Memoirs were told and listened in the 282nd night of reminiscence (Part II)

In remembrance of pilot Hussein Lashkari and operation Mersad

Maryam Rajabi
Translated by Fazel Shirzad

2017-8-15

A myth in history of Iran

Manizha Lashkari was the second narrator of 282^th program of the night of reminiscence for sacred defenses. She got married with pilot Hussein Lashkari in 1358(1979). They lived together for one year and four months; then, the husband of Manizha Lashkari was held in captivity by the army of Saddam for 18 years. Hussein Lashkari was released from captivity in 1378(1999), and he died in 1388(2009). Manizha Lashkari told:" after the martyrdom of Hussein, I was in the hardest situation in those year, because we had been living separately for 7 or 8 month from that one year and four month of our marriage. Due to the circumstance of our son's birth, I was living in Tehran, but he was in the north of country. It is very difficult for me to speak about the difficulties of those years when my husband was held in captivity. But, despite of all difficulties, I became weak in eyesight and body after year 1388(2009); thereafter, I lost the health of my soul and body. When he was released from the captivity, he looked painful and liked to do  many works, but he was not able to do, he like to eat different food, but he couldn’t.

Of course, I was in luck with him despite this situations. Although he was painful and wretched, but he was reserved person. Despite I was a best insider for him, he was not able to communicate with me. He was trying for me to feel calm and happy. Hussein had spent ten years in a single prison cell alone. I provided an opportunity for him to be relaxed at home as much as possible for a women, nevertheless I couldn't help him. God sent him in the word for a short time to be an example for others; he became a permanent myth in the history of Iran."

She added:" what thing made Hussein happy was a letter he had received from me. The letter was sent to him when International Committee of Red Cross was aware of his captivity. He had been unaware of his family for 16 years. I sent a photo of me and my family to him. After being released from the captivity, whenever we got look the photos, he said me when I looked the photos, I didn’t believe that my son, as he had been in three months of age, became taller than his mother nowadays. Even, we had taken a photo together in Qazvin city, he also kept the photo in his mind. But, I had forgot it, because I thought it hadn’t anything to think. The only delight of Hussein in captivity, especially in single prison cell, was to review the past memoirs. When the photo of Hussein was sent from Iraq, he was worn by nice clothes to be pretend that the captivity were living in peace. But, when the officials of international committee of Res Cross left there, Iraq used of violence against the captives on life, food etc.

Manizha Lashkari told:" in those years, I forgot that I was a woman.  Sometimes, I considered women who were around me, and I said me how different I am with them. I don’t think and live like them. Being released after three or four months, I wanted Hussein to go and buy fruit. When he came back with some raw fruit; I asked him why he bought raw ones. He replied that he thought however the fruit were rawer, they could be better. He had been changed during the years of captivity, so had I; we were in different thinks, but, by the grace of God, we were was able to have a relation with each other and grow interest and love between us. When my son was 18 years old, he saw his father for first time. My son always looked sad due to lack of father. Initially, it was very hard for them to have relation together, but it started getting better gradually. When my grandchild was born, the son presumably found the sense of paternity, and it causes a good relation between the son and Hussein. Lately, they were in a close relation with each other. "

She added:" when Hussein was in captivity, and we were informed that he would be released and returned, but after a while nothing happened, I felt despair here, I appreciate my father and mother although they are died, because parents were my only companion and comrade in those years. In that time, it was possible for me to be moody and impatient, but my father always comforted me with smile that Hussein would be returned. In 1377 and 1373, my father was father was going to go Mecca. At the airport, he said me:" I'm going to go Mecca to that Hussein from God." After 6 months, I received a letter from Hussein.

The role of air forces in operation Mersad

Then, pilot Ahmad Mehrnia told: " in summer 1367(1988), while the dissenters came towards Islamabad, I was driving towards Dezful garrison. When I arrived Dezful, Mr. Abbdul Hamid Najafi and Ali Aini, as the first pilot from Kermanshah, attended in Dezful garrison considering the situation of those days of war, they took the first flight on dissenters. The operation was begun from Dezful garrison. Our comrades, from air force of Hamadan, came to help us by phantom, and they bombed there vigorously. Nevertheless, the pilots did new a major operation for transportation of air force; they transferred 6000 new fighters from different cities of north of Iran to Kermanshah within 24 hours. These fighters joined to our forces attended in the area. Operation Mersad was done by helping aviation and exalted commander, Martyr Sayyad Shirazi. On the one hand, we had to pursue the dissenters until the last moment they were in the soil of our country to be able to kill them and revenge the operation. After that time, whenever we, the forces of aviation, were occasionally informed that the dissenters were going to plan for an attack, we bombed them by a group of 16 air fighters, and, in fact, the security, as achieved later and the dissenters was not able to do anything, was resulted from such operations.

