SALT LAKE CITY — While dozens of Utahns protested on the steps of the Utah State Capitol Tuesday afternoon regarding the ongoing conflict in Iran, Jasmine Masrouri was thinking of her home country.
“I normally would say heartbreak, but it's a little bit beyond that at this point,” she said. “There was an uprising within Iran. There was a mass massacre that happened. After that, the war, of course. I think at this point I'm kind of just walking dead.”
Masrouri came to the United States in 2001 but still has family in Iran.
However, she’s been kept in the dark, not knowing if they are okay.
“You do not sleep, you do not eat, the entire time that you're at work, you're scrolling because of Iran being disconnected from the internet. All day long, we are literally begging for any kind of information, messaging our friends," she said. "Are they alive? Has something happened to them? Have they been hit by bombs?”
WATCH: 'They are humans': Iranian Americans in Utah share their fear for loved ones
Utahn Jennifer Weaver said this is exactly why she feels the need to do something.
“Everyone's like, 'Nothing's gonna happen if you protest.' I'm like, 'I've got to do something. I'm going to be down there, I'm going to stand there,'” Weaver said. "It's emotional and it's horrifying.”
Mid-protest, however, there was news of a ceasefire.
“I'm very ... skeptical, but he did say it, so let's hope that it's going to be the case,” Weaver said. "If he keeps the ceasefire, this small amount of people that ran out here at the last minute, because they care all over the country, I guess it worked.”
“That worry is always there because the ceasefire took care of the bombs. What is going to take care of the executions that are happening in Iraq?” Masrouri said.
Masrouri said she holds onto the hope of one thing: peace.
“There's only one side of this entire situation, and that's the side of humanity,” she said. " I didn't come here to prove anything. I came here to speak and be spoken to, and that's literally what we need the most.”
