SABAH (73)

Memoirs of Sabah Vatankhah

Interviewed and Compiled by Fatemeh Doustkami
Translated by Natalie Haghverdian

2021-9-1

SABAH (73)

Memoirs of Sabah Vatankhah

Interviewed and Compiled by Fatemeh Doustkami

Translated by Natalie Haghverdian

Published by Soore Mehr Publishing Co.

Persian Version 2019

We said goodbye to Ghasem Farrokhi and Dr. Sa’adat and got into the helicopter. It was a small one. There were two rows of seats in it and in the best way, only ten people could sit in it. Before taking off, the co-pilot greeted us and said that we might have nausea during the flight which is natural for a person who gets into the helicopter for the first time.

When the helicopter was in the air, my heart dropped. It was a strange feeling. It was the same feeling when I got into the swing without my father’s knowledge and swung fast. I had missed my father a lot; for him and his special way of thinking. When we were children, he did not let us make a swing or get on a swing. He considered it bad. He said that the first swing was made by Satan; when he had wanted to through Prophet Ebrahim into the fire through catapult. We listened to his words and did not get on the swing, but when he was not around, we got on the swing a lot.

The helicopter went higher. The palm groves of Abadan were under our feet. Helicopter moved a lot in the air and had lots of maneuvers. One of the army soldiers said that the helicopter has to do that in order to avoid being detected by the Iraqi radars. After the palm groves, we were on Persian Gulf for a long time. Then we saw a land. The pilot went low. The land became bigger and bigger each second. We understood that that piece of land is Imam Port. After a few minutes we landed in Imam Khomeini port and got out.

When my foot touched the ground, I sighed in relief. We had to go from Imam Port to Mahshahr port and after that to Sarbandar. We stood beside the road for a vehicle. We could not get into any kind of car because we didn’t have money. Life was flowing in Imam Port and most of the cars asked for money to transfer the passengers. We had to wait for a family or a person who was war-stricken like us to see us and take us somewhere. The more we approached Sarbandar, my heart flew more to see my mother. Now that I was far from the front and had come to see my family, I just figured out that this separation is so hard. I had seen none of them since the second half of the first month of autumn, meaning two months. I had never been away from my mother and children for so long before.

Finally, an army pick-up appeared from far. I waved hand and it stopped. I told the driver: “Brother, will you take us to Sarbandar?!” He said: “Get in.”

I jumped in the rear of Toyota. At the entrance of Sarbandar bazaar, I hit on the body of the vehicle and the driver stopped. We got out and thanked him.

Sarbandar bazaar was around the Sarbandar square. The Bazaar included lots of shops. The doors opened towards the covered sidewalk of the square. We had decided to go to Elaheh’s place at the first place so that auntie and the other could see her and then go to our place. Ali had told me that auntie knows the exact location of our home.

When we knocked the door, aunt Maryam opened the door and was very happy to see Elaheh and me. She hugged us and kissed. I really did not expect auntie to treat Elaheh so well and warm since Elaheh had disappeared without permission. We went inside. Auntie told Elaheh: “Girlie! Why did you do such thing?! Didn’t you think about us?!” Elaheh said: “I told Reza that I am going to front with Sabbah.”

Auntie said: “was that enough! You told Reza and that is enough?! Shouldn’t you have told somebody else too?! Father, mother … you considered nobody?!” She said: “dear mom, if I told you, you wouldn’t let me go. I had to act like that.”

Auntie said: “I though thousands of scenarios … I could not do anything! Where should we look after you?” I said: “auntie, drop it. What is gone is gone. Now Elaheh is safe and sound besides you. Thank God.”

In order to change the topic of discussion, I said: “auntie I had heard that my mom and family have come to Sarbandar from Boroujerd. Do you know where they are?!” Auntie said: “Yes, dear. There are small rooms behind the Sarbandar mosque. They are settled there.” I said: “So with your permission, I will go to visit them. I miss them a lot.” Auntie said: “Where?! It is lunch time. Eat your lunch and then go. You have waited to see them for so long, what would two more hours make.”

Before lunch, I went to take a bath. After lunch, I said goodbye to auntie and Elaheh and went towards mosque. Elaheh wanted to come with me but since Amoo Hejab had not arrived yet, auntie said: “Stay until your father comes and sees you. Then you can go wherever you want.”

The finials of the mosque could be seen from bazaar. When I passed the bazaar, I noticed a little child who was a street seller. The items for sale were a few Kleenex tissues that they had taken out of the original packing and placed them in a small nylon to sell. I asked one of them about the price. He answered: “Five grants each; please buy one.” I thanked and said: “I don’t need.”

