Iranian-Americans relieved by fall of Ayatollah Khomeini — but questions remain about country’s future
CLEARWATER, Fla. - Iranian-Americans are relieved to see the fall of Ayatollah Khomeini, but so many questions remain about Iran's future that they say it is not yet time for a full celebration.
What they're saying:
Siavash Moradi, who owns an Iranian restaurant on Gulf-to-Bay in Clearwater, has been busy swiping on his phone since Saturday morning. And, that won't let up until he hears something — anything — from his loved ones.
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"The people over there," he said of Iranians, "they don't have a good life, no freedom, no nothing."
Moradi was beyond tired of the squelching of free speech, of imprisonment without due process and a dress code.
Outside, communication has been shut down, with his native country stuck in limbo: How many civilians will lose their lives, and who will take charge after?
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"I am not happy [with the] bombing," said Moradi, "but I am happy that government go and somebody come to love whole world, because this government only make the bomb."
The backstory:
State Rep. Anna Eskamani, who is one of the 13,000 Iranians now living in Florida, said the Iranian government has seldom been responsive to what the nation's people want. She has numerous friends who protested a 2009 stolen election, and wound up in jail.
"There's no way to sugarcoat it," said Eskamani. "I think, for many Iranians, it's a combination of hope, fear and uncertainty. To see someone like Khamenei be killed is a feeling of justice for many."
What's next:
She is hopeful that the U.S. will be up front about its plans in Iran, and that whoever the interim leadership council elevates to supreme leader will approach human rights differently.
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Not hearing from family for several days, in the middle of a war, is not encouraging.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran is like an amphibian," said Eskamani. "You cut one leg, another one grows."
The Source: The information in this story was gathered during interviews with Iranian-Americans living in Florida.