Memoirs of Mohammad Majidi from resistance years against Saddam army, Part I

10 days in front and 4 years of captivity

Interviewd by Mehdi Khanbanpoor
Edited by Sara Rashadizadeh
Translated by M. B. Khoshnevisan

2016-9-4

Note: During the sacred defense years, Mohammad Majidi went to the war fronts in order to take part in one of the phases of Karbala 5 Operation. But only ten days after his presence in the front, he was taken as captive by the Iraqi Ba’thists enemy forces and spent four years out of the best years of his life in the camps of Saddam’s army. In an interview with the website of Iranian Oral History, Majidi has spoken about his memoirs of the years of the Iraqi imposed war against Iran.

*Please introduce yourself and tell us when you were sent to the war fronts?

*I am Mohammad Majidi, born in one of the villages of the city of Malayer named Jooran. At the age of 14 in 1987 i.e. when I was studying in the second grade of middle school, I was dispatched to the sacred defense fronts. Let me say exactly that I went to the war fronts on 21^st of February 1987, but ten days later on 1^st of March, was taken as captive by the enemy forces.

*Do you remember the details of how you were sent to the battle fronts?

*Yes, the second round of the examinations was being held in those days. I remember that two or three days before my dispatch, I woke up in the morning to go to school to take part in the exams. My mother had also woken up to say prayer. When she saw me, said, “I dreamed last night that the Iraqi forces had attacked our village and had just taken you as captive among all the people of the village. I was crying continuously, begging them to take you back to me.”

In those moments, I was thinking that the night before, I and my friends were planning in the mosque how to escape and go to the war fronts, because our families did not consent to do so. When I heard my mother’s words, I pondered and whenever I thought of the front and the time of dispatch, I was thinking of captivity unconsciously. The story continued until the time of our dispatch. The weather was very sunny on that day. We got in the bus but I again remembered my mother’s dream.

Immediately after our dispatch to the war fronts, my father was informed, and in search of me, he came to Hamedan’s Shahid Mofatteh Barracks. He was said there that I had been sent to Ahwaz half an hour ago. Then my father came to Ahwaz from the same route, but this time he was said again that I have moved toward Dezful. At any rate, in search of me, he came to Dezful and then to Khorramshahr. But to any barracks he reached, we had moved a little sooner. When he arrived in Khorramshahr and did not find me, he was said, “Your son has been sent to the frontline and you are not allowed to go any further.”

*Tell us about Karbala 5. What happened in that operation and how you were taken as captive by the Iraqi forces?

* We were the combatants of the Battalion 143 of the Division 32 of Ansar-al Hossain (PBUH). Our battalion commander was Mr. Kiaee. At firs our commander was martyr Khanjani but after his martyrdom, Mustafa Talebi, Hassan Tajik and finally Mr. Kiaee were appoint as the commander of the battalion.

One of the phases of Karbala 5 Operation was carried on the night of 21^st of February 1987. In this phase which was also my first experience in the war fronts, I was appointed as the second assistant to RPG 7 man, and according to the regulations, I had to go to the frontline.

We had a horseshoe-shaped bulwark, and were located exactly in the zero point, in a way that we felt there was just within a bulwark between us and Iraqi forces. I curiously stood up to see what was going on. I saw that several Iraqi tanks were moving toward us very quickly. First I thought to throw some grenades towards them to prevent at least one of them of moving, but the distance was so far that grenade was useless. Thus, I decided to wait till they became closer and then started firing at them. But suddenly, one of the Iraqi tanks fired at ne, in a way that I felt I had been suspended between earth and sky. I was injured in the head and then fainted.

It was early in the morning that I fainted and when I opened my eyes I saw myself in the third line of the Iraqi forces, and from the angle of the sunshine, I found out it should be around 9:30 to 10 AM. Whatever we had seized from the Iraqi forces at night, they retook the next day and we were captivated by the enemy forces.

*How did the time pass in that situation that you were both injured and shocked by captivation?

