Memoirs of Marzieh Hadidchi (Part 25)
2018-01-09
Memoirs of Marzieh Hadidchi (Dabbagh)
Edited by: Mohsen Kazemi
Tehran, Sooreh Mehr Publications Company
2002 (Persian Version)
Translated by: Zahra Hosseinian
Visiting Imam Khomeini in Najaf Ashraf
The group always faced financial problems, economic strains and lack of facilities and limitations. Sometimes, the group was contributed financially from Iran and sometimes we visited some people we knew there and asked them for financial assistance.
I did not have enough information on the financial problems of the group, however, considering the way of life and dealing with problems, attitudes and communications, it became clear that the financial resources of the group did not provide expenditures and expenses; eventually, the situation became unbearable.
After consultations, the group members came to the conclusion that they should send a representative to Najaf to visit Imam Khomeini, in order to explain the financial problems along with the activities of the group and then to ask for help. For this purpose, Mr. Ja'far Damavandi and me were chosen and moved to Iraq with a passport with a photograph of his mother and child. It was a worthwhile opportunity for me, because I could meet the one who was my mentor, my beloved, and my leader. After visiting Imam in Qom from a distance, I always wished that I could meet and talk with him one day. And now it’s the time.
When we entered Imam’s house, I was overjoyed, and an indescribable enthusiasm waved in me. When I was supposed to enter Imam's room alone my heart started beating fast. Eventually, I was in front of the light, I did not know how open the conversation. After greeting, I said: "I am Dabbagh." he said: "The one whom the late Saeedi mentioned in his letters?" I replied, "Yes! I was his student for a while and worked with him." And then I presented a brief account of what had happened, of activities, functions, and the status of the group and fighters outside the country. Imam Khomeini listened to me sedately, and then said: "Tell me about the prison." And I gave a brief report of how I was arrested, interrogated, imprisoned, tortured, and how my daughter tortured, as well as the situation of other Muslim prisoners and leftists in the Qasr prison, and at the end, I said: "... Now I am here and my eight kids are in Iran, I don’t know what to do. If I go back, I'm afraid to be caught up by the SAVAK and be imprisoned again. If I don’t go back, my eight kids in Iran are left without mother; I don’t know what my duty is!" It was not believable that Imam said: "Stay here! God willing, situation will change and we’ll all go back together." Was it possible? Was it possible to change situation with these conditions and circumstances? Such a promise from Imam seemed complicated to me. It was impossible for me and anybody else to imagine the fulfillment of such prediction; only Imam had such a clear hope for future. Despite the innumerable question raised in my mind about his words, after a little reflection I believed in Imam’s words, and I became hopeful and said nothing any more. Before leaving the room, I asked: "Therefore you permit me to go to Lebanon and accompany Palestinian brothers and sisters in fighting, so that the situation can change?" He said: "Wherever you see you are useful for Islam, you can serve, it is a duty."[1]
We spent about two and a half hours in his house. During the forty-five days that we were in Iraq, we met many people, including clergymen, scholars and fighters who were there. And after lots of discussion meetings, we returned to Syria.
Meeting Imam and receiving his guidance boosted me for combating. Therefore, when I returned to Syria, I gave a report about the result of the meetings to Martyr Montazeri and other members of the group. According to Imam's permission, I intended to go to Lebanon[2] for passing guerrilla military training courses.
In Lebanon, I stayed in a house that Mohammad Montazeri had rented, and I began military training in one of SAF bases.
After passing these courses, one of the Palestinian sisters and I went to southern Lebanon and the hills of Nabatieh to join combating and Mujahid brothers and sisters. I was there for six months and participated in several irregular operations against the Israelis. When there was no operation and night raid, I was busy doing things like teaching the Qur'an and military training, and so on.
After going through this period, I returned to Syria with much learning. From this date onwards, I was regularly traveling between the two countries for various missions. During this period, most of the nights there was a conflict with either the internal groups in Lebanon, such as Communist Party of Lebanon[3], Amal Movement[4] and Kata'ib Hezbollah[5] or the Israeli forces that had a heavy fire.
To be continued…
[1]. The last sentence has been quoted from an interview with Mrs. Dabbagh in “Salam” newspaper, volume 587 (June 3rd 1993).
[2]. Lebanon is the smallest Middle East country after Bahrain. Its area is about 10453 square kilometers. Lebanon is located in West Asia, on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea and in the Northern Hemisphere. From the north, the Great Al-Kabir River forms the political and natural boundary of this country with Syria. From the east, the eastern Lebanese mountains of ‘Jebel Al-sharghieh’ are the natural border with the Syria; and it has common border with Occupied Palestinian in south and limited to the Mediterranean Sea from the west. There are more than eighteen official religions in Lebanon. Eleven Christian sect (Maronite, Orthodox, Catholic, etc.), five Islamic sects (Shiites, Sunni, Druze, Alawis and Ismailis), Jews and more recently the Copts Sect have been recognized in Lebanon. The official language of this country is Arabic, and French is the academic language of some scientific centers. Lebanon had been dominated by the rulers of Umayyad, Abbasid, European Crusaders, Ottoman Empire, and finally French colonizers. Eventually, it became independent in 1945. Since the early 60s, Israeli attacks on Lebanon have begun and continue to this day. (Office of Political and International Studies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tehran, 1997)
[3]. The Communist Party of Lebanon is a Lebanese left-wing party which led by a Christian named George Hawi. Many Shiites have joined in this party (it was equivalent to the Tudeh Party in Iran).
[4]. In June 1975, Imam Musa Sadr founded Amal Movement which was at first the military arm of Movement of the Dispossessed, but later it became entirely a political and military organization.
[5]. Kata'ib Hezbollah is the largest Lebanese right-wing party which was led by Peer Jamil, known as the Phalangist. After the death of Peer Jamil, Bashir Jamil led the party. The party's goal was to preserve the sovereignty and domination of Christian Maronite in Lebanon.
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