Memoirs from captivity

Miandari in Tikrit’s 11 Concentration Camp

Elham Saleh
Translated by M. B. Khoshnevisan

2016-6-19

Barbed wires drag our minds immediately toward the concept of captivity. Thus, “Barbed Days” is a related title with which the audience finds out a conception from captivity years. It is the title of a book in which Mohammad Javad Miandari speaks about the years of Iraqi imposed war against Iran and captivity.   

The 9-year old days of the narrator was concurrent with the people’s struggle against the Pahlavi regime; a struggle which bore fruit in February 1979 and the Islamic revolution became victorious. These days were linked with going to mosques and taking part in ethics classes. When the war started, the teenager of this narration became interested in the atmosphere of the war front. But the first sparkle of going to the front was shaped when the narrator’s cousin was martyred. Then the narrator passed different training courses and took part in different operations. Captivity arrived. Mohammad Javad Miandari in the book talks about Al-Rashid Prison and Tikrit’s 11 Concentration Camp, captivity places in Iraq and captivity years.

The sound of locks and chains

Physical tortures shape part of the captivity history in “Barbed Days”. “The bus slowed down the speed and a number of Iraqis were running this way and that way. Someone was pulling out a small sapling. Someone else was separating a shovel handle. Many guards and officers were running toward us. I felt a pain in my back. My body was still bruise. We even did not have enough dress to lessen the severity of lashes. The track of cables on our bare body was the track of blood which touched our thin body.”

The hard mental conditions should be added to physical tortures. “Every morning started with the sound of the opening of locks and the hitting of chains to the door of the sanitarium; the sound which brought the message of pain and torture for us again. The sounds resonated in our ears every morning and hurt our spirit before the lashes of cable and baton.”

The disastrous conditions of captivity are explained in the book. Some of these conditions are about hygienic issues. “Iraqi wastewater system was different with that of Iran. Behind the lavatory, they had dug a pit with some two in two meters in measurement. The pit was very shallow and was filled after two weeks and ran out of hygienic service. And the floor of the hygienic services was often excrement and stinking. Using lavatory was painful and hard for those like us who did not have slippers. Since all of us came out together concurrently, nobody could give slippers to us.”

In addition to misbehavior of Iraqi prison guards, the unfairness and spying of some Iranians added to the hard conditions of captivity. But the captives showed kindness even to these persons to which is referred in "Barbed Days". "A spy who sent many captives under the Iraqis cables, batons and tortures went blind. First we thought that the captives who had been tortured with his spying would become glad but I had not known the real Basijis (volunteer forces) yet. The same men took him under the arm and helped him.

Unknown words and faces

We in this book face with the words heard little. "The Kuwaitis" is one of these words. "They had been taken as captives on their way to Kuwait. In view of the war and sanctions, Iran had a bad economic situation and some goods had become rare. Thus, a few people used this opportunity and went to Kuwait to smuggle goods. And unfortunately they were taken as captives by the enemy and forced to tolerate the hard conditions of captivity."

"Barbed Days" is not just about the captivity of Dr. Mohammad Javad Miandari. It is about the destiny of many Iranian war combatants who were taken captives by the Iraqis. Part of this narration is about the loneliness they have been inflicted after returning to Iran. Years of captivity have changed a lot the faces of the family members, the elders have become older and the children have grown up. This is the joint story of many captives which can be seen in the book.

The book's chapters

"The End of Childhood", "Relief Worker", "From Majnoon to Chaharzebar", "The Last Thursday of Going", "Arvand in Blood", "Barbed Days" and "From a Bird to Flying" are the titles of "Barbed Days".

The book has also the introductions of the publisher and the writer. But these introductions are literary descriptions about the book's narrator and do not provide information. The book's writer in his introduction should have explained at least about the narrator's destiny or a brief biography of him. In the appendix section, you can see photos from Mohammad Javad Miandari from his childhood to post-captivity years as well as his comrades and the hand script of martyr Hassan Habibi.

Short talk with writer

How is it possible that some writers make a decision to go after the books in the area of oral history? This is the question that might be brought up for every audience. Fatemeh Shakouri the writer of "Barbed Days" about the compilation of the book says, "I had earlier written a book about the disabled war veterans. I like to work in this area and "Barbed Days" also includes 25 hours of interview. Of course the book had two narrators and used the words of Mr. Mikael Alijani for its compilation."

About the difficulties of writing in the area of the sacred defense, she says, "One of the most enjoyable moments of my life is when I write about the martyrs and sacred defense. This is not hard for me at all, but when I was hearing the memoirs of Mr. Miandari, I was upset for days that what hardships they have born and I was not informed."