*When I was recovered, several Iraqi forces came to me. I opened my backpack and saw that in addition to explosive charges and RPG 7 rockets, there were also some chocolates and honey which was special for operation nights and existed in the backpack of all combatants. The Iraqi forces who were apparently Iranian, addressing me in Farsi and said, “Mashallah, your backpack is full.” Injured and shocked as the result of the explosion wave, and supposing that they were friendly forces, I said, “Enjoy your meal!”

They brought a trolley, placing me on it. Having heard the sound of a tank, I looked at my right side and saw that a tank was coming toward me and felt that it was passing over me. At that moment, as I prepared myself for dying, I saw that three men with short sleeve dresses and the hats of Iraqi commandos on their heads came out of the bulwark. I did not hesitate that there were Iraqi forces. At any rate, they tossed me in a car. When we passed from the gate of the city of Basra, I saw the board of Harou al-Rashid Hospital, and when we entered inside the hospital, they put me on a wheelchair. I was seeing that the Basiji (voluntary forces) guys were dying and nobody cared them. I said to myself, “Oh God, where are the nurses? Why don’t they care the patients?” Again, I did not think even for a moment that I might have been taken as captive.

Finally, they placed me in a room and an officer came to me. He sat in front of me with a cup of tea which had brought for me, starting speaking in Farsi. For instance, when he asked me how the Imam was. I said, “Thanks God, he is fine.” He got happy amazingly of my answer. He asked me questions about how I came here and how the operation was carried out and had no reference to captivity. Later I found out that the officer was one of Iraqi Mujahedin forces and God had helped me that he had been appointed as a person in charge of my works.

After a few days, we were taken out of the hospital, moving toward Baghdad. Our clothes were burnt there and made us to put on Arabic dresses know as Deshdasheh. Ten reporters were also accompanied and interviewed us constantly, but when I saw the nurses had no Islamic veil, got angry and did not interview. Ironically, later the film fell into the hands of Iranian forces and all of the captives except me were recognized, because I both had worn Deshdasheh and my head was bandaged and had not looked at the camera.

*When did you find out that you had been captivated eventually?

*When I came out of the hospital, an ambulance was waiting for me. I was taken by wheelchair to the door of the ambulance and they said, “Lie down”. At that time, a stout officer with a large book in his hands came to me and said, “Get up and sit.” Then he started asking me questions in order to make sure that I had been affected by the shock wave.

There was a room in the size of 3 in 4 meters in a corner of the highway en route Basra to Baghdad, and we were supposed to go there. I saw that a number of people with torn clothes and injured were being beaten. I thought to myself that certainly they had done wrongdoings and according to the army’s regulation, they were being punished. As a matter of fact, the shockwave I had been affected was so high that I even could not think that they were Iranians and those who were beating them were Iraqi forces. Finally, the ambulance reached the room and I got in with the help of two people. As I entered the room, I saw that it was full of Iranian and familiar forces. Our division and Mazandaran’s Karbala 25 Division had carried out an operation simultaneously and we were supposed to break the line and then they came to the frontline as substitutes. At any rate, the persons who were present in the room were all from these forces. After a while, the room’s door was opened again and another one on a trolley was brought in. as soon as he entered the room, looked at me and said, “Mohammad, you were also taken as captive?”

He was Abbas Mirzaee. From the very moment we decided to come to the front, were together. I, who had been shocked, asked, “What did you say?” and he said, “Poor man, we are now in the city of Basra and moving toward Baghdad”. I just found out there that we had been captivated. I was only 14 and had scared of the captivity extremely and did not know whether I could stand up or not. Finally I said to myself, “Oh God, I am happy to your consent.”

*How long did you stay in that room?

