A Shelter in Southern Tehran
Nahid visited a crowded shelter in southwestern Tehran. The space, a concrete parking garage, housed roughly 100 families. According to the security guard, the structure had been deemed secure, yet the deeper one goes, the more suffocating it becomes. Each family claimed a space the size of a blanket, laid out upon the floor. There was no water, no toilet, and pesticide was used to kill the rats. The air was stale and breathless.
Nahid recounts approaching a mother nursing her infant. Upon touching the baby’s cheek, she felt its rough, dry skin. “It’s because of the air down here,” the mother explained. Most people coughed. They were forced to return home to cook, wash, and fetch water. Even making tea required a trip back to the house. “If only we could boil water down here,” the mother sighed. “At least we have no bombs.” Without electricity, the children had missed months of schooling. “If only we had a television, my children could continue their studies,” she said.