Iranian in Massachusetts worried about family in Tehran, says evacuation is "impossible"
Iranian communities in Massachusetts are devastated by the escalating conflict in the Middle East. A grocery store owner fears for his family who lives in Tehran.
At Cafe Vanak in Belmont, Massachusetts, the shelves are as eclectic as the customers. "Food geography of the Middle East. We have Israeli salad, Lebanese hummus. We have the Turkish, stuffed grape leaves," said manager Poya Sohrabi, describing the different foods displayed in a front case.
Sohrabi, who was born in Iran, says his friends are also a diverse group of people from the Middle East. All of them, Sohrabi says, were shaken by news of bombs flying between Israel and Iran.
"I have friends from Israel here. I have friends from Lebanon. I have friends from Afghanistan, and we are all close together," Sohrabi said. "We are on the news every night and we are working every day so it's like 24-7 working and stressing."
Trying to stay in contact with family
Sohrabi has been monitoring the situation in Iran closely and trying to get in contact with his sister and niece in Tehran as the country experiences an internet blackout.
"She's describing it as the war with Iraq and all those bombings and sheltering things and like huge massive sounds," he said.
He also scoffs at the idea of evacuating Tehran, a city of nearly 10 million people, saying "it's impossible."
"There are long lines of cars waiting in the gas stations. Even the evacuation takes like a week. And then, where do they go?" he said.
From the safety of his store, Sohrabi would personally support the regime change of Iran's authoritarian government, if the change is driven by the people of Iran.
"I'm not living there. It's up to them if they decided to overthrow or peaceful transition, or anything that they want or anyone that they want to rule them," he said.
First, Sohrabi says, there must be peace. "At least no war. At least," he said.
