Introducing the Book "Two Fingers on One Trigger"

Cyrus Shahbazi Narration of War Memories

Fereydoun Heydari Molkmian
Translated by: Fazel Shirzad

2022-2-8

The design on the cover of the book shows simplicity and behavior that is more an artistic depiction of the sacred defense than it wants to beat the drums of war; Although it shows a fighter ready to shoot or fire, not only does not show the slightest violence in his condition but also, on the contrary, he emphasizes love, compassion and calmness using of light and soft colors of green and blue, The book also has a beautifully patterned layout, which includes the beginning pages of the chapters. After the list, there is the introduction of the narrator and then the reference of the authors of the book. Then, in turn, the readers start to read the text of the memoirs, which consists of fourteen detailed and full chapters. The last eight pages of the book are dedicated to color photographs of acceptable quality as usual.

     This is how the text of the memoirs begins, and Cyrus (the narrator) begins his memoirs by referring to the opposition to the imperial system and the establishment of an Islamic government like the government of Imam Ali (PBUH), referring to the religious beliefs and tendencies of his parents. They were thirsty for justice. They were waiting for the day when poverty and discrimination in the country would disappear; Capitalism dissolved and the poor enriched. Inside, they formed like raw mud under the pressure of right-wing groups. They were restless with the coming of the revolution and waiting on days and at nights; because they were the same lower-class workers. Little by little, the flames of the revolution were illuminating the alleys and streets of their city, and the noises were rising from the heart of the same alleys. It was not long before lines of demonstrations and marches began in the city. They also joined the protests. Now everyone was restless and wanted a big change ... until, , victory was achieved and the revolution came to fruition on the 22nd of Bahman (11^th of February)

     After a while, when the newspapers and radio stations reported on the movements of the western neighbor, and as a result, in the dispersed border clashes, the situation in Iran and Iraq became a complete war, the narrator with Seyyed Ahmad, his best friend, but all the money in his pocket. They were united and took a bus to Tehran and then to Kermanshah. The situation in the city was chaotic and the military forces were constantly moving. They get the address of a cheap hotel to stay at night there. When they are asked why they came to Kermanshah, they answer: "[we are going] to go to war."

-the war? Do you have two children? What are you doing? Are you a soldier?

-No!

- Are you safe?

- No, that's how we came to help!

     The next morning, when they woke up and ran out of the hotel, wherever they got in the car to move to the border and the scene of the conflict, first of all, they would bring them down and ask those questions. They just answered: we came for war, we came from Babol.

How did you, two children, get here? What do you think about the war? Those who are here are fleeing, now you two left Babol and came here, why? Did you think they would allow you to go the front line so easily?

     Although they were heartbroken and did not have the patience to return, they had no choice. They will inevitably return to Babol. When they got home, contrary to expectations, Cyrus' father said only in a sharp tone, "To go to war, you must be a soldier, you must know how to work with weapons. If you get lost, what should we do task?" "Who let you go to front?"

     However, a few days later, news broke that Khorramshahr was officially being bombed and that Iraq was practically ready to attack Iran. Cyrus and Ahmed again determined to reach the main front anyway and set off; this time, they were unaware as well.

     When they got off the train in war-torn Ahvaz and reached Abadan from there, the city was full of troops. There were Trenches made or repaired everywhere. The armies were stationed in these trenches and were ready to defend the city if the Iraqis wanted to enter. The armies were asked what they could do to help. We are building boulevards to turn into trenches," they said. "Help us." They stayed there for a few days, removing large pieces of stone in the middle of the street. They wanted to stay in Abadan, but an acquaintance with a man named Mohammad, who was from Tehran and was called "Mammad", caused their destiny to be changed, and went to Khorramshahr. There were a few inhabitants of the city. Most people had left Khorramshahr. Through the addresses they received, they went to the Khorramshahr Grand Mosque and announced their readiness to help, but in response, they said that when they needed forces, they would be employed. There were not enough weapons. They were supposed to assist in transporting the injured. October was not over yet. After three or four days, Cyrus became strangely excited. He was worried about their families who had left for Khorramshahr from Babol without knowing them. Cyrus was thinking of returning, but Seyyed Ahmad wanted to stay in Khorramshahr with Mohammad, who had come from Tehran. However, Cyrus said goodbye to them and returned to Babol alone, but three or four days later Sayyid Ahmad joined Cyrus. When he found that Iranian forces would not allow them to go to [attack] the Iraqis empty-handed from one place to another, he decided to come back.

