‘Like the sky was torn open': At Turkey border, Iranians recall terror in Tehran
Iranian Mehran Ataei and her daughter Lida Pourmomen arriving in Turkey via the Razi-Kapikoy border crossing on June 19. PHOTO: AFP
'Like the sky was torn open': At Turkey border, Iranians recall terror in Tehran
SARAY - 'The first two days were okay, people said it would just end. But then it started escalating and people really started panicking,' said Ms Mehran Ataei of the Israeli bombardment of Tehran.
Speaking to AFP at the Kapikoy crossing on the Turkish border, the 58-year-old Franco-Iranian, who lives in Paris, fled Tehran on the fifth day of an escalating war with Israel.
As well as the ongoing bombardments, those fleeing the capital spoke of very limited internet access, problems withdrawing money after two major banks were hacked and food shortages.
Standing with her was her 27-year-old daughter Lida Pourmomen.
'It was really stressful because we didn't leave together and Tuesday night was the worst night Tehran had experienced so far,' explained Ms Pourmomen.
'After my mum left, it felt like the sky was being torn open. I thought I might never see her again,' she said, describing chaotic scenes of explosions, smoke and the terror of not knowing if the ear-splitting sounds were air defence systems or incoming missiles.
The pair had been due to fly back to Paris on June 21 but with all flights cancelled, they were stranded, repeatedly calling the French embassy for help.
They eventually got through on June 16 but were advised 'to stay in Tehran' – advice which they ignored, although an official email advising French citizens to leave was eventually sent out on June 17 .
'But there's barely any internet access – there's a window of two or three hours when you have access, so it's likely most people didn't receive the email telling them to leave,' Ms Pourmomen said.
'If we hadn't decided on our own to leave Tehran, I don't know what would have happened,' said her mother as they braced for the next leg of their journey – a 25-hour bus trip to Istanbul then a flight home.
It became very bad
At the crossing, an AFP correspondent counted several dozen people arriving on June 19 morning, with a Turkish defence ministry saying there was 'no increase' in numbers despite the escalating violence.
'In the early days, it was just a few bombs but later it became very bad,' said a 50-year-old Iranian pharmacist living in Melbourne who did not want to give her name.
She arrived in Tehran on the day the bombing started to visit her mother in intensive care, eventually fleeing the city for the Turkish border five days later.
'People are really panicking. Yesterday the internet stopped and two major banks were hacked so people couldn't access their money. And there's not even enough food,' she told AFP.
People were moving to the north where it was 'a little bit better but it's not safe really', she said.
'We had war before, but this one is terrible because you can't predict it and it's very brutal.'
Although observers believe only the Iranian people can bring about change, the pharmacist admitted she was not optimistic.
'They expect people to change the regime, but they can't. They are very panicked and scared and the regime is very brutal,' she told AFP.
And it seemed unlikely that the US would step in, despite the belligerent rhetoric from President Donald Trump.
'We know (Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei is the source of the problem but Trump says 'I don't want to kill him'. If you really wanted to end the war, why say that?' she said.
'Trump just pretends he wants to stop the war. This dictatorship regime is supported by the USA.'
Another Iranian called Mr Ismail Rabie, a retired 69-year-old who was trying to get back to his home in London, said the situation in Iran would not change unless Western powers really wanted it.