*After three days, the capacity of the room was completed and a bus came to take us. Again, the same reporters had been waiting for us. Again, filming and interviews were conducted and all were recognized except me who did not interview. When we got away some 20 kilometers from Basra, the bus stopped and an Iraqi officer got in and came directly toward me. He took out my plate and said, “Meftah-al Jannah?” I found out that Meftah-al Jannah means the key to paradise. In response, I said, “this is a plate.” He said in Arabic, “(Imam) Khomeini has said that this is the key to paradise, go and open the door and enter the paradise!” I said, No, this is just a plate, a plate.” He took the plate of its chain and threw it away from the windows of the bus, and then he beat me with the chain during the whole 8 hours. I shouted from pain and the whole people in the bus were crying. The Iraqi officer said continuously to Mr. Ansarian who had sat beside me, “You are the commander of this battalion. You ordered them to fire…” I should add this that when Mr. Ansarian was captured, the personnel carriers which had stuck in the mine field, had found out that he was the commander of the Division 25 of Karbala. So he had been disclosed from the very beginning of his captivity.

We reached Baghdad in the evening. Before we got off, the same Iraqi officer started inspecting the cases above the passengers and continued inspection until he touched a wrench box. He said, “I found it.” The driver stopped the bus and pulled the handbrake. The driver held him from behind and said, “I have been entrusted with taking care of them. What are you going to do?” the officer said in Arabic, “I want to blow off their heads!” Finally with much pressure, the driver dissuaded him and the bus stopped in Baghdad’s Al-Rashid Barracks.

*Then what happened?

*when the door was opened, we had to get off. They told me, “Get off”. I said, “I can’t. My foot is numb”. Two of the captives took my armpit. But the officer, who had stood beside the driver, did not let my feet touch the stairs. He kicked my back and I was thrown out of the bus. As soon as I wanted to raise my head, another officer slapped me in the face. I felt that I had been blown by a hot lead. I started shouting and said with a sigh, “Oh Fatemeh Zahra!” the rest came to help me and all got in a car which was apparently for carrying meat and he refrigerator. We were taken toward Baghdad’s airport and made us get off behind the runway. A fighter jet was passing by every several seconds and broke the sound barrier. The voice was so irritating that we were ready to die and not to hear it. They annoyed us with the voice of the jets for some two hours and then took us somewhere else. Their torturers came there and stared torturing us one by one for four days.

*What were the tortures?

*On the whole, we became 72 in a 3in4 meters room. We were told we would bring the same thing happened for the captives of Karbala. The entrance door had half a meter in diameter just like a safe and was rarely opened. Nothing but a torn blanket was seen inside the room. The weather was so cold and exhausting that the blanket was no use. The door had been closed for three complete days and we were all thirsty. One day we saw that water had been infiltrating from behind the door, pouring into the room drop by drop. The guys stormed the water in a way that as if they had found a mineral water spring. But I could not move and was craving for drinking the water. On the other hand, a bullet was still in my foot and had no sense for moving. Finally I stuck my trousers and moved a few centimeters toward the water. On the whole, I was just reaching it that the door was opened and everybody was told to get out.

It was there that we found out that they were lubricating the floor with water and suds and that was not drinking water. Having heard the order, all went out of the room and I stayed alone because I could not stand up. I said, “Somebody help me, I cannot stand up.”  At that time, Mr. Jafar Yar Ahmadi who was a clergy and is now a professor of the seminary came back and put me on his shoulder and took out. As soon as we went out, the Iraqi forces give a few kicks to his stomach and a baton blow to his leg so that I fell down. But he held me tightly and put me on the ground with much difficulty. As soon as the captives went out of the room, they were slipping constantly and the Iraqi officers kicked them.

I had stayed in the corner of the corridor. I saw that there was a WC and a bath there and the water was leaking from the tap. I do not know how I stood up and reached myself to the tap. I just remember that I drank that water so much that I couldn’t move. After some one hour, the torture of the guys on the slippery floor finished and all were allowed to use the WC and then the tortures started again in a way that all of us were suffered from bloody diarrhea. Or in another instance, I those three or four days, they took meals in the dishes which had not been washed and dirtiness was seen clearly in them!

*In which camps were you?

