Seyyed of Quarters 15 (19)

Memories of Iranian Released POW, Seyyed Jamal Setarehdan

2017-2-19

Seyyed of Quarters 15

Memories of Iranian Released POW, Seyyed Jamal Setarehdan

Edited and Compiled by: Sassan Nateq

Tehran, Sooreh Mehr Publications Company

‎2016 (Persian Version)‎

Translated by: Zahra Hosseinian

Seyyed Mojtaba Jasemi, Gholam Reza Fooladi, and Hossein Asadzadeh were prisoners of quarters 14. Jasemi who was one of engineer support troops in Abolfazl Battalion of Lorestan, had been captured on July 23^rd 1988. For reconnoitering the location of Iraqis, Seyyed Mojtaba along with three other colleagues went ahead with a Land Cruiser and near the Kalehdavood strait, they encountered with Iraqi’s ambush. By Iraqis’ shooting, their car caught fire and they jumped out. Seyyed Mojtaba said that one of his colleagues died a martyr there and others severely injured.

I met with them when we went outdoors to take in fresh air. Quarters 13, 14 and 15 had a common ground for taking in fresh air; however, a thin boundary line of concrete with height of ten or twenty centimeters had separated the quarters. We shouldn’t passed this boundary when spoke with prisoners of other quarters, otherwise the guards came and beat us up.

Fooladi was an old man from Arak. He had lost his eyesight because of shrapnel’s hitting. Seyyed Mojtaba helped him all the time and not to bat an eyelid. He said that he liked Fooladi as his father. He helped him to walk in the ground, washed his clothes, and helped him to go to the toilet. Jasemi and Fooladi had met together when they were in Altamouz hospital. After being sent to the quarters 14, camps 15, Seyyed Mojtaba helped him all the time like a kind nurse, and did everything he could. Seyyed Mojtaba had suffered lots of hardships. Before being transferred to Tikrit, Iraqis had taken him to Jalula, Baquba hospital, Altamouz hospital, Baghdad and Al-rashid prison.  

Hussein Asadzadeh was a seventeen or eighteen years old young man from Tehran. He was called ‘Hussein Basiji’ by other prisoners. He had also lost one of his eyes sight by shrapnel’s hitting. Additionally, his mouth, jaw and teeth had injured and his condition was such that he could not eat properly.

Along with Hussein Basiji, I went to see Seyyed Mojtaba Jasemi and Fooladi when we went outdoors to take in fresh air. I talked with Seyyed Mojtaba about religious issues and edicts and also the status of prisoners in the quarters. Seyyed Mojtaba said that Alireza who come from Tehran and is a draftee, has affected by dysentery and his physical condition is not good. To satisfy his hungry, Alireza had collected some pieces of stale bread from dustbins and eaten them, so his disease had been intensified. Then he had gone behind the window and called Seyyed Lateef, the Iraqi guard, and begged him to open the door to go to the toilet. Seyyed Lateef had wanted him to go by the door. Alireza had kneeled in front of the door, perhaps Seyyed Lateef felt sorry for him. Seyyed Mojtaba said that Seyyed Latif opened the door and knocked Alireza’s face with his boot and asked him to put his hand on the ground and spin around. Alireza began spinning until he messed up. Seyyed Lateef had said him to go and sit down in his place with that state.

Unlike other days, Fooladi was in a mood. I asked, "What's the matter Haji Agha? It sounds to me you are down?"

He answered: "Honestly, I don’t know why I have a heavy heart today."

Seyyed Mojtaba said: "I’m wholeheartedly at your service, Haj Agha. What do you want? Tell me, I’ll do it."

Fooladi said: "Mojtaba, please put me in the direction of Karbala."

Seyyed Mojtaba laughed and said: "ok, but I don’t know in which direction it is."

Fooladi said: "do your best, please."

Seyyed Mojtaba looked around and finally positioned him towards the barbed wire. Fooladi said, "Peace be upon you, Imam Hussein. We are very close to your shrine, O Hussein, but we didn’t presume to visit it. Because we’re prisoner and have our hands tied."

Hearing his words, we couldn’t stop the flowing of our tears. Fooladi said: "If it was in our hands, we went to visit his shrine; but what we can do when they don’t allow us. But don’t be worry, you’re already Karbala'i."

The bad condition of Hussein Basiji’s mouth had made me to reflect. He said that he can’t eat food along with others and most of the time he is hungry. When we walked in the yard, my eyes fell on a piece of meatal plate. I picked it up. I worked on it a few days and shaped it just like a bowl. I rubbed its edge to the ground to be smooth and its sharpness not hurt the hand. I gave the bowl to Hussein Basiji. Seeing it, he was happy. I said, "Try not to show it to the Iraqis. They may take it."

From then on, he kept his share of meal into the bowl and ate it very slowly.

Two old brothers around eighty and seventy-five-years old along with their sons were in the quarters 14. Nusrat was the son of seventy-five-years-old one and he was fifty years old. His cousin, Rahman, was twelve years old and the youngest prisoner of the camp. They had been captured by Iraqis and Nusrat’s hand had gotten shot, when they were going to Sarpol-e Zahab from Kermanshah to visit their relatives. Vahabzadeh said that Nusrat has told him if he teach the Quran to him, he divided its divine rewards in half with him.

Regardless of Rahman’s age, Iraqis had punished him along with other prisoners and tolerating this situation was difficult for him. After a while, the eighty-years-old old man passed away and Iraqis took him away. Bakhtiar, who came from Hamedan and was fifty years old, also was one of prisoners of quarters 14. Bakhtiar’s brother was a soldier in Sarpol-e Zahab and when Bakhtiar had gone to visit him, Iraqis had captured him along with the passengers of a car in which Nusrat, his cousin, father and uncle rode.

Shortly after the death of the old man, one of officers came to the camp. He asked all of us get together. One of the guards ran and brought a chair for the officer. The officer spoke a little and then said: "If anyone wants something, come forward and tell."

Rahman got up. He ran toward the officer and said, "I want to see my father's grave."

His words led us to cry. The officer said laughing: "It's not possible."

Rahman return to his place and sat down with a sad face.

When I thought about his condition, I realized that tolerating such a condition in this age is really beyond his capacity. He gradually faded like a flower, and despite the cares of prisoners of quarters 14, he suffered depression and withdrawal little by little. He had been appeared there rather than sitting behind the school benches and studying. Whenever I saw him, remembered my childhood and my past was pictured in front of my eyes.

To be continued…