Anxious days, sleepless nights for young Iranians in Hong Kong as war rages on

Behzad Nasiri Ahmadabadi, a 37-year-old Iranian biomedical researcher based in Hong Kong, spends his days wracked with uncertainty.

Photo: May Tse Life for Hong Kong-based Iranian biomedical researcher Behzad Nasiri Ahmadabadi is filled with anxiety as he spends each day waiting for a call from his family that may not come amid the conflict in the Middle East.

The stress is similar for Iranian student Ali*, who spends his days scrolling through news reports from across the world to piece together events on the ground and lies awake at night thinking about what they mean.

Young Iranians in Hong Kong are dealing with the conflict in a variety of ways, from constantly analysing news and correcting misinformation to simply waiting for messages that their loved ones in Iran are still safe.

But they share one thing in common – a feeling of powerlessness over a conflict raging thousands of kilometres away.

Continued strikes on Iran by the United States and Israel have triggered retaliatory attacks and raised fears of a wider regional war, with civilians facing growing risks and uncertainty.

Iran-backed Houthi rebels joined the fray in late March by firing missiles at Israel from Yemen.

Ali, who asked that his real name not be used, said he was constantly trying to make sense of the flood of conflicting information. “There’s a lot of contradictory reporting that you’re seeing everywhere,” he said. “It’s very difficult to actually understand what’s going on … and without that [clarity], it’s hard to think about how we can move forward.” The teenager said he spent hours each day reading articles from a wide range of sources, from US and Iranian media to Israeli outlets, trying to form a more complete picture. “I try to expose myself to all of it, knowing that the truth is probably a mixture of each of them,” he said.

But he said many of his peers relied heavily on social media, where nuance was often lost. “It’s such a complicated conflict … you can’t get that in a 10-second reel,” he said, adding that misinformation and “deliberate disinformation” were common.

A bombed-out residential building in Tehran, pictured on March 27.

Photo: Reuters Ali said he often found himself explaining the situation to friends, who were curious but lacked reliable information.

The conflict has taken a toll on his daily life, affecting his sleep and concentration. “Winding down is extremely challenging for me … I’m already studying late, waking up early … and now this war is

原文链接: 南华早报