     The third time they were preparing to leave their city of Babol for the war zone, more than forty-five days had passed since the beginning of the war and Khorramshahr had completely fallen. Again, the two of them secretly went to Tehran without permission and boarded the Ahvaz train to reach the Susangard front. This time they are accompanied by the main forces of the war who were engaged in training; The training lasted one or two days for the troops who wanted to get to the front line quickly. After training, they each receive a Kalashnikov and take part in the actual war. The Iraqis hit the city hard. There was no interruption between the mortar shells. They wanted to weaken the remaining forces in the city. The sound of mortars was accompanied by the sound of machine guns that could not be cut off. In the beginning, they were very happy that they had taken up arms, but as time went on, the number of wounded increased, and accordingly, the number of martyrs increased day by day. Little by little, that eternal vitality faded and even disappeared in them. The comrades were injured in front of their eyes and fell to the ground and were martyred.

     After a while, when Sayyid Ahmad was wounded by shrapnel and Cyrus himself was injured by a wave, they were forced to return to Babol. Everyone who saw them found that they were among the first to be wounded in the war. Although their families were upset, like themselves, they were calm and confident that they had been trained and worked by schedule, and their names were recorded in a notebook. Seyyed Ahmad also spent some time with a bandaged hand until the problem of his injury was resolved and they went to school together and continued their education ... They were first guidance ... However, they knew that they could not stay at home. Until they heard that the IRGC (Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps) was registering for deployment and went to register. They were asked:

• were they members of the Basij organization or not?
• They replied:: no. But we are fighters and wounded.

     they had letters and represented and prove that they had experienced the front and that they had been wounded. They were to be taken to Chalous and sent from there [to the front]. After organizing and grouping, a certain number of forces were gotten on each car. People had come to say goodbye. There were also their families. This time a heartfelt farewell was made. They were happy; because they had gone through the legal process and no longer had any problems or rewards to go to the front, and on the other hand, they were also equipped with military uniforms and backpacks, a personal bag with a lock, and boots. For Cyrus, this was the beginning of his official presence on the fronts, and especially in Unit 106 during the war years, to witness firsthand the shocking and many events in the heart of the sacred defense in which he participated:

     A family that sent all three of its sons to the front and finally one of the sons returned home  with the backpack of his two other martyred brothers.

     A fighter who had written on the bumper of a jeep car: "Give your head, as a gift, to God during a battle" and accidentally, for a while, in Muharram operation, he was injured in the head by shrapnel and the martyred.

   And the help of the people who always went to the battlefields and were full of love and affection ... that package of peanuts whose corners were broken and inside its package was a letter full of emotions. A small piece of paper on which was written: "I tested each quality of peanuts so that your, fightersۥ, moment on the front would not be bitter.

    Little by little, the days and months of the war became the years of the war. The battle became wider; now, the purpose and slogan of him and his comrades in the sacred defense were not limited to preserving the territory and borders of the country, and he pointed to a farther distance: "The road to Quds passes through Karbala." They even had maps with arrows and directions pointing to the road to Quds and Karbala. They wanted to destroy Saddam one day and then go straight to Israel.

     However, the news that a day later aired on the radio in defense of the adoption of a resolution to end the war caused all of the fighters to cry involuntarily and shed tears on the ground because they had defended for eight years. This was perhaps the bitterest news they had heard during the war years, even more, bitter and biting than the news of the martyrdom of their loved ones, but if it had been good news for some, it would have been quite the opposite for him and his friends. He thought to himself: "We were waiting for the day when we would be martyred like our friends and join them. According to the words of Imam Khomeini, each of us were to drink the cup of poison. On the other hand, obedience to the Imam was also an issue. There was no way out and we had to accept it." he remembered the words of one of the forces of the front and the war, who had said: "Comrades, if the war ends, we will all return to our homes; we become involved in life; we become involved in all the attractions of the world. We will get married, we will have children; like ordinary people; we worry about bread; we just think about our stomach and painless life. We eat like everyone else; we sleep; in the morning we go to the shop; we will make money; this sequence and this vicious circle continues until we will become older; we become old men; One day we will die in hospitals and they wash us with that stinking water; You are shrouded; You will be left in the grave, you will be left there alone with billions of dead. But what if we become martyrs here before the end of the war? You will be buried with the highest ranks, the best positions, and with yoor own clothes and ..."

     However, after the war, the narrator set out to start a flour and rice factory. His father was aged and old he had left matters to him. Although Cyrus (who was now married and had three children) also received a salary from the IRGC, he did not have [salary] enough to support his family and his dependent relatives (for whom he was also responsible). He wrote a letter of resignation to the IRGC(       ) but was refused because of his service and encouraged him to continue working until he made it very clear: "I want to pay for two or three families, but I promise you, I if the country is threatened. I will come back to the forefront." finally his resignation was agreed.

     On the other hand, Seyyed Ahmad, like many others, went on his education. He continued his studies until he received a master's degree in law and worked in a lawyer's office in Tehran.