The display of book "The Doctor of Flight"

I saw beauties were not in any text

Maryam Rajabi
Translated by Fazel Shirzad

2018-3-6

Note: according to Iranian Oral History website, the displaying ceremony of book "The Doctor of Flight", written by Fatemeh Dehghan Nayeri, includes the memoirs of Dr. Mohammad Taghi Khorsandi Ashtiani who was one of the active practitioners during the Holy Defense, was hold in the Mehr Theater of Art Center on Tuesday of Bahman 24, in 1396(2017-February- 13). We read the transcript of speeches given at this ceremony.

"We needed to have memoirs of doctors in our county" Mohsen Momeni Sharif, the head of the Art Center said.

We lacked some books such as "the Doctor of Flight" in literature of sacred defense. We published more than 800 books on sacred defense and memories of various classes of society about this historical time, but there were any memoirs of the doctors of our country. We have published two books about Iraqi doctors captured during the imposed war and were in our country, but the efforts of our dear doctors who we are in debts for their efforts to save the injured fighters have not been considered as yet in the field of literature and art. Part of the memoirs and books of wars are usually published by doctors who attended in the wars. Recently a novel was published in the United States based on memoirs of doctors attended in the wars in the north and south of the United States, while the doctors did not believe in the war; they had attended in it to take on their responsibility.

Dr. Khorsandi graciously expressed their memories of the doctors for the holy defense book’s book. Today, we can proudly point out that this book has been published and we hope that you, honorable doctors and thinkers and those who are not attended in this ceremony have right for Holy Defense, will continue this way. The point of Mr. Khorsandi's memoirs, as it make me happy more, is his human and moral character. Such personality can be a good example for all the readers of this book, especially the youth of medical community who are seeking name. Dr. Khorsandi's personality and other same personalities, who will be introduced soon, are certainly a great opportunity for the field of crisis of identity. Young people should look for their identity in these person like Dr. Khorsandi. I would like to thank Mr. Khatami, the dear chairman of the Pole of Trauma, and also Dr. Arab kheradmand; if they didn’t make effort, this book would not have been published. In fact, Dr. Kheradmand took time and interviewed for dozens of hours in order to provide this book. However, the doctor's time is very valuable, but he did it fairly and pursued the interviews for years ago.

Dr. Massoud Khatami, the head of the traumatic science pole:" The first group that wanted to go to the frontage of war…"

After some hours of Saddam's imposed war, I was taken a responsibility for Shiraz army. The first group that wanted to go to the frontage of war and help was the medical group. There was a doctor who said: "there is a war in this country, where should we go and who should we help to?" The doctors said that they were ready to go war. Medical services, like other methods of wars, have their own method in classical armies. In the classical army, it is defined that the clinic of doctors should be established in a safe place where is quiet, so that doctors can take care of patients. Before the revolution, as the formulation of our own army, it was also said that doctors in the war should be settled 40 kilometers away from the front line to provide medical treatment. The attendance of people in medical team caused this formulation to be field, and we closely observed that our doctors came and worked in the bulwarks for the wounded. These bulwarks were directly under the enemy's fire. The doctors came and worked there. We were there as a general practitioner at that time. We did not believed that those dear doctors came there and to be alongside the fighters and did their works well.  

The medical services was not enclosed with war places; it means that all of hospitals in the country at that time were involved in treating combatants and, on the other hand, were not enclosed to the time of war; That is, today, as we are sitting here, our medical community is carrying out war services, who will treat these devotees? The medical service was not enclosed with the public sector because private hospitals, in all cities, allocated a low percentages of their beds for the wounded. In terms of presence on the front, you should also go see the statistics of the martyrs of the medical community; we had a rescuer along with each combatant in the frontage of war, so that he would be taken to the emergency unit of war as soon as he was injured, and general practitioners would do urgent work for the wounded, and Then take him to a field hospital.

Iraj Harirchi, Deputy and General Minister of Health and Medical Education:" a golden generation"

Martyr Mostafa Alamdar was a laboratory expert and he was martyred after much endurance and resistance. This dear martyr went to surgery room more than 150 times, but he had never showed disappointment and no complaint and no fear. This martyr attended in the frontage of wars for eight years, but unfortunately he had never written his memoirs, and today, such persons are not available. These golden generations are getting far away, and time of efficacy of them is running out, and if their memories are not recorded, these treasures will be lost. During two days, I studied the book" The Doctor of flight" and used it a lot. I had heard the activities of Dr. Khorsandi. Some part of his book attracted my attention; he wrote:" I was debtor of people and I have to work hard to service them all time. Our medical community, with much effort and impressive scientific advances, provided the medical service for 80 million Iranians, and it is not needed to send patients abroad today. Our medical community was alongside people in the sacred defense. The medical community, along with the economic problems of oil, which the cost of oil had reached $ 7 and $ 8, and many services were not available for doctors, but they made attempt and did not allow any trouble enter the process of patients’ treatment. Our medical community has the right to complain about some of the problems, but we can find out what honorable human, like Dr. Khorsandi, the community has in their hearts and these people are proud of us, and I hope that such patterns in the medical community to be paid attention more and more and next generations follow them.

