Memoirs of Marzieh Hadidchi (Part 15)

2017-10-31

Memoirs of Marzieh Hadidchi (Dabbagh)

Edited by: Mohsen Kazemi

Tehran, Sooreh Mehr Publications Company

‎2002 (Persian Version)‎

Translated by: Zahra Hosseinian

Blanket Mother and daughter

I suffered the worst and the most terrible tortures about sixteen days, but again I did not say anything important to the officers and interrogators and this was unacceptable for them. Therefore, they embarked on a dirty inhuman malicious act. They arrested and brought to the committee my second daughter, Rezvaneh, who had just married to a young man. They thought that they can break down my resistance with such psychological pressures and forced me to speak. Dream on!

Rezvaneh was a student at the Refa’ah School. Along with other students, she attended in artistic and in group activities. She and her friends had collected songs which were broadcasted from Iraqi radio and write them down in her notebook. After my arrest and during the inspection of our house, the notebook was taken by the officers, and it was an excuse to arrest her[1].

On the first night, the environment of prison was very frightening for Resvaneh, and all the time she pressed my hand. Of course, I felt the same, but I had to show myself very strong and dominant to keep my daughter spirit alive, so that she could survive and play it cool against the tortures which were awaiting her in the next few days.

Under pretext of preventing of committing suicide or hanging ourselves, the officers took our chadors. It was very clear that their true motive and purpose was to remove our hijab - the symbol of a believing Muslim woman - and to break down our spirits. Hence, we used the army blankets to cover our hair instead of chador. For the officers, this was very surprising in the hot weather of summer. Ridiculously, they called us ‘blanket mother!’ and ‘blanket daughter!’

Following their dirty attempts, the committee's agents released some mice in our cell. My daughter was afraid of them and stuck to me and cried. Until the morning, the mice capered around the cell and went up and down the door and the wall.

Under those circumstances, I had to console my daughter, but because of the fear of being heard by microphones, we threw the blanket over our head under the excuse of sleeping, and I spoke with her very slowly and quietly to know what is going on.

That horrible night passed very hard. In the morning, both of us were taken to be interrogated and tortured. Because we covered our head with blanket, mocking laughs and sarcastic remarks began: "Blanket hijab!" "Blanket mother. Blanket girl! ... Blanket blanket!" one of them said: "Where is Khomeini now, why he doesn’t come to rescue you who covered your head with blanket, and ..." in short, they made a fool of us and mocked. We were like a puppet for them in that situation! Then tortures began, electrical shock and whipping...

They separated us when did not get any results from their wild treatments. Moments later, Rezvaneh’s harrowing screams resonated everywhere. I trembled and then burst into tears. I trusted in God and pleaded to help Rezvaneh to tolerate all these ferocity. Despite all these tortures, Rezvaneh did not have anything to say. Everything had ended for me, and I asked God for dying a martyr.

My wounds and injuries began to infect gradually, and their nauseating smell filled the whole cell, so that the agents couldn’t endure to stay there.

The officers who were angry with our resistance came and savagely took Rezvaneh one night; and my screams and pleading had no use. I was not able to withstand any more.

Worried and distressed, I spent the moments. It was very hard and difficult time for me. Restless and impatient, I walked across that 1/5 × 1 meter cell; and sometimes I looked the hallway through the small peephole. Nobody noticed what was going on; who was taken? Who was brought? Nothing! It was not clear to us. Not clear for anyone, nobody!

Like a snake-bitten person, I twisted. That night I couldn’t close my eyes and sleep until morning. I feared that they do something beastly; I scared; I trembled; and I collapsed... Oh my God! What is this situation! What a disaster this is! How can I stand? They pluck the flower of my life! Please help her! Please save her from this hell of tortures...!

The mournful screams and groans of Rezvaneh were not stopped. The silence of the night even could not help our screams was heard. Suddenly, all voices were cut off ... good heavens! What the hell happened?! I had my heart in my mouth and began to pant! My heartbeat increased! Good God, what was the matter? What the hell they gave my Rezvaneh?!

At 4 o'clock in the morning, as I was all in flutter in my cell ... I heard the chains of the door ... I leaped toward the door. Oh my God, this is torn and wounded body of Rezavaneh who is dragged on the ground by two agents. That body which has been left on the ground is my darling Rezvaneh!

As much as possible I knocked the door and yelled, so that the sky reverberated with my shouts. I bit everything I could find. I yelled and screamed so much that it was impossible anybody couldn’t hear on that hellish prison and kept sleeping. When I saw the buckets of water, which were poured on her face, had no use and she didn’t regain consciousness; I went mad again; I knocked and kicked and punched everything and everywhere; I thought I had bitten off my tongue, because my mouth was bloody... I had no energy anymore to scream and move. Bewildered, I looked at the body of my daughter through the peephole... But still I cried my heart out.

To be continued…