Iranian Americans in SoCal watch Iran protests with a mix of hope and 'visceral dread'

"For weeks, she has called, texted and sent voice memos to loved ones in Tehran, where massive crowds have demanded the overthrow of the country's authoritarian government. Are you OK? Refael - a West Los Angeles-based writer and Iranian refugee - has texted, over and over. Do you have enough food? Do you have enough water? Are you safe? No response."

"When the protests, initially spurred by economic woes, began in late December, Refael consistently got answers. But those stopped last week, when Iranian authorities imposed a near-total internet blackout, at the same time that calls to telephone landlines were also failing to connect. Videos circulating online show rows and rows of body bags. And human rights groups say the government is waging a deadly crackdown on protesters in Tehran and other cities, with more than 2,000 killed."

"Like many in Southern California's large Iranian diaspora, Refael, 43, has been glued to her phone, constantly refreshing the news trickling out from Iran, where, she fears, there is "a wholesale massacre occurring in the literal dark." "Before the regime completely blacked out the internet, and in many places, electricity, there was an electrifying sense of hope," said Refael, a prominent voice in Los Angeles' Persian Jewish community. But now, as the death toll rises, "that hope has been devastatingly tempered with a sense of visceral dread.""

Massive protests erupted in Iran in late December, driven initially by economic grievances and expanding into widespread demands to overthrow the authoritarian government. Authorities imposed a near-total internet blackout and disrupted telephone connections while security forces carried out a brutal crackdown across Tehran and other cities. Videos and human rights groups indicate rows of body bags and an estimated death toll exceeding 2,000. Iranian diaspora communities, including refugees in Southern California, have been unable to reach relatives and face intense fear, guilt and dread as hope from early protests gives way to alarm amid the information blackout.

Read at Los Angeles Times