The 344th Night of Memoir-5

Compiled by: Leila Rostami
Translated by: Fazel Shirzad

2023-10-20

Note: The 344th night of memoir was held on Thursday, the 23 February of 2023, with the presence of the brave men of the Air Force in the Soura Hall of Arts Center. In this program, General Alireza Rudbari, Second Brigadier General Fereydoun Samadi, General Mohammad Hasan Luqmaninejad and captive pilot Brigadier General Mohammad Sediq Qaderi shared their memories. Also, the book "Honest Pilot" was unveiled in the presence of Mohammad Hasan Abu Tarabifard. Davood Salehi was in charge of this night of memoir.

The fourth narrator of the 344th night of memoir, captive pilot Amir Brigadier Mohammad Sediq Qaderi, continued to say about his captivity: I was on the hospital bed. The Red Cross came to visit. Before that, Iraqi doctors had come and were supposed to put the names of the patients on the bed and above their heads. When they called the names, I looked and saw on the chest and above the bed of one of the wounded was written “Mohammad Hasan Luqmaninejad”. That moment was the happiest moment of my life. I thanked God that Hassan is there and safe. I got inspired. The second place I was happy and encouraged was when I was taken to the intelligence for interrogation. I was in cell 47 when they informed me with Morse code that Mr. Loqmaninejad is either in cell 1 or 3! He also sent me the same message that your father and brother came and I told them that you are safe and they know about your condition.

The narrator continued: "On the day I fell from the plane, the first blow hit my head, which caused a blood spot near my brain." This caused me to be paralyzed and semi-paralyzed for seven years. Because I had fallen on my right side and my leg was slightly bent, an Iraqi hit my leg a second time, which broke my leg. They cut 23 bones in my body and broke many of them.

My body was in plaster for months. I had neither hands nor feet. I was left alone in the intelligence cell. My leg was hanging and it was plastered in the same way. I put my leg cast under the water and opened it. I put my foot on the ground and I can say that within the first three days I was able to get to know the ground and walk in the same cell for a month. When I opened the plasters I didn't know how to get rid of it! I was alone in the cell. Fortunately Amir the pilot of Admiral Shafi'i. They brought him to my cell. He was doing my first aid and cleaning and he helped me a lot.

They took us to different camps, different places, and different prisons and did different interrogations; but the worst experience was in Abu Ghraib prison. I had just walked into Abu Ghraib prison, then I found out that Hassan Luqmaninejad's leg was also like this. When we were in the camp, the Iraqis told me and dozens of other pilots that they will return you to Iran, and they boarded the plane in the presence of the Red Cross and the Iraqis. Those who are in the business of flying and most of them know enough about flying know that the plane must travel a path from the flight ramp to the runway in order to be able to fly from there. The first thing that surprised me was that I saw that the path that the pilot had to take took longer and when the plane had to go to enter the runway, and after a silence of about twenty or thirty seconds that the tower should allow, the door suddenly closed. The plane was opened and I was thrown down. Of course, two Iraqis were also waiting there to put me in the car immediately so that the Red Cross wouldn't see it. I immediately understood that there was no going away. Once, Saddam's half-brother kissed my forehead and wished that an Iraqi officer would be as resilient as me. That kiss was like a dagger for me in that situation and I was restrained; Here was the same dagger that went into my heart, but I was restrained and controlled myself.

During the captivity, Haj Agha Abu Tarabi, who I was proud to be along with him until we lost him, said: "Never forget that captivity is not humiliation, as long as you know how to behave, how to resist and how to be self-controlled." It was a very fatal blow because I had felt myself as far as Iran when this skyscraper of freedom hopes collapsed all at once. When they brought me back to the airport, my friends took care of me for a few days. After that, I started teaching eighteen hours a day. We had no facilities; but I studied English, German and French. I was taking students and teaching the four courses I was studying. I was trying to involve myself with teaching English, which I knew well, as well as doing sports and running so that I could get through these days.

At the end of his speech, the narrator said: After the first captivity, I appreciated my wife. The late Abu Tarabi always said: "If you can't sit in front of your wife once a week, you can do it once every fifteen days, at least once a month and swear that they will forgive you." I asked my wife for the same permission many times, but we men have a little pride. We don't want to say too many things; Not everyone is like me, I'm not ashamed to love someone, man, woman, child, adult, I say I love you because I don't know if I'll live another hour! I am asking here on behalf of myself, my wife and all my free, veteran and combatant friends, even my commander's wife and all wives to forgive us.

What was in captivity has passed and now I am standing in front of the people of Iran, my fellow prisoners, my commanders and my loved ones and I say with pride and pride that all of us freed people with full strength gave what we could and returned so that we would not be ashamed of you today. But who did this? Believe that there is a way to God for every creature and each of us can say that our way to God goes from here, it goes from there, but know that if it wasn't for God's grace to keep these glasses next to the stone, none of this would have happened. Today I say: God of my captivity, thank you for this moment.