'It all depends on America or Europe: if they want change, it will change, if they don't, it won't,' he said before heading off to Istanbul. AFP
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Summoning golden Olympic memories, Paris parties like it's 2024
French President Emmanuel Macron visits the site of the reinstallation of the Olympic cauldron at the Tuileries Garden in Paris. PHOTO: REUTERS PARIS – Parisians had such unexpected fun at their Olympics last summer, that they are holding a public anniversary celebration to recapture the party mood, but not everyone is quite as enthusiastic. The Olympic rings will be projected on the Eiffel Tower and there will be a giant Olympic karaoke in front of the town hall on July 26. However, preceding that party the glowing caudron balloon – 'a symbol of the popular enthusiasm for these Olympic Games' according to France's National Olympic Committee – returns on June 21. It will float once again above the Tuileries Garden, with President Emmanuel Macron in attendance, to conjure golden memories, even for those who were not there. 'There are many Parisians who fled Paris last year and who kicked themselves,' said Matthieu Gobbi of Aerophile, the company responsible for the balloon. Yet athletes and grass-roots sports organisations in France lament the lack of a more tangible 'legacy'. For those who were there, and the five billion the International Olympic Committee (IOC) says watched around the world, the Games provided 15 days of candy-coloured distraction from wars, divisive elections and global inflation. The sport was also spectacular, illuminated by the redemption of gymnast Simone Biles, a likely last Roland Garros triumph for the then 37-year-old Novak Djokovic, and the swimming heroics of French golden boy Leon Marchand. An unusually high proportion of the Olympics was held in the the middle of the city, and that posed a challenge. There were fears of terrorist attacks, that public transport would not cope and the Seine would be too polluted for triathletes and long-distance swimmers to compete. Yet Paris pulled it off, enhancing its image, not least in France, as the world's leading tourist destination. 'We'll see who can repeat a Games like this,' said Mr Macron. This summer, Parisians will be able to swim at three venues along the Seine. The Tour de France, rerouted to avoid the capital in 2024, returns for its traditional finish on the Champs-Elysees at the end of a stage that covers many of the same streets where half a million spectators watched the Olympic road races. That stage will be on July 27, a year and a day after the Paris Games opened with an epic and grandiose ceremony, put on by a cast of 20,000 artists and staff, along the Seine. Celine Dion sang from the Eiffel Tower while the athletes sailed down the river in the pouring rain. 'This moment is a memory we share. It's not so common these days,' said Thomas Jolly, artistic director for the opening and closing ceremonies. 'Having everyone watching the same thing at the same time... surely creates a bond!' The ceremony left a lasting mark, he added, 'of joy, unity, pride'. The Games themselves even made a profit, a surplus of €76 million (S$112 million). That figure does not yet include broader public spending, particularly on infrastructure, and it is here that some in France feel the Olympics has left a slightly bitter taste. For Olympic organisers 'legacy' – both tangible and intangible – helps legitimise hosting an event many countries no longer want. 'We're trying to give the Olympics a role they weren't made for,' said Mickael Attali, a sports historian at Rennes II University. 'Good memories' and 'a good image of France' remain. 'Materially, there are still some things left in Seine-Saint-Denis,' said Attali, referring to the poorest departement in mainland France where the Olympic Aquatic Centre, opposite the Stade de France, has just opened to the public. Mr Macron promised the Olympics would help turn France into a sporting nation. The number of people registered to sports clubs has increased 5 per cent, but thousands of enthusiastic children were turned away last autumn because of a lack of space. After the Games ended, national and local sports budgets were cut. Sports officials say infrastructure projects have been halted and expenditure on equipment cut. Some French athletes were abandoned by commercial sponsors. 'All the companies that had set up sponsorship for the Olympics have left,' said a specialist in sports marketing. Even some of France's Olympic stars feel the lustre has faded fast. 'We should not have said there would be a legacy,' said Olympic fencing champion Manon Apithy-Brunet. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
8 hours ago
- Straits Times
US refuses visas for members of Senegal's women's basketball team, says PM