I was in many camps like in Camp 11. On the whole we were 160 who had been blacklisted due to our protest and opposition and Saddam had tried us in absentia. In this trial, we had been sentenced to 99 to 400 years in prison. For instance, I was sentenced to 99 years in captivity.

*Tell us about 160 opposition group.

*After the operations of Karbala 4 and 5, we were among the first groups from the missing camp. Until that time, Iraq had captivate a small number of Iranian forces and as we heard later and read in Arab dailies and magazines, in the night of the Karbala 5 Operation, the Iraqi forces had been ordered to take captives as many as they could, even if they were injured. It seemed that the Iraqi forces had felt that the war was coming to an end and the captives’ swap might start soon. In such a situation, they had to capture more forces in order to gain concession.

The opposition group known as 160-person group was in fact 169. All of them were from Basiji guys and led the other captives in different camps. They launched most of the ceremonies including the congregational prayer, Komeil supplication and other ones. It is worth mentioning that despite that hard situation we rarely said our prayer individually and although we were aware that we were risking our lives, we had stood over our beliefs and held congregational prayers.

*So, these 169 persons were in fact those who opposed in different camps?

*Yes, this leadership and opposition went so far as that Saddam believed that any event happened everywhere might be carried out by this group. It is interesting that although I had no role in this group, but my name had been registered among the members of this group and tried in absentia.

*With 99 years in captivity as your verdict, had you been said in fact that if the war is finished, you would have to stay in captivity?

*Yes, they had told these 169 persons that you would never see Iran again and even if the war is over, and the officials and your families come after you, we will not release you because you had acted against our regulations and for this reason, you stay here so much till you tie!

*You were very young at that time. Did the Iraqi forces treat you like other captives?

*They were supposed to build a camp for children under 15 and Saddam used it as propaganda. By doing this, Iraq was planning to announce that Iran had no other forces and for this reason, they had appealed to children aged ten to fifteen. I had just become 15 when we were informed of Saddam’s plan. In protest to this plan, I along with other 16 or 17 captives, we went on a hunger strike. The camp’s officials registered the names of all of us and said, “At any rate, we will come and take you. Make yourselves ready from now. You are supposed to be transferred to a camp in which you not only are not beaten but also you can choose any meal you like, and in addition to TV, you’ll have tennis, volleyball and football fields!”

On the whole, they promised us a mirage to stop protesting, and set aside other guys and children with our desire, but in fact another story was underway behind the scene. One day at around 10 AM, they pulled us out of the line, registered our names and said, “Be ready that a car will come to you tomorrow and take you to a new camp.” Believe me, from 10 AM of that day until tomorrow morning when they said, “Come and sit in the camp’s compound”, I recited the supplications I had memorized. During those 24 hours, I recited some of the supplications that I had learnt from my friends and prayed a lot not to send us to other camp and if we are sent, at least I had learnt something. Moreover, we were given a little money in the camp.  With that little money, my friends had bought palm nectar in order to give me in exchange for learning a supplication.

At any rate, they came after us in the morning and said, “The persons whose names are read, come out”. They read the names of each of us and we went out of the line. There was a person among us who had a hulking skeleton named Mohammad Ra’eesi. He was also 15 and from Shahr-e Kord. He looked more than his age. Mohammad had not come for registration the previous day, but on that day, he came out of the line to come with us. He was said, “Where do you come?” he said, “I am 15 years old.” As soon as he said this, the Iraqi forces started beating Mohammad and insisted, “You must say that you are 20.” He was beaten so much that finally he accepted and came back to the line. After a little while, they asked Mohammad again how old you were. As soon as he said he was 15, they again started beating him. Then they made us to get in the bus, moving toward the exit door. But suddenly they told us to come back because “We will take you nowhere.” First we thought that they did not take us for the sake of Mohammad. But later we found out that they did not take us to another camp for the story of those 23 famous persons in Baghdad. They were those who resisted in Baghdad and in a meeting with Saddam had gone on a hunger strike and had said that you were going to misuse us and because of this, the plan was cancelled and thanks God, we could survive.   

To be continued …