348th Session of Memory Night-3

Adjusted by Leyla Rostami
Translated by Ruhollah Golmoradi

2024-4-4

The 348th session of memory night titled “Chokan Homeini”[1] was held in Sooreh Auditorium of the Artistic Sect of the Islamic Republic on Thursday, August 3, 2023. In this session, Hedayatollah Navvab, Abolfazl Hajj Hasanbeigi, and Ehsan Dorostkar, fighters of Jihad Sazandegi, shared their memories. Mehdi Aghabeigi hosted this night of memory.

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The third narrator of the session was Ehsan Dorostkar. He said, “We were 6 or 7 guys who felt a sense of duty after the start of the war and Imam's (RA) message; we left Kashan for the fallen Khorramshahr and the war zones in November or December. We wanted to go to Abadan, which was under siege. They said it is not possible to go from Ahwaz to Abadan. You have to go to Mahshahr and then go to Abadan by launch. There were some volunteers from different places. We went from the waterways of Mahshahr region towards the sea and after crossing the sea, we disembarked inside Chavibdeh at night. Then we went to Abadan by car. It took approximately 17-18 hours to travel this route. We saw Akbar Zajjaji, who had come with the guys of Tehran, returning from there. He said, “We want to go to Susangerd now and we have a mission there.” We said goodbye, but he joined us in the next operation. The next day, we went to Abadan’s IRGC. It was lunch time. We had Abgoosht for lunch. Five or six of us were given a dish.

The narrator continued, “We wanted to go to Fayazi[2]. The Iraqis had cut off 2 roads from Ahwaz to Khorramshahr that lead to Abadan and the road from Khorramshahr to Abadan almost to the vicinity of Mahshahr as well as a side road. We can go there only through the sea. We encountered Bahmanshir River[3]. The first problem was the engineering; it meant we needed someone to build a bridge over Bahmanshir River. Jahad Sazandegi’s guys from Fars and Bushehr provinces had built a barrel bridge for people, which solved many problems, but it was very far from the Milk Pasteurization Plant in Fayazi village. There were many cows in the area and village of Fayazi. For this reason, there was a milk pasteurization plant. People had abandoned their lives and left. Cows were also wandering in the palm groves. Every day we had a meaty meal, they said a cow was shot a shrapnel today. When the cow was shot a shrapnel, it was slaughtered and sent to the kitchen of Abadan’s IRGC. It was very difficult to bring the ammunition to the front line and bring back the wounded. We had a number of Simorgh cars to bring facilities, supplies, and ammunition from Abadan to the front line or to bring back the wounded and martyred.

Continuing his words, the narrator said, “Of course, I heard martyr Hezardastan had adapted the work of Mr. Jazayeri for making a bridge with barrels, and placed two barrels on top of each other and four in width. When the bridge had been built, many had told him cars may be overturned! But he had given a guarantee and said I would go over it myself with a loader, which he did.

Because the people had left their lives, we had chosen an old house in the front line and near the Iraqis for a trench. Inside the same room that the nomadic people call a room a house—some also call it honah (it means house in Luri language)—there was a distance that we had to dig a canal. The Iraqis had an embankment and they could shoot easily, but we didn't. Martyr Hamid Dabiri stood up from inside the canal to say look at this Iraqi green beret! They hit him on the forehead and he was martyred immediately. At that moment, instead of bending in a small canal or cross it in that mode, we really wished we had something to build an embankment.

We were city kids and we were not familiar with loader. We had worked never with shovels and picks; however, we had divided the canal. I was the only person who worked the least in digging the ditch. They quarreled with me a lot. Sometimes I was even physically punished, but I still admit that I didn't know how to do it and I couldn't do it too. I wish we had a loader too. Later, we asked Jahad Sazandegi to provide it; after a short time, they made the embankment with a loader.

These two elements that is construction of bridges and embankments, and fortifications led to the thought that war engineering should be done along with the war. We almost achieved these two wishes by our jihadist loved ones and we realized that all war is not just about holding a gun or being agent of a mortar 120 mm.

At the end of his memoirs, the narrator said, “In February or March 1981, we prepared for Operation Fath al-Mobin[4]. I was in charge of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad’s Jahad Sazandegi. Martyr Ali Memar came and said, “Get up, let's go. Mr. Ali Fazli is going to form a brigade named Al-Mahdi 33.” Martyrs Kalhor and Ali Memar were the deputies of General Ali Fazli. He stopped there to take me. Our colleagues in Jahad disagreed and said if you leave Jahad, it will be disorganized; stay here.

We had a friend who was very fond of Quran; we appealed to Quran for fortune telling. This verse was result of fortune telling, “It will be on a Day When He will call you, And ye will answer (His call) with (words Of) His praise, and ye Will think that ye tarried But a little while!” (Al-Isra: 52)[5] After that everybody said we submit to Quran, go. Mr. Sarvari was in charge of engineering of Al-Mahdi Brigade. The logistics manager was also martyr Rahbari. When the guys of Jahad came there, they no longer said we only do engineering work; they did everything they could. During Operation Fath al-Mobin, at first, I was commander of the battalion; but I saw there was a greater need for machinery engines. I accepted this responsibility.

The operation had three axes, Maleheh[6], Kheneg[7] and Tappeh Sabz. There was a problem in the Maleheh axis, and Ali Memar, who was Fazli's deputy, left at a high speed by a motorcycle. We had to go fast because the Iraqis were incessantly shooting from the right side. Then he called me via wireless and said, “Ehsan! come here, we have something important to do.” I also had to go by the motorcycle in the speed of 120 km/h in the dirt. When I arrived, Ali Memar said, “One battalion of Mr. Mohaghegh wants to come back. He said if you deliver water to us, we will stay, otherwise we will have to leave the front line.” One of the missions of Al-Mahdi Brigade was to capture sites 4 and 5.

I immediately returned. I was looking for a person to sit on the back of my motorcycle and hold two ice boxes and two 20-liter containers so that we can go this route and return. It was not possible to pass this path by car. I was looking for a single person because I was single myself and I thought that both of us would be died a martyr at any moment. The deceased Hajj Hossein Nikkhah had at least 4 or 5 children. He said, “Hey you, what happened for you?! Why you are much... ?!” I said, “The guys are thirsty, they had an operation, and this water is vital and we have to deliver it to them. I am looking for someone who...” Hajj Agha said, “I come.” I said, “No Hajji! You have a wife and children, we are single.” He said, “No, it is not possible.” I myself used to participate in Rawda Khwani since I was a child, but I understood the scenes of Karbala during the war.

I was graced with God and I was in the war for eight years with the fighters. During Operation Ramadan a shrapnel hit my mouth and half of my teeth were broken. I lost a third of my tongue and my tongue was stitched, and this stuttering you see is because of that.

The End