Golali Babaei:

Oral history of the sacred defense should not be encountered with personal censorship

Shima Donya Dar Rostami
Translated by: Fazel Shirzad

2018-10-16

Note: Golali Babaei is one of the writers of sacred defense, and active in recording the events of this era on the basis of oral history. "The Clamor of Mist", "Mutual Attack", "Along with the Lightning", "The Dusty Calks[1] - Book One," and "The Point of Release" are the works of this writer who have compiled and published on the basis of oral documents and oral history. The correspondent for Iranian oral history site has done an interview with Golali Babaei about the works published in the form of oral history.

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How do you assess the recording of oral history of sacred defense from the perspective of a writer?

In the current situation, one of the most popular and perhaps the most pervasive area that is covered in sacred defense's literature is the oral history method, but oral history has its own rules. Works that are narrated about oral history of different people by a first-person and works are written without question and narrated the narratives and events of Iraqi imposed years against Iran by narrator (the first person) are usually most welcomed by the audience. Of course, the works of oral history of sacred defense are also written in another way, which is emphasized by the professors of this technique and it is the records of oral history in the form of questions and answers. Although this method is easier and usually works in military centers in which there are sectors for recording memories, but this method is less attractive for public addresses. I believe that works record in military centers without respecting the rules of oral history are not qualitatively desirable and will be usually stopped at the same print.

 "Along with the Lightning" was your first work, written and published on the basis of the oral history of sacred defense. Explain about it and how to write it!

I do not know, whether or not, this book can be considered as an oral history work, but "Along with the Lightning" is in fact an operational record of the 27th Division of Mohammad Prophet (PBUH), and more than 100 narrators are used to write oral memoirs. These memories are centered on a specific topic (the formation of an operational unit and its presence in various operations) in parallel way. The role of the people is not highlighted and but the role of the unit is highlighted in this book. If we want to put these works into oral history, my first work on this field was "Along with the Lightning" and then works such as "Mutual Attack", "Spring 82" and "From Alvand to Gharaviz", and the last one "Flares of the Sun"

What was your pattern in using oral history in the operational record of the division? Have you ever studied a piece of art in this style or was it your own invention?

We did not have a writing pattern. The initial plan was to write a book on a number of martyrs who attended in the unit. By some researches, we found that there are so many martyrs. For example, more than 200 martyrs, who were commander, were from the battalion to higher positions; Including the commander of battalion, vice chairman of battalion, the commander of brigade, commander-in-chief, the commander of division, the commander of operation unit, the commander of intelligence unit, and etc. You know, for all these people, you cannot write an independent book. We decided to focus on a unit instead of focusing on one person in order to introduce the martyrs as well as discussing how to make a fighting unit and role that it had played in different operations. For example, in the book "Along with the Lightning" we will be accompanied with Ahmed Motevasellian from Kurdistan to the formation of 27th Brigade, Fattalmabin Operations, Operation Bayt al-Maqdis and the deployment to Lebanon until his captivity. In the book "Mutual Attack", we will also be along with martyr Ibrahim Hemmat. Of course, along with these people, the fellows of the commanders are also known and I may have initially wanted to write a book about this, but in this way they played a role during the introduction of the commanders. So, we did not have a particular pattern in writing these works. These books were only a brief work experience. Of course, we had other innovations, including the handling of wireless conversations, commanders’ meeting records, and other conversations between commanders, troops, and headquarters. We put together these resources as a parallel assembly with the narration of the people who are now alive and had been previously interviewed and are available in the archives of the sacred defense's documents center. It can be said that a text was written on the basis of oral history and when readers are studying it, does not think that it is a military inflexible style. It's a fascinating and fascinating and long textbook that you can be familiar with different people.

You referred to the weaknesses of works published in oral history. How was your training useful in this area and how much were you able to teach your style in books such as "Along with Lightning" to those are interested in this field?

Oral history training is carried out at provincial workshops and is usually shortened in one day. Certainly, all the knowledge of the oral memoirs and oral history cannot be transmitted to the addresses during this period. On the other hand, since these classes have never been hold coherently, they have not had a good result, and the result can be seen in many works published in military centers. Here, Works that are not written according to the rules of oral history and even the questions raised are not appropriate, are being published. I remember that Alireza Kamari has held many classes in oral history in several provinces, but since the learners of interviewers were left the training and they did not continue to learn; therefore, they forget the principles have be learnt and use the traditional method of Oral history in interview. Now I see works from the provinces and cities that have done in the same traditional way and their provincial patterns; therefore, the works of many cities do not have much readers.

What are your suggestions on this problem?

I emphasize the training and supervision of training centers. The centers should not only seek to raise statistics, and for example, for the holding of a congress, they will record hundreds of oral history works. This is a pest; it hurts oral history. Because the recording of oral history requires high precision and sensitivity. Quality should be never lost by quantity. If facilities and trainings are available are taught and restrictions are reduced, we will have a better record of the oral history of the sacred defense.

What are the limitations in this area?

These restrictions are lower in Tehran and more in cities. Those, whose oral history is written from the sacred defense period, are usually well-known people, such as commanders, administrators, governors, and so on; I believe that these people (narrators) should see themselves in the form of time of war, and as they are unfortunately not in this form and want to talk about the sacred defense for their posts, they will undermine narration in the form of oral history.

It means the records of oral History of sacred defense is sometimes censored!

Yes. Sometimes personal censorship exists. For example, in the book "Dusty Calks ", which I wrote the memories of Mr. Ja'fari, he says: "When I arrived in Ahvaz on the first day of the war and wanted to go to Sosangerd[2], I got on martyr Deghieghi’s van and saw the escape of people of the city. I was going to war, but I still did not know how I could use of weapon. If the commanders have such an insight and consider themselves in the same frame - i.e. they see themselves as a Basij[3] who was a combatant and later was changed and became commanded - much of the damage of oral history of sacred defense will be eliminated spontaneously.

You mentioned in one of your notes the importance of carefully choosing a narrator. Explain a bit more about this! Who can be considered a narrator in recording of oral history of sacred defense?

Sometimes you just want to record a date and do not even intend to publish those memories; in this way, you can talk to everyone in the event of war. But I believe that if the memories are to be published, the narrator's personality and position should be considered. The Supreme Leader also emphasized it at a meeting with the sacred defense writers and took the example of book named "Abraham Hadi". He said the book was still on my table and I became interested in the special character of martyr Hadi in this book.

Because the life style of characters such as martyr Hemmat, Motevaselian and ... goes up and down, it can be interesting for readers of oral history of the life of these martyrs, but you consider someone who serve as an artillery man from the beginning of his military service in war. He can experience in artillery position, and as an officer and commander, but all observations of this person are within his range and maybe this is not attractive to the reader, because he cannot report the incident. In this regard, choosing narrator in field of sacred defense is important.

Which works of oral history books, in the field of sacred defense, did you like?

Books like "Khayyen's[4] Moonlight" which was about the life of the martyr Hamedani, "unspoken words of war", by Martyr Sayad, which was unfinished due to the Martyrdom of General Sayad Shirazi, "when the moonlight was lost", "the last Sunday" and "the good army", were, in my opinion, such fine works. And the numbers of readers show that they accepted these books. Of course, there lots of good works in oral history of sacred defense. In the field of biography, I introduce the books "A Hawk on the Sun" on the biography of Shahid Gholamali Pichak and "The Flares of Sun" that are written on the basis of oral history.

At the end, could you say what book you are writing now?

I intend to continue the writing of book "Dusty Calks: Oral memoirs of Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari", in collaboration with him. In this book, the events, from wartime to Khordad 3, 1361(May 24,1982 ).