"This situation will be also passed…"

The pilot Farshid Eskandari was the third narrator of two hundred and eighty-second programs of the night of reminiscence for sacred defenses; he was along with Husein Lashkari during the ten years of his captivity by Saddam’s army. Farshid Eskandari told:" in 1352, we were contemporaries, then we were sent to America and we were in a same battalion. When Husain Lashkari and I came back from America. We were in military training course together in Dezful. After ending of the training course, I was sent to Tabriz battalion, but he was stayed in Dezful. We attended in the war. In 31 Shahrivar 1359(1980), while I was alerted in the evening, an attack was began. The next day, that operation, with 140 air-fighters of air forces, was done. In the first day of operation, I got three flight out of boarder. In the second day of Mehr (October), I attacked Ardabil at about 6 a.m., and attacked Kirkuk at about 11. When I was coming back from Kirkuk, I was shot and injured; I fell down and captured by Iraqi fighters. When I was held as a captive, I was in same situation with martyr Lashkari, because I got married for only 3 months, and when I was released from captivity, my son was 10 years old. The first days of captivity, I was under torture and investigation. My single prison cell was very small and dark which I was living in. when I was gone in the prison, first I put out the photo of my wife and mom; I kissed and tore them to pieces. In such situation, I must stop the relation with family. After one month, while I was praying, the door of the cell was opened, two blankets were thrown in the cell, and then a prison came inside. After speaking for a while, he said:" I am Ahmad Soheili, the pilot of fighter plan F4. Since I had been alone there for one month and few days and I was under torture, I became so glad to see him that I was sitting in middle of cell and speaking with him. After a while, the door of cell was opened again, and another one, with two blankets, came into the cell. As soon as he came, I found that he was Hussein Lashkari. When we met each other, we became happy extremely; we hugged each other and carried. We, three prisons, were in a strange mood, we were telling and laughing with Hussein about past memoirs. After 23 or 24 days, while all of our memoirs and words were told we started to live normally, the door of the cell was opened again, the fourth one was come in our cell with two blankets. When we met him, we found that he was Mahmoud Mohammadi who was another pilot of fighters plan F5. After few days, a pilot named Sarshad Heidari, who was another pilot of fighter plane F4, was joined us; the single prison was very small for us, and there wasn’t enough space for us to sleep. All of us were blindfolded and handcuffed. We were gotten on a bus and transferred to the camp of Abu Ghrib. There was a big saloon which seventy eight of us were in. we were able to lie down in its small space. In investigations, one of Iraqi Generals, who had annoying us, asked finally about what we like to request him. I replied him that I need a Quran. He commanded to a soldiers to bring us Quran. It was only Quran we had in our saloon. I had a place on the corner of it, and I wrote on the wall:" this situation will be also passed. "Someday, while I was sitting on my place, one of the friends of air force, as he was the pilot of helicopter, came and said me:" what do you write on the wall?" I replied:" this situation will be also passed." I said him: "let me tell you a memoirs! Before the revolution, we had a mission to bring one sergeant major of gendarmerie, who was killed by smugglers from the suburbs of Bushehr. We found him hard, and his corpse was fusty because it has been left there for two days. When we were trying to envelop him by a blanket, his hand was hanged. He had tattooed on his hand: "this situation will be also passed." The book" days with no mirror" includes of the memoirs of the wife of pilots Hussein Lashkari, was displayed in  two hundred and eighty-second programs of the night of reminiscence for sacred defense. this presentation was held at presence of some people such as Golestan Jafari- writer of book, Manizha Lashkari- the wife of pilot Hussein Lashkari, pilot Ahmad Mehrnia, Farshid Eskandari and Sayed Javad Puyan Far, Mohsen Momeni Sharif- the boss of Art center, Morteza Sarhangi- the founder of Literature and Art of Resistance of Art Center Office, and Abdul Hamid Qareh Daghi – the director of Mehr Sura publication.          

Two hundred and eighty-second programs of the night of reminiscence was held under efforts of Center for Cultural Research and Studies of Culture and Literature Stability, and Office of Literature and Art of Resistance at Sureh hall of Art Center in the Thursday evening on 5  Mordad 1396 (2017- July- 27). The next Night of Reminiscence will be held on 2 Shahrivar 1396 (2017- August- 24).