Thirsty Sands (Part 14)

2019-10-15

Thirsty Sands (Part 14)

Jafar Rabiei

Design: Ali Vaziri

First published in 1991

Publishing House, Islamic Propagation Organization

Printed at the Aryan

Among the enemy’s new decisions on the goals they sought was the establishment of Hall 17. Those in this hall comprised very young Basijees, with the exception of eight persons, including me. The total number of persons inside the hall was about 60. Even though none of us had experience regarding the new collective life and the programs which we could occasionally carry out, the valuable pieces of advice given by our other dear friends in all area gradually removed our weakness in these regard, enabling us to coordinate our behavior with other brothers in the hall and implement special programs as did our other friends in other halls.

The conditions of the halls markedly differed with those at the hospital in terms of different problems. It was perhaps due to these differences that the Iraqis constantly threatened to send the injured into the halls. So1nc of the differences were as follows:

Inside each of the halls housing the injured 30 people were hospitalized. But now 60 people lived there. Bearing in mind the 17*5 meters width and length of this place and the fact that nearly two meters of the area were set apart for toilet facilities and water preservation, we had been left with only 75 square meters for living space. If we divide this space between 60 people (the minimum kept in the hall-at times raising to 70 or even 80) each of us had about half a meter or less in space. The free time in the halls began at eight in the morning after taking count lasting at 12 P.M. when again counts were taken. At three in the afternoon we were given another break until five P.M. with another count inside the hall. The total number of hours when our brothers were able to spend outside the hall was about six hours. This short period the Iraqis tried to shorten even further under various pretexts so as to restrain us.

Taking in to account the very limited free time we had and in view of the fact that we were a many as 500 persons in the Oate, we had great problems over sharing of toilets and bath facilities. There were a total of 9 toilets in the Oate, most of which were not utilizable du to various reasons. Naturally we had to form long lines and inaccessibility to toilets caused many diseases which were medically dangerous. A question might be asked as to why we did not use the toilets inside the hall at hours when the POWs were resting inside the halls. On this it should be said that unfortunately none or the halls possessed toilets and, the POWs using their personal expenses, (the Iraqis paid each POWs one dinar per month) had to provide bucket wrapped around with a piece of torn-off blanket served as a top pail which they used for relieving themselves. This is one example of the Baathist regime’s so-called humanitarian treatment of the POWs and one which had been approved by international organization! As for baths, even though there was a public and private bath, they were often shut due to the low pressure of water and not more than four or five showers could be used.

These were some of the discomfort which the Iraqis held out to threaten the injured saying they would be thrown out of the hospital to face such grueling conditions. On the other hand, there were other reasons as to why the boys eagerly waited to come out of the hospital and join the halls. I remember on the first day along with some friends I was transferred to hall No.17 I was surprised to see so many people in this hall and wondered how so many people could find room to sleep beside each other. Due to mental fatigue I slept early on the first night. But I woke up automatically about midnight and heard murmurings. I raised myself up, being stirred from my sleep, and looked around. What I saw was amazing a sight that struck me dumb with incredulity. All about me, nearly three fourth of the men were deep in prayer and recitation of the Ouran. The person closest to me asked me how I was feeling. I wished the earth would open up and swallow me from embarrassment. Ashamedly, I replied thus: “I am fine”, and asked him in turn whether the brothers did all this every night.  He said “yes”'! Now I found the answer to the question ingrained in my mind early in evening on the tight space for sleep. Most of the boys spent throughout the night praying to God.  The value of the supplications dawned on me when I observed that the Iraqis had already banned the boys to rest in morning, so that none could stay up at nights after all those morning activities. [This was the first step for the Iraqis to struggle against our brothers to prevent them from performing their religious duties.  

Another subject on which the Iraqis maneuvered as regards the injured was to remind us that they provided us with sufficient amount of food. The el, however, was that out fellow country man in the halls suffered from lack of sufficient food. The food the Iraqis provided to us never exceeded ten morsels, which were raised to twelve when the Red Cross agents came to distribute our letters. Lack of sufficient food could never hinder the boys from their resistance.

On our arrival in the hall we had to adjust to the conditions there. In the first few days there were apparently no sign of harsh pressure by the Iraqis on our friends. Our friends described this hundred percent shift in the enemy’s position a new Iraqi tactic and that we had to wait to see what the enemy had in store for us. This change in the Iraqi tactics started in the autumn of 1983 and gave us an opportunity to increase our activities in cultural and propagation fiends and to implement various programs inside the halls and throughout the camp. The POWs provided programs and implemented them in the halls in proportion to their own needs. Among these programs were educational classes of the Quran, the Nahjul Balagha and practical laws. These programs were held away from the eyes of the guards and performed in the mornings by the boys who were divided in groups of four or five. At nights too when the guards left the area inside the camp, our friends conducted these group rituals inside the halls. These programs were carried out in the form of the great Islamic festivals and on the revolutionary anniversaries and on the days having special value and sacredness to us. During a week, one night was usually devoted to talking about war news and making comments by the boys having knowledge and experience about it.

Many of the boys were fating, some of our friend pent over half of the year in such conditions. Just as the Iraqis were opposed to fasting, as they did with regard to prayer and supplications conducted by the POWs, so thy adopted various methods to prevent the boys from fasting. One reason the Iraqis furnished for justifying their act of preventing the POWs from fasting was to say that in this closed and confined place if was not advisable that we should have preserved our food for over two hours and that since we did not possess any place for preserving our food wholesome, we should have withheld fasting.

To be continued…