogh" until late at night in coffee shops and restaurants, freely holding hands, etc.
Last but not least everyone was desperate to leave Iran one way or another!
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