Memories about face of photo of Behesht-e Zahra (SA) facade

A Minute after the Explosion

Mehdi Khanbanpour
Translated by Ruhollah Golmoradi

2018-4-17

On the sidelines of 17th memorial of martyrs of Ansar al-Rasul Battalion from 27th Mohammad Rasulullah Division which was held in Andisheh Hall of Hozeh Honari on November 30, 2017, short interviews was conducted by correspondent of oral history website of Iran with his brother, commander and friend of the famous martyr of Behesht-e Zahra. They will be read in the following. Amir Hajamini was born in 1961, officer of portable transceiver of Ansar Battalion, died a martyr in Operation Karbala-5 on March 1, 1987.

Vahid Hajamini

Introduce yourself.

Vahid Hajamini and I had proud of being alongside of the guys of Ansar battalion during the war.

You are brother of martyr Hajamini, face of a famous photo that may was somehow globalized. Talk a little about martyr Hajamini.

It's hard for me to talk about martyr Amir Hajamini for some reasons. Living with Amir was and another world and mood. I was in a good relationship with Amir. I was younger brother of Amir. He was 4 years older than me. While we were brother, we were very friendly and intimate. I have many memories from Amir. When we see will of Amir, as he himself was a well-behaved and moral person, his will also smacked of morality. There are a few very nice suggestions at the end of his testament. He writes: "Be well-behaved. Do not judge soon. Never lie." When we look at these sentences, perhaps the whole path of life of a Muslim is the same. He really was the same; He was very ethical; did not judge anyone. He did not allow himself to judge. He was so fascinating that both during his lifetime and after martyrdom had influenced many. The same photo gave us a lot of memories; those who contacted with this photo and people who were evolved by the photo. Amir had a kind heart. In private life, he spent a portion of his salary from bureau for orphans. He was very emphatic on this point. Even in the letter that he had written to me and in his will, he had emphasized me that not forget the certain family. When Amir died a martyr, nothing was remained from the world. No one knew that his salary was spent for orphans.

Tell us a memory of your teen.

God bless my father, he was a very good man. He enrolled Amir and I in Quran course. We were usually in neighborhood mosque for prayers of Maghrib and Isha. Our house was in Ghale Morghi neighborhood, and was distant 3 houses from mosque of Seyyed Al-Shohada (AS). Amir was Muezzin and Mukabber (one who says Allah Akbar and pillars of prayer). He also taught me, saying, "You must also read Adhan and be a Mukabber." I was shy early. Then I gradually became more comfortable and I was also Mukabber and Muezzin for a while. In the mosque ideological classes were held. Amir was of good student of the class. Sometimes the instructor held an examination. Children sat in close of the mosque, test sheets were distributed and exam was conducted. In one of these exams, I did not know answer of a question. I mentioned Amir what is answer of this question? He laughed and told me answer. Poor had answered a question incorrectly. I do not remember that my grade became 20 and Amir 19 of 20. Amir was very happy about the issue that his younger brother's grade was 20. I do not forget this memory at all; because Amir liked me so much. He liked everyone smile, especially me that was his younger brother.

Do you remember a memory of your presence in the front?

Before martyrdom of Amir I was in Komeil battalion, after that I went to dispensary unit. After martyrdom of Amir, I came to Ansar battalion. When I was in dispensary unit, we were in Karkheh Headquarters, where 27th Division was located. We were in the front of the headquarters and Ansar Battalion was at the end of the headquarters. I told my friends my brother is in Ansar battalion, I want to visit him. We went to Amir and his friends tent. Amir's friends held a Rawda and ritual chest-beating ceremony for the sake of my presence and my friends, who most of them had come to the front for the first time and had still not been familiar with culture of the front. My comrades were very happy, unaware that they wanted to play a role! Lights were turned off. They started ceremony and story of ceremony approached Zorro. I never forget it. One of my friends had become very angry, but another of my friends had laughed. Of course, after a while, they became familiar with jokes of the front and accustomed. Amir was a very neat person and physically fit. In military exercises, going up mountain and in running, he never was exhausted. Once, when I arrived, they realized from my face that I am Amir's brother. Everyone shout, "Haji your brother has come." Then they said to me: "we swear you to God that advice your brother. When he took us for practice, he gives us a hard time due to much running!" But nevertheless, the guys interested Amir specifically.

Where were you at the time of Amir martyrdom?

I was in Tehran. At that time I was a veterinary student in University of Tehran. I had a 125 engine. I went home from university at noon. As I was riding a motorbike, one of my friends came and said: "Control yourself, Amir died a martyr!" I was shocked. I moved slowly toward top of the alley. There was nobody inside the alley. There was a vegetable shop at the top of our alley. The shop was closed. I sat upon stairs of the shop. I put my head between my legs and began to cry. I did not understand myself mood. I was really shocked. We were 4 brothers. One of my brothers had understood first. Amir died a martyr in complementary stage of Operation Karbala-5 on March 1, 1987.

Abbas Nourmohammadi

Tell on yourselves and from day of martyrdom of Amir Hajamini?

I am Abbas Nourmohammadi. In Operation Karbala-5, I was commander of company. Amir Hajamini was officer of portable transceiver of Ansar battalion of who died a martyr in Operation Karbala-5 in Shalamcheh on March 1, 1987. It was a hard day. We were told that we should go to the front line with the battalion vice chairman and portable transceiver who was Amir Hajamini. I coordinated the guys and moved. We went part of the way by car and the rest walking. Several explosions occurred during the path that killed a number of the guys. Anyway, we went and capture the line. As the beginning of the morning, the enemy counterattack was started. Amir Hajamini and another portable transceiver officer were with me. Iraq did a very heavy counterattack, and we responded anyway. At noon, there was a relative calm in the line. We were behind bulwark. Amir was next to me. Hajj Mohammad Pourahmad, Hassan Turan Poshti, messenger of the battalion and Qasem Farahani, battalion logistics officer, were also. Another one of portable transceiver officers, Mr. Arjmandi had sat farther. We were very near to Iraqis. As we were at the back of bulwark, Amir Hajamini was talking with the battalion on portable transceiver. He said: "We located in line, we won." As there was quietness we gathered together. Suddenly there was a very intense explosion. Amir Hajamini had leaned on escarpment of bulwark and was talking. When the dust was receded, I saw Amir very quiet while the portable transceiver was still in his right hand. On the contrary, I was jangling due to my severe injure and had a severe pain. It was exactly after Zuhr Adhan that it happened and this famous photo was taken in the very first minutes and seconds. Body of Amir was still hot, and blood drops still were not bleeding fully on Amir's face. Perhaps this is photo of the last moments and death of Amir.

If you have any other memory about Shahid Amir Hajamini, please narrate it.

Amir Hajamini was one of our best forces. He was tall and was handsome and had a kind face. He was euphonious and did eulogy. When he was in queue, he was a head and shoulder above the guys. He was a good person; he was very polite and the point that I remember very well from Amir was that he was very neat and fashionable. Amir wore more swell than all the guys. He was very dignified. His height, physique and discipline, and a kind of his wearing were famous among the battalion guys. Notwithstanding, Amir Hajamini, Hajj Mohammad Pourahmad and Qasem Farahani died a martyr in this happen. Hassan Turan Poshti and I were also injured, and Mr. Arjmandi, who was a portable transceiver officer his eyes was severely injured and unfortunately became blind.

Fathollah Nadali

Mr. Nadali, you are of friends of martyr Hajamini, tell us about moment of his martyrdom.

I am Fathollah Nadali, from fighters of Ansar al-Rasul (pbuh) battalion. It was a noon in Operation Karbala-5. There was a tough conflict between our forces and Iraqis. Due to short area of the conflict, intensity of the enemy's fire was very high. Purportedly it plowed the land span by span. An embankment had been made and everyone behind the bulwark had created a shelter. The guys had not rest for one or two nights and were very tired. When the area became a little relaxed, the guys rest. Of course, do not think that the enemy's fire had been interrupted; only intensity of the fire was reduced a little, and as the guys were resting, the enemy was also firing. I had made a quasi-trench with a few stones and clods and an ammunition box, as part of my body would be safe. I was very tired and wanted to rest for a few minutes in the trench. Meanwhile, a young photographer who was already in our battalion came to me and placed herself in my small trench. He was the current famous photographer Mr. Ehsan Rajabi and this famous photo belongs to him. Ehsan entered the trench with a photography camera that was actually his gun and laid beside me. It was almost a few minutes after Ehsan presence that that a terrible sound of a mortar shell burst was heard. It was normal for us in the first stage. Many of these mortars passed above us and we did not think that have casualties. The blast caused our trench to be collapsed and stone and clods and ammunition box was thrown and damaged us a bit. Even Ehsan camera had been thrown and after a few seconds after explosion, Ehsan was looking for his camera. At that moment, sound of Allah Akbar of one of the guys attracted me. I saw Hassan Turan Poshti, who was severely injured, was saying Allah Akbar. A number of the guys, including Hajj Abbas Nourmohammadi, had been injured at the bottom of the bulwark. Hajamini, Pourahmad and Farahani were resting alongside our trench, when the mortar hit ground and mortar shells struck these loved ones, as Pourahmad had been almost cut off, and Hajamini had still in his hands portable transceiver and his face was bleeding. I reached him. I separated portable transceiver. I picked up codes in his pocket so that the guys of Taavon (cooperation) came and transferred back the martyr's body. I went to help the wounded, including Hajj Abbas Nourmohammadi. I closed his wound. We had no stretcher. We put him upon two broken guns and brought him back a few kilometers so that we reached ambulance.

When did Ehsan Rajabi take this photo?

It's so weird; because those days, there was no digital camera in order to see whether photo is high quality. When the explosion happened and its blast hit our trench, Ehsan's camera was thrown too and even after that we came to ourselves, as I looked for martyrs and wounded, Ehsan was looking for his camera. This is one of miracles about this photo; he found the camera under the ground, cleaned its lens with a Keffiyeh and began to take photo. He took photo from martyrs Pourahmad, Hajamini and Farahani. From the moment we closed the wounded, he took photos. This photo may have been taken accurately a minute after the explosion. If you look at the photo exactly, blood is just bleeding from head of Amir. I got portable transceiver from hand of Amir, put his hand alongside his body and went toward the wounded, when Ehsan began to photograph.