Senegal Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko told the country's minister of sports to cancel what was to have been a 10-day training camp in the US. PHOTO: AFP US refuses visas for members of Senegal's women's basketball team, says PM DAKAR - The United States rejected visa applications for multiple members of Senegal's women's basketball team which was scheduled to train in the country, the country's prime minister said on June 19, as he cancelled the group's participation in the practice. The visa refusals come amid US President Donald Trump's administration's immigration crackdown and tightened border controls. The United States is set to co-host the 2026 Fifa World Cup and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Senegal is among 36 nations that the United States is considering adding to a travel ban barring entry to its territory, according to an internal administration memo. Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko posted on Facebook that he had been 'informed about the refusal to issue visas to several members of the Senegalese women's national basketball team'. He said that he had instructed the country's minister of sports to cancel what was to have been a 10-day training camp in the US. According to Mr Babacar Ndiaye, president of the Senegalese Basketball Federation, the US only renewed visas for 'those who held old visas and rejected new requests'. Les Lionnes had been slated to train in the US ahead of the Afrobasket 2025 tournament in Ivory Coast, which begins in July. A spokesperson for the US State Department told AFP that it was not able to comment on individual cases, while the US Embassy in Senegal did not reply to a request for comment. In addition to pulling the plug on the training, Prime Minister Sonko thanked China for having 'awarded dozens of training scholarships for our athletes and their coaches'. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
15 hours ago
- Straits Times
‘Like the sky was torn open': At Turkey border, Iranians recall terror in Tehran
Iranian Mehran Ataei and her daughter Lida Pourmomen arriving in Turkey via the Razi-Kapikoy border crossing on June 19. PHOTO: AFP 'Like the sky was torn open': At Turkey border, Iranians recall terror in Tehran SARAY - 'The first two days were okay, people said it would just end. But then it started escalating and people really started panicking,' said Ms Mehran Ataei of the Israeli bombardment of Tehran. Speaking to AFP at the Kapikoy crossing on the Turkish border, the 58-year-old Franco-Iranian, who lives in Paris, fled Tehran on the fifth day of an escalating war with Israel. As well as the ongoing bombardments, those fleeing the capital spoke of very limited internet access, problems withdrawing money after two major banks were hacked and food shortages. Standing with her was her 27-year-old daughter Lida Pourmomen. 'It was really stressful because we didn't leave together and Tuesday night was the worst night Tehran had experienced so far,' explained Ms Pourmomen. 'After my mum left, it felt like the sky was being torn open. I thought I might never see her again,' she said, describing chaotic scenes of explosions, smoke and the terror of not knowing if the ear-splitting sounds were air defence systems or incoming missiles. The pair had been due to fly back to Paris on June 21 but with all flights cancelled, they were stranded, repeatedly calling the French embassy for help. They eventually got through on June 16 but were advised 'to stay in Tehran' – advice which they ignored, although an official email advising French citizens to leave was eventually sent out on June 17 . 'But there's barely any internet access – there's a window of two or three hours when you have access, so it's likely most people didn't receive the email telling them to leave,' Ms Pourmomen said. 'If we hadn't decided on our own to leave Tehran, I don't know what would have happened,' said her mother as they braced for the next leg of their journey – a 25-hour bus trip to Istanbul then a flight home. It became very bad At the crossing, an AFP correspondent counted several dozen people arriving on June 19 morning, with a Turkish defence ministry saying there was 'no increase' in numbers despite the escalating violence. 'In the early days, it was just a few bombs but later it became very bad,' said a 50-year-old Iranian pharmacist living in Melbourne who did not want to give her name. She arrived in Tehran on the day the bombing started to visit her mother in intensive care, eventually fleeing the city for the Turkish border five days later. 'People are really panicking. Yesterday the internet stopped and two major banks were hacked so people couldn't access their money. And there's not even enough food,' she told AFP. People were moving to the north where it was 'a little bit better but it's not safe really', she said. 'We had war before, but this one is terrible because you can't predict it and it's very brutal.' Although observers believe only the Iranian people can bring about change, the pharmacist admitted she was not optimistic. 'They expect people to change the regime, but they can't. They are very panicked and scared and the regime is very brutal,' she told AFP. And it seemed unlikely that the US would step in, despite the belligerent rhetoric from President Donald Trump. 'We know (Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei is the source of the problem but Trump says 'I don't want to kill him'. If you really wanted to end the war, why say that?' she said. 'Trump just pretends he wants to stop the war. This dictatorship regime is supported by the USA.' Another Iranian called Mr Ismail Rabie, a retired 69-year-old who was trying to get back to his home in London, said the situation in Iran would not change unless Western powers really wanted it. 'It all depends on America or Europe: if they want change, it will change, if they don't, it won't,' he said before heading off to Istanbul. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
