The 300th Night of Memory -1

Toward Frontline

Maryam Rajabi
Translated by Ruhollah Golmoradi

2019-3-5

According to Iranian Oral History Website, the 300 memory night of the sacred defense was held in Sooreh Hall of Hozeh Honari on Thursday, February 22, 2019. In this program, Massoud Qandi, Hossein Noori and his wife Nadia Maftooni, Abdol-Hussein Mokhtabad and Abdul-Hamid Ghadirian expressed their memories of the Iraq imposed war against Iran.
The first narrator of the 300^th Night of Memory was born in Tehran on 1960. He usually went to Sacred Defense fronts individually and a few times travelled with collective deployments. In the fronts, he was present in most of units such as logistics, advertising and telecommunication, and he believes that sweetest memories of his life are related to years in the fronts.
Massoud Qandi said, "When the war was begun, Iran people were not calm in their heart, their heart was in the war zone. Some could go and some like us could not go. I was working in Hozeh Honari and I was doing art works. I understood that if I go to a place and enroll and wait for a crowd to gather and then they took me, it doesn't avail, and I couldn't tackle all my tasks. I pulled strings and made an appointment with a relative and went to the war area. They told us go to the front line. They asked me, which part would you like to go? Since I did not know anyone, I said, whatever you like. I thought since my work was in art field, they would take me to advertisement part or somewhere like this. They asked me do you like to go to martial engineering? I thought to myself what I know? Of course, I knew cartography and I say they might want me for cartography.
At around 12 to 1 midnight, they told warriors stand up and let's go. We got on car and the cars moved at high speed and off lights. Because it was for the first time that I experienced such a situation, I was severely annoyed and I got backache. Then they said now we have to walk for a distance. We went. We arrived at a place and they gave us a shovel. We asked, what is this? They said: this is martial engineering! We could not bring excavator because it is noisy. Here we had to make a canal so that Iraqis couldn't operate and the warriors passed the canal. We dug canal all the night to the morning. We rest for ten minutes to a quarter and went on again. We were unaware from everywhere and thought the logistics would come and bring food. It was 11 to 12 noon and nothing happened. We were suffered too much us due to hungry and thirsty. God bless martyr Chamran's father. Before us, martyr Chamran made there full of water so that Iraqi tanks to be bemired. That water had been accumulated and became like a pond. We tried to drink the same water. Of course, that water was actually boiling water. When we wanted to drink cool water, we stayed until the sun dusked. We were in the situation for a long time. The routine of the area was that warriors of each camp had morning military exercise, recited Qur'an and song a hymn, then they exercised and after that went for breakfast. When the guys who were in the war zone saw each other, read the poem, who are these? They are brothers, they are comrade-in-arms in the fronts, and when they visited martial engineer guys, they said jokingly, "Who are they? ... They are well digger!" We decided when military morning was over and we were going to exercise, go to a side that no one see us. We got away from the rest, but they again shout and song the poem for us. We said if we go to back of the hill, they would read this poem for us."
Massoud Qandi continued, "After a while in the war zone, I went to Tehran, and continued art activity, and if it there was an operation, the guys called and told stand up and come with solitary deployment." In solitary deployment, when the warriors went to get draft, they were asked, what do you do? They said, "Sniper", and when they asked us, "we told, "tak-bil andaz (being sniper through using a shovel)!" I decided to completely change my dispatch area. For some time, I went with warriors of Imam Hussein's army and then with guys of Tehran. As well as, for a while, in order not to be known by anyone, I went to Battalion Malek Ashtar. Then I saw everyone reached me, asked, "Mr. Qandi, are you ok?" it was for the first time I saw them, I do not know how did they know me? It seemed that news of my martial engineering was spread everywhere and they probably saw me a shovel.

