Quick Take
As tensions among Iran, Israel and the United States erupt, Iranian immigrants in Santa Cruz — many with deep family ties still in Iran — are experiencing fear, grief and helplessness. For Asal and her mother, Maryam, their long-awaited family reunion has been overshadowed by missile strikes and her father's delayed migration to the U.S.
Since the moment Asal left Iran and moved to California in 2011 to safely practice Christianity and not face a potential death sentence in her home country, she dreamt of helping her parents immigrate to the United States.
Part of her goal was realized when her 59-year-old mom landed in California on June 8. After Asal, 41, became a citizen, she began helping her parents obtain their immigrant visas and is their citizen sponsor. They’re living together in Asal’s home in Lompico, the Felton community that reminds them both of where they lived in Darband, north of Tehran, the Iranian capital.
“We both were very emotional,” she said of her reunion with her mother earlier this month. “It’s been 15 years that we’ve dreamt of this day.”
The joy was short-lived. A day after her mom’s arrival, President Donald Trump’s travel ban took effect barring citizens of a dozen countries, including Iran, from coming to the U.S. Asal’s father remains stuck in Iran, waiting for a document from the government before he can obtain his visa to join his wife and daughter.
Three days after the travel ban, Israel began attacks on Iran, launching the countries into a war that’s killed more than 200 in Iran and more than 20 in Israel. Then on Sunday, the U.S. launched airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, triggering global security alerts and threats of retaliation.
Asal and her mother, Maryam, are among the estimated 400,000 Iranian-born immigrants living in the United States. They are gripped by fear and worry as long-simmering tensions with Iran escalate into a full-blown conflict that has already claimed the lives of hundreds of civilians. Separated from family members still in Iran, Asal and her mother are anxiously trying to maintain contact amid missile strikes and communication blackouts. (They both requested to use only their first names for fear of retribution against her father by the Iranian government. They spoke with Lookout prior to the U.S. weekend attack.)
On June 12, Asal and Maryam were watching TV when Asal started to receive messages from friends about the Israeli attacks. Asal changed the channel to the news and contacted her father.
“My heart dropped,” she said. “All my dreams shattered.”
Asal fears for her dad’s safety. He recently had two heart surgeries and his health is declining. She worries the war will delay or prevent him from receiving the final paperwork he needs for his visa. She worries about airports closing down. Her father has tried to reassure her and her mother that he was OK, but she could still hear his stress in his voice.
“It was obvious that he is stressed,” she said. “He was trying to actually calm us down here. And it’s just heartbreaking after his surgery, when he’s distressed and when he’s talking, he can’t really properly breathe, and it just makes me anxious.”
Last Monday, Trump posted on social media that people in Tehran must evacuate immediately. About 10 million people live in the country’s capital. With the help of a family friend, Asal’s father evacuated to a city north of Tehran called Gilan — where her mother grew up. By Tuesday, an internet blackout had cut off all communication with her father.
Asal and Maryam haven’t heard from him since and they don’t know when they’ll be able to communicate with him next. Asal said she’s losing sleep. She and her mom wonder if her father is taking his medication. Is he able to shower? Is he safe and far from the bombing?
“We’re trying to stay positive and do things that can distract you a little bit,” she said.
To help distract her, Asal posted in a local Facebook group, Aptosia, to see if there were any local Iranians who might be interested in socializing with her mom — Maryam speaks Farsi and doesn’t speak English.
They were overwhelmed by the positive responses, including from many Iranians: “It’s like a fresh air in this dark time.”
Asal compiled a list of 10 names and phone numbers of Iranians who commented on the post. She didn’t realize there were so many Iranians in the Santa Cruz area. Several people mentioned she should get in touch with Santa Cruz City Councilmember Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson, who was 7 years old when her family fled Iran in 1984.
Kalantari-Johnson told Lookout she’s saddened about the war and its impacts on civilians.
“While I and so many other Iranians would welcome a regime change, I don’t support war and mourn the loss of any innocent lives,” she said. “My heart is with the innocent people of Iran and elsewhere as this conflict persists.”
Iman Moshari didn’t know many Iranians while growing up in Santa Cruz. He moved from Tehran with his mom as a child.
He told Lookout his mom’s family were all still living in the capital at the time of the attacks, but have since fled the city. Moshari, who just completed his first year at Boston College, and his mom are constantly worried about her father, brothers, sisters and their kids.
They have had intermittent communication with their family and don’t know exactly where they’re staying. Moshari thinks they’ve camped outside somewhere north of Tehran.
“There’s been so many moments where my mom and I have sat down, often in silence,” he said. They both quietly take in the situation and mentally accept their fear that “when we go to bed tonight, we can wake up to a text or call saying that my grandfather has passed, my family was in a strike.”
It’s a horrifying and lonely experience thinking about his family fighting for their survival while he does day to day tasks. He feels helpless.
“My mom and I made our life in the U.S. together, and yet we’ve always known that we have that family back in Iran,” he said. “And you know, feeling like we might lose them is almost like having the foundation kicked under your feet.”
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