355th Night of Memory – 2

Compiled by: Leila Rostami
Translated by: M.B. Khoshnevisan

2024-8-27

The 355^th show of Night of Memory titled “Songs and Hymns of the Time of Captivity" was held on 3^rd of Esfand 1402 (February 22, 2024) attended by the freed POWs and combatants of the holy defense in Sooreh Hall of the Art Center of Islamic Revolution. The “Album of Songs of Hope” was also unveiled during the show. In this show, Nasser Qarehbaqi, Amir Hossein Tarvand and Abbas Ebrahimi retold their memoirs. It was hosted by Davood Salehi.

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The first narrator of the show Nasser Qarehbaqi continued by saying, "The Iraqi man asked me to get up. I didn’t move. I said to myself let him shoot in my head so that I die sooner. He started shooting next to me, but I did not move again. I saw that there was no sound, I raised my head and saw that there was no news of martyrdom. I am healthy. I turned my head to see what happened to my hand, I saw that my hand was safe on the water. I found out that it had the nerves. At that moment, the Iraqi man saw that I was moving, he said: Come on, get up! And I got up this time.

They brought us up. I saw martyrs Davood Heydari and Mahdavi have fallen there. Each of these Iraqis dragged the hand of a captive. It was interesting that we saw the strength of our artillery there. We always praised the Iraqi artillery; but in those days, we saw that our artillery was also very strong. I saw very beautiful scenes. These mortars hit near us. I could see the mortar explosion. Then, the Iraqