The Unseen Memories
Hamid Qazvini
Translated by: Zahra Hosseinian
2020-12-15
The number and variety of cultural and artistic productions are usually considered as indicators for assessing the cultural condition, which is also the basis for judging by many individuals and institutions.
Many officials has obsessed with this view and it has led them to think only about the number of works in the allocation of budget and other support, regardless of the richness of the content and the degree of influence and attraction of the audience.
In such a situation, some publishers, who also have deep cultural and value concerns, have joined the line of producing rushed large number of works, and sacrificed the quality for quantity. Such works not only do not contribute to the growth of culture and the realization of its lofty goals, but sometimes also cause harm.
The high volume of published works in the field of memoirs and oral history is an example, many of which are incapable of attracting even the smallest audience and have no added value to the knowledge of society.
It has been repeatedly stated that the purpose of writing memoirs and oral history is not merely to publish the mental resources of a narrator, rather the goal is to add a new and of course valid page to the pages of the history book to help recording or discovering the truth.
In recent years, we have witnessed institutions, publishers and media which have recorded and published the memoirs of different people in various formats every day, but they did not specify how they supposed to meet the need of audience and history. Like any other research, the effect of oral history should have specific goals so that the audience can make a clear assessment of its achievement.
In this type of historiography, if the less seen groups of the society define a new role and position for themselves by entering the compiling history, care and delicacy must be exercised in presenting this role so that their works are not considered futile and do not cause a waste of resources.
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Attack on Halabcheh narrated
With wet saliva, we are having the lunch which that loving Isfahani man gave us from the back of his van when he said goodbye in the city entrance. Adaspolo [lentils with rice] with yoghurt! We were just started having it when the plane dives, we go down and shelter behind the runnel, and a few moments later, when the plane raises up, we also raise our heads, and while eating, we see the high sides ...The Arab People Committee
Another event that happened in Khuzestan Province and I followed up was the Arab People Committee. One day, we were informed that the Arabs had set up a committee special for themselves. At that time, I had less information about the Arab People , but knew well that dividing the people into Arab and non-Arab was a harmful measure.Kak-e Khak
The book “Kak-e Khak” is the narration of Mohammad Reza Ahmadi (Haj Habib), a commander in Kurdistan fronts. It has been published by Sarv-e Sorkh Publications in 500 copies in spring of 1400 (2022) and in 574 pages. Fatemeh Ghanbari has edited the book and the interview was conducted with the cooperation of Hossein Zahmatkesh.Is oral history the words of people who have not been seen?
Some are of the view that oral history is useful because it is the words of people who have not been seen. It is meant by people who have not been seen, those who have not had any title or position. If we look at oral history from this point of view, it will be objected why the oral memories of famous people such as revolutionary leaders or war commanders are compiled.
