Hyper vigilance our new normal, again

Taken in late May, 2025, in Tabriz.

My sister and I call our mother a couple of times a day since the attack on Iran, just like many Iranians outside the country. We start with chit-chat, then mum will say she went to buy milk or was hanging out the washing, "I heard a few bangs."

Having been in a war, we remember the sounds and the feeling of our hearts dropping.

First thought: I wonder where it was.
Second thought: I hope everyone is okay.
Third thought: Where's next...?

When COVID struck the planet, people’s plans and freedoms were taken away. There was widespread fear and uncertainty. But when you’re illegally attacked by the world’s most powerful army, with backing from greedy governments those emotions are multiplied tenfold. There is also Injustice, double standards, misinformation …….. to deal with as well as trying to get on with life.

The plans you made the day or week before are now forgotten, pointless, or impossible.

I’m lucky to have a mother who is calm. She tells us to get on with our lives and says, "What will be, will be." She has always tried her best to protect us physically, emotionally, and psychologically.

But when I reach for the phone, my heart races. What message will I find? If there are none, I call Mum. Will she pick up? Until she does, my heart is in my mouth.

And once she answers, I listen for clues in her tone, her words, her silences, trying to gauge how she really is.

The PSYOPs are working.