A look into Iran’s city slums

Reporting by PMOI/MEK

Iran, October 23, 2020—The Iranian regime has no plans to help the people in their livelihoods, and the expansion of misery and unemployment is the direct result of these failed policies. As a result, reports indicate there have been more protests across the country against the regime’s destructive policies.

Many citizens have been unemployed and have received no support or aid from the government, leaving them no choice but to live in slums or shanty towns.

An October 22 report published by the state-run Eghtesad Saramad daily warns of the skyrocketing number of people living in slums on the outskirts of various cities, especially Tehran. “Living in slums has many challenges, including construction irregularities, environmental pollution, street conflicts, and social and psychological disorders. Last year's unrest (the nationwide November 2019 uprising) in cities and towns around the capital due to rising gasoline prices, showed that the population in the outskirts of Tehran and other large cities are like a powder keg that may explode at any moment,” a segment of this piece reads.

Ardabil petrochemical site in northwest Iran

As many people protest across Iran seeking their demands, reports indicate that workers of Iran’s oil, gas and petrochemical industry are continuing their strikes. On Wednesday, October 20, a group of petrochemical workers in the city of Ardabil, northwest Iran, wrote a letter to protest their status quo and raise their demands.

“We, a group of workers in the Ardabil petrochemical site, have not received our salaries or this year’s bonuses. Provincial officials also came to the workplace and saw our conditions first-hand, but not a single one of them even once asked if the salaries of these poor workers had been paid or not because those who sleep at ease at nights do not understand what is happening to those who go hungry. The person who gets paid his salary every month does not understand the person who has not received his salary for seven months,” the letter reads.

“We do not know why members of the Majlis (parliament) make various claims during the election season, but in practice they neglect our issues and do nothing. Where are you now?!” the protesting workers wrote in protest.

“After all, who can live in such economic circumstances for seven months without a dime and not be malnourished? We can eat nothing but bread and eggs. Interestingly, whenever an official came to visit, they simply said that the salaries have been paid,” the letter concluded in a reference to the regime officials’ ongoing lies.

On Tuesday, October 20, workers at the Parsian Gas Refinery Company in the city of Lamerd, Fars Province, south-central Iran, continued their strike for the fourth consecutive day. These workers demanded their delayed paychecks and protested poor livelihoods.

Simultaneously on Tuesday, workers at the Razi Petrochemical Company in the harbor of Mahshahr, a city in southwest Iran, continued their strike for the third consecutive day. Besides protesting their delayed paychecks, these workers demanded an end to discriminatory practices by regime authorities against contract workers.

In another development, on October 19 and 20, for the first time, ranchers gathered in Tehran protesting the lack of food for their livestock and their own poor living conditions. They are unable to manage their industrial farms because of skyrocketing prices, and shortages in animal food and other requirements.