Message from the head of the community of surgeons

Siavash Sahat, Secretary of the Iranian Society of Surgeons, thanked Dr. Khorsandi for his efforts and services in the field of healthcare, the head of the community of surgeons apologized on behalf of   Dr. Iraj Fazel, because he did not attend in the meeting. Siavash Sahat read a massage from Dr. Iraj Fazel to address Dr. Khorsandi. In the part of the message, it was mentioned:" the Iranian medical community is proud to present youthful figures to community who have been the source of lasting effects. What makes these people happy is updated knowledge, human morality, sacrifice, love for servicing people and love for educating scholars who adorn their lives. I wish this well-educated person divine success and pride."

Fatemeh Dehghan Nayeri, author of book "The Doctor of Flight":" parts of a lot services"

The "the doctors of flight" was a book proposed by the Office of Literature and Art of Resistance. We came to the office of Dr. Khorsandi. I guessed it would be a good thing. It was started and interviewed for 20 hours. I hope I can record the parts of a lot services of Dr. Khorsandi. There was very little time, and usually doctors are interested in treating patients instead of writing their memories, but Dr. Khorsandi cooperated with us to record memoirs very much. In the war, doctors created great epics, and these memories came from the chest of doctors, nurses and medical staffs of the war; they should be recorded. we did this As much as possible for us .But I hope that the memoirs of other doctors will be recorded so that the history of revolution and sacred defense will last for future generations.

Dr. Mohammad Taghi Khorsandi Ashtiani, narrator of "The Doctor of Flight":" it is unrepeatable"

I was in Dezful for about three years, and according to my experience, I attended in all teams; and I used to say the head of team that I knew just one thing, I liked to stand up in the middle of the crossroads because I was a good policeman! : "what?" They asked. "I look at patient and say how much time does he need for surgery? I said. In fact, I did not want to fill the operating room with an patient who if we didn't operate him even for three days, nothing would be happened , and a patient had an opportunity to be survived for only half an hour would stay behind door and to be martyred; For this reason, I was skilled in choosing the patients as I was able to do it. When I was a resident of the ears and throats, injured fighters was being brought with intense bleeding, and when I saw a leg damaged by quiver, and the leg was tied and was getting black; I put tampon inside artery. An orthopedic doctor came and said who the resident of ears and throats is that colored all of body." is it a problem? I asked." Yes" he said.  I picked up the tampon and the blood was thrown out severely. "Now, can you stop this bleeding?" I said. "No, I cannot" He replied. He asked me for device to stop bleeding. I said him:"If I had a device, I would stop it instead of you; I had to stop blooding and "tampon" was the best of my reason to stop it"

Operation Fath Ol-mobin was a heavy attack. I was the responsibility of the military station and coordination with me. The Iraqis shot us by mortar, but when they were captured, nurses and doctors did not think they were shooting us  ten minutes ago and treated them like Iranian patients. While I was passing by litters stood next to the wall, I saw that an Iraqi called me. "What's happened?"  I asked. "Give me a pillow for my feet!" he said. I said that we did not have a pillow, even some of the Iranians here do not have any pillow to put under feet. Suddenly, one of Iranian soldiers who was next him, gave a pillow under his head to him to put under his feet.

After the revolution, in the military station, some people disrupted everything; for example, they took all the bowls and dishes that had remained since Shah Regime[1], and as the head of the hospital did not have any budget, he bought a set of spoons and steel plates of put them in the kitchen. The nursing ladies, who intended to follow the rule Shah's time, used to break the spoons after lunch and dinner. I asked them that why they did this. "We break them because we don’t like eating in these dishes" They said. I said the nurses that you should thank God, because it could eat by worse spoons and dishes, but they did not accept my words until the war and those attacks was started and we were informed that all the army personnel should sleep in this room. That room was big enough and we gave two blankets to use one of them as a pillow under head. I told them jokingly that we brought mattress from Tehran to you. They grumbled and I was playing a joke on them to change their morality. It was the fourth night, they were sleeping when the first missile fell down to Dezful. It fell near the hospital, and we felt that the hospital was destroyed, so that the patient fell from the bed and we ran and put them on the bed. Those who were sleeping in the room came out with a cry. "what was going on? Was your mattress comfortable? I said. "Give us up!" They said. I said them with a laugh that you were wondering why you had to use a blanket to sleep on it, but now you couldn’t sleep even.

It was a Friday afternoon and we were sitting at the military station. There was a space where helicopters landed in and patients were being moved. Suddenly, we heard the special sound of the plane. I told the children that this was the sound of Meg, and they should be careful, because when planes came near the station they would reduce their speed, so the sound of the plane would be decreased, but enemy's Meg came near in a high speed, and it showed that they were going to fire the station. We found two Meg came and shot the airstrip of the station, and two other Meg went to Do-Koheh[2]. This events were very common to us and we knew that lots of injuries would come from the airstrip; so all of us were ready to work. When they fired Do-Koheh, we found that there was a strange explosion and smudge, a fungus-like one. I told the comrade that they should go to Do-Koheh, because the enemy fired the store of ammunition. The comrade went out of station, and all of them returned and said that there was so smoke on the road that nobody could walk; therefore, we thought that there was no way to go unless we sat down until  smoke lain down, then we could go and see that situation. In that time, we saw that smudge is getting closer. I said the comrades that they should  not get upset, we all would had a good trip right now, and you shouldn’t be worried  and we wouldn't not even be injured because we all would go to the air now. Because there were several barrels of gasoline under the station, there were also several ammunition store. I was playing joke on comrades to make them happy. The smudge arrived in the 10 meter of us and surrounded the band of helicopter, but it was gradually decreasing, and we went by ambulance to the Do-Koheh and saw that the enemy had fired a train carrying ammunition placed next to the ammunition store and those continual explosions were for capsules on the trains, and that white fungus-like smudge was the result of the burning of those barrels. But there, we had a strange feeling for the first time, and we were waiting for these events, and on the other hand, we were happy that we were not injured in spinal cord, or were not killed by a bullet, and we had not bleeding or pain.

I was at the campus one night. As usual, when I didn’t have and work to do in an emergency, I went to other sections and worked until the morning. I went to ICU, I saw seven or eight patients were sleeping. I found our nurse is crying. "Why are you crying, my daughter? I went forward and asked. "Nothing!" she replied. "If the wounded have told you something, you shouldn’t be upset, it isn’t problem, they are sick and hurt, give them the right". I said. "No. Who are they?" she said. "They are wounded and fight for me and you, if they say something to you, forgive them!" "No! Look at this gentleman" she replied. I looked and saw that a man aged 40 to 45 slept on the bed and did not have a good physical condition. When man had found that the nurse is sleepyhead, but he constantly looked at the patient's blood bag, to go and change it as soon as it was finished. The man called the nurse and said that you could go and sleep, I could kick the bed bu my toe whenever the blood bag over; you would come and change it. This was someone who had gone to the frontage of war with his son in the morning. When her son was martyred, she was taken to the side and she was came back war and he was injured and hospitalized, but as he was inside the hospital, she wants to help and service; there were such people in our war, Iraqi imposed war; When we came into Iraqi bulwarks they were like a boutique, you could find even Nescafe into those bulwark. Their baths were so nice that I wished to have such baths in my house, but our comrades' baths were different; we put a barrel of water with one stopcock on top of a pit, and they went inside the pit and took shower. Our  fighters were fighting by these equipment, and, in this situation, a they fight, I thought myself that weather my works had enough value to write a books about them or not.

One of my friends was going to go to America and insisted that I went with him too. There was a very good situation to go; everything was alright. It was The twentieth September of Shahriver( September 11), and I settled with the station and wanted to go America, but the station was fired by Iraq on the last day. We quickly came back there and saw that it was war. It was night and the head of my hospital called me and said: "Go, you are a sensitive person, it is a pity." I said:"I can’t go. I told myself that the war would be ended after two or three months, but it wasn't ended, and I came to Tehran. God knows that I haven't lost many things without going to the United States, and I know that if I went to US I would give a very different service, but I saw things in the war, despite of bitterness, there were many beauties that no books, novels or stories could show me those beauties.

At the end of the ceremony to display the book "The Doctor of Flight "a memorial gifts was given from the Art Center to Fatemeh Dehghan Nayeri, the author of the book and Dr. Mohammad Taghi Khorsandi Ashtiani, the narrator of the book. Also, some gifts from the medical community were donated to this elder doctor.