In a stark illustration of life under digital siege, Iranian citizens have been undertaking short journeys across the border into Turkey to bypass a nationwide internet blackout imposed by authorities during recent unrest. While the main border crossing in Turkey's eastern Van province has not seen a major surge in asylum seekers, it has become a vital lifeline for those needing to connect online.
Digital Exodus for Work and Study
Internet services in Iran have been severely restricted since 8 January, amidst mass protests and a violent government crackdown. Although limited services briefly flickered back to life in parts of the country on Saturday 17 January, the ongoing disruption has forced many to seek alternatives. Iranians can enter Turkey without a visa, making border towns in Van a practical, if temporary, solution.
Sami Ranjbar, an e-commerce worker from Tehran, explained his four-day stay in Van was purely to catch up on business. "My work depends on the internet, so I am forced to come here to access it and do my work, and then return to Iran to see how conditions develop," he said while crossing back into Iran on Friday. He added that if connectivity is not restored, he and others would be compelled to make the trip again.
Another traveller, a 37-year-old identified only as Ali due to security fears, travelled to Turkey with his brother who needed internet access for university applications. "A lot of our friends are arrested in Iran, and some of them have been killed," he stated, highlighting the perilous backdrop to these digital quests. Despite the dangers, he felt compelled to return home. "We have to go back to Iran because we have our family there and we have jobs there."
Economic Realities and Political Divisions
The protests, which began on 28 December over Iran's ailing economy, have led to a severe crackdown. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reports that at least 3,095 people have been killed. For some crossing the border, the trips are funded by selling goods like cigarettes and tea, which are cheaper in Iran and fetch higher prices in Turkey.
Political sentiments among travellers were mixed. Ali expressed a complex, resigned view: "We are under a dictatorship, but we are also in danger of war from Israel and other countries. I'm not OK with being attacked by other countries, but I'm not OK at all with my government."
Conversely, some Iranian travellers from northern regions near the border, a conservative area with large ethnic Turk and Azeri populations, distanced themselves from the protests in Tehran. Some echoed government allegations that the unrest was fuelled by foreign powers. "It's true that people are struggling financially. But that is because of the things America and Israel are doing," said 28-year-old Milad Soleimani from Qatur, who was on a day trip to shop.
A Preference for Stability Over Upheaval
Many in the border region expressed a preference for the current regime's stability over the uncertainty of change, showing little support for exiled opposition figures like Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi. Afshin, a 24-year-old Kurdish traveller from Khoy, summarised this sentiment: "Iran is stable, that's what is good about it. If there is a civil war, the country will split into 80 pieces."
This makeshift migration for internet access underscores a critical modern dilemma: when a state switches off the digital world, its citizens are forced to find physical pathways to reconnect, turning border crossings into unlikely hubs of digital necessity amidst ongoing political turmoil.