The main pack of Kleenexes was two Tomans at that time. With the new arrangement, they could sell a package up to ten Tomans per unit. It was obvious that war and war-stricken living had created such a condition. When a Kleenex box had become so dear and expensive, it was obvious what had happened to the rest of the items of living. Everything had become expensive. I was walking and had no idea of the mosque and the rooms that had been given to the war-stricken families until I reached Sarbandar Jame mosque. I repeated to myself that the rooms will be better than the situation in camp B.

I entered the mosque. The chamber of the yard was full of items and living supplies and big packages which obviously had been sent for the war-stricken families. I asked for the servant of the mosque. They showed me an old me. I approached and greeted him. I asked him where the war-stricken were living.

He said that in the yard of the mosque there is a door which opens to the rear yard of the mosque. There are a number of rooms in which a few families live. I went out of the door and entered a small yard with a small pool in the middle. As soon as I entered, Ferdows saw me and yelled: “Mom, come, Sabbah has come!”

There was a room on the right side of where I was standing. My mother and Mona came out of that room and ran towards me. I threw myself into my mother’s arms and kissed her and smelled her. My mother had a special smell; a good odor which was only hers. She kissed my face and repeated constantly Thanks God that you are healthy Sabbah. Then she took me to their room.”

We entered the room. The room was only six square meters and there was a bed in it where my father was lying. My father had noticed my arrival from the shouts of Ferdows and was trying to hold up his head to see me.

I went towards him. I kissed his face and hand and placed them on my eyes. My father leaned forward with the help of my mother and kissed my head. Abbas and Mona came too. I kissed them. They all gathered around me. Although I was very happy to see them but it was as if the walls of the room were eating me. It was as if the earth and sky had rotated and hit my head.

Part of the plaster on the ceiling was protruded. The floor was covered with an old carpet. There were a few small pots and bowl and plates in a corner of the room. The cement covered walls had made the atmosphere of the room dark. The room did not have any window and the only light was a small bulb.

I felt very bad to see the pitiful situation of my family. Until that moment, I thought that they have a relatively good and proper living since they are not in the camp and did not know that their situation is so bad and heart breaking. My mother was sitting near my father’s bed and was holding my hand in hers and cried slowly. She said in tears: “dear, do you have any news from Fouziyeh, Shahnaz or Ali? Haven’t you seen him recently?!”

For a moment I remembered Da and the moment she asked us about Ali. I thought to myself thanks God that I had seen Ali recently and had some news from him to share with my parents. My throat was squeezing. I tried my best not to cry but seeing the situation of my family, made my tears drop. I started to cry and talk. I talked and my mother cuddled me and listed to me. I said: “Thanks God that Ai is fine. I saw him yesterday noon in Abadan. He was safe and sound.”

My mother didn’t believe my words and said: “Please tell me the truth. Please tell me if something has happened to him.” I said: “No, I swear to God, he is healthy. I saw him yesterday. He was so angry with me that I was there.”

Then I gave an update on Shahnaz and Fouziyeh. I said that they work in the kitchen of Karevansara hotel and their place is safe. My father was sad seeing us cry. It was obvious that he is overwhelmed but is controlling himself. Poor man was pale and his dark skin had turned to yellow. He had lost a lot of weight since the day he had come to the physician’s office and had been injured. He was very weak too. I asked: “dear father, how are you? How is your wound?!” He said: “I am better dear but I am short of breath. I can’t breath properly.” I said: “hopefully with the help of God, you will be better. Your lung has been hit by a quiver. It is not a simple injury!” He said: “Whatever God wants will happen.”

I asked my mother about Boroujerd and Shiraz. I asked her to tell me about everything during my absence. She said: “Nothing my dear! What news? I was in Boroujerd when they informed me that your father has been injured. I was very worried until Ali came and took me to Shiraz to see him. God know how hard it was to go to Shiraz with Ali. We could not find a car. We changed a number of cars to get there. First we went to Esfahan. We had to stay there overnight and then go to Shiraz. We had no place to go, no money to go to a motel. We slept in a mosque with Ali and Abbas. At midnight the weather got so cold that we were shaking. We had to cover ourselves with the carpets on the floor.”

I started crying when I heard that they have been through so much difficulty. She said: “Believe me I can still hear the knocking of Abbas’s teeth. Then we went to Shiraz by bus. Your uncle and his spouse respected us a lot and showed great hospitality. Your uncle’s wife had found out that your father doesn’t like the food at the hospital, so she cooked at home and took it for your father every day. At the same time she had lots of war-stricken guests from Khorramshahr and they were all living in a small organizational house. When your father was discharged, despite lots of guests and visitors at your uncle’s place, they did not let us take him somewhere else. They kept us in their house for some days and showed hospitality and when we wanted to leave, they did not let us. One day I did not accept to stay more and said that I have to be with my children. I said that Ali, Sabbah, Fouziyeh, Shahnaz, Saleheh are all in front and I cannot stay away from them. I have to get news from them.

To be continued …