Sogol Mirzaei, Iranian artist: “My sister in Tehran hears continuous bombings”
Interview by Camille Scali
Published on , updated on
Iranian instrumentalist Sogol Mirzaei playing the tar during a concert at the Trinity Chapel in Lyon on May 24. WILLIAM SUNDFOR
Testimony This virtuoso of the tar and setar, two traditional Iranian string instruments, who has lived in France for eighteen years, is worried about her family who are living under Israeli attacks in Iran.
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On the night of the first Israeli bombings of Iran , June 13, musician Sogol Mirzaei sent a message from Paris to her sister, Maral, who lived with her uncle and grandmother, Mansoureh, 94, who has Alzheimer's, in the family apartment in Tehran. The building was in the west of the capital, near Mehrabad Airport and the famous Azadi Tower, a neighborhood targeted by the Jewish state. Maral replied that she could hear "continuous bombing," without knowing where the strikes were coming from. That night, the family stayed awake until dawn, unable to sleep. In the early morning, all three of them wondered if they would be able to go out into the street.
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"The state did not give specific security instructions, did not even react or ask residents to leave when Israel demanded the evacuation of Tehran's third district [the very popular district of Tajrish, in the north of the city, where the historic bazaar, several military buildings and embassies are located, editor's note] . The regime also gave absurd instructions such as not to take refuge in the metro... Yet it is a 'safe' place throughout the world," Sogol Mirzaei says ironically. Faced with this absurd situation, Iranians are having to fend for themselves and are sharing advice on social media, such as that of "moving away from windows and exterior walls."
In case of bombing, Sogol Mirzaei's family takes refuge in the windowless bathroom or in the hallway that connects the living room to the bedrooms. But Mansoureh, the musician's grandmother, "too weak to take the few steps needed to reach more sheltered areas," remains bedridden. Her son, who wants to protect her, hides the nature of the explosions from her, claiming "firecrackers, fireworks, or the Fire Festival [a traditional Iranian celebration] ."
An unthinkable situationThe family is unable to leave the capital: "My grandmother, because of her illness, wouldn't last fifteen minutes in a car," laments Sogol. The 37-year-old artist says that one of her friends, Saba, a musician who lives in Tehran, was able to escape: she immediately "grabbed her tar, her suitcase," and headed north. The interpreter was touched to see that, on social networks, those who are leaving post, before their departure, photos of their tidy house, with watered plants, and in the caption: "We hope to find our home like this when we return."
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