Warriors knew I did art activity. One of the friends who was in advertising unit of the battalion, and took him to advertising unit of the 27th Mohammad Rasulullah Division, forced me to go to the army's propaganda because I wanted to use gun for a short time so that when I went to Tehran boast before my friends. Mehran's liberation operation was ahead, and there were various tasks in the division's propaganda. One was writing a board. For example, write "Toward the frontline", "Fighter, Basij force, brave, not to be tired", "Smile Basij force". The operation was done and the warriors went. We were also supposed to load equipment in the morning and take to the frontline and arranged them. Ehsan Rajabi, Adel Davankesh and rest of the guys of the division and I filled pickup and went. We had a calligrapher who was very powerful. He wrote with a beautiful handwriting on a big board, "Mehran was freed by God." We planted that board at the entrance of Mehran city and put some cliché that we had created from image of Imam Khomeini. In the city, we also put several photos and several placards made of manuscript. We came to a place where we did not know what to do. There was so dusty and had no time to stop. We saw in a side that a car is moving in a far distance. We thought our route was the same of that car. It was fairly true. We went to a region that was hangar of Iraq weapons. We saw some of our own warrior cars were there. When we arrived at space of the hangar, we saw Mohammad Kosari, and members of the general headquarters and some military men. They asked us, what are you doing here? We said, "Like you, what are you doing here?" They asked where are you from? We said, The 27th Division. They said: "Which battalion are you from?" We said, advertising unit. They asked, so what are you doing here? We said, we like other warriors have come to the frontline to do some work. They said, go fast!

Meanwhile, a mortar was shot and a machine wheel of ammunition was fired. One of companions named Mr. Tahmasebi hopped into the car and took the car to a safe place and we put the fire of the wheel off. We came to the conclusion that if we go out by car, they would shoot us. In a file, we moved everyone having a shovel and boards in hand; in a area where the tanks were, one side was road and the other side was bulwark. We thought that a road is in front of us and Ansar line was ahead too. We said to ourselves when we are going, plant boards in this road. On the road and towards frontline of the 27th Division, we set boards. We determined not to plant boards in short distances so that the boards to be finished. The sound of shooting was heard, and bullets were passed sometimes passed next to our ears, but we did not care. We had put the shovels upon our shoulders and went, suddenly a bullet struck my shovel, and a piercing sound echoed in my ear. I said, these are shooting us, let's go to other side of the bulwark. We went and saw that the warriors, on the other side of the bulwark, had entrenched; that is, before that we were going toward Iraqis. We said, Thank God, martial engineering saved us. Striking bullet at shovel caused us to be informed and go to the other side."

Qandi retold his last memory, "I was a logistic driver in Khorramshahr liberation operation. It was supposed to merge Khorramshahr fighters with Arak warriors, and since they knew the city, they leaded fighters at the entrance to Khorramshahr to make it easier to advance. Because I was a logistics driver, I thought I was taking weapons. In operation, drivers, in addition to food, also took military supplies. When the forces merged, they told me we do not need you. I said, where do I go now in middle of this desert? In the situation, I saw Mr. Mohsen Rastani, one of guys of Khorramshahr. He was a friend and a great photographer. He asked for what I had come? I said, I am one of logistic forces. I also asked him why did you come here? He answered, I had come for filming. He said, what do you want to do now? I stated, they have told me we do not need you; they have made layoff. He told, so let's go together. I have a film backpack and a camera too. You take the films and I also film. I accepted. That night, there was an operation and I went with him.

We crossed a bridge, and I was in a mood to see divine help. Some cloud came and covered the moon. The air became dark and stated to rain. We moved in file. They told us continuously to sit. We sit for a quarter. They said they wanted to open a passage. On the way, I stumbled over wires. Several times I disengaged wires, but because they were numerous, I forgot it and tried to pull them with my feet. Meanwhile, there was a clash. Mohsen Rastani said, "I go to head of the file to see what we have to do." He went on and a sever conflict occurred. Warriors walked in form of watchman. I also started to go. No, I found Mohsen for a few days neither he found me. Combatants of various battalions and armies had been tied together. In course of conflict, there were a lot of tracers were shot toward us. I saw on the way that they were going back on the air! It was a question to me that what thing these bullets strike so they return? I thought there surely was a tank, but we hadn't brought tank. If there was also a tank, the bullets should not go back, but they should go upwards. Meanwhile, someone asked, "What are you doing here?" Where is your gun? What do you come for? I said, I have come to filming. He told where is your camera? I said: it is with my colleague; while he had gone and I went too, but I did not find him, nor did he.

When we arrived at Ahvaz-Khorramshahr road, it was about 1 or 2 p.m. We were tired. A ten meter bulwark like wall of a fortress was against us. Khorramshahr warriors went in the road to cross the bulwark and go to the other side. They went on the road and Iraqis fired at them. At that time, I saw an army militant who leaped around like a butterfly, because Iraqis were close. He had towed an out of order car to another car, and he alone tried to strike Iraqi tanks by using their facilities and position. This scene preoccupied me completely. In that scene where tanks did anti-attack and fired and cannonaded, he knew that his task to stand against them. Be appreciative to the army warriors and in the words of Imam Khomeini, "soldiers of the Imam Zaman (al-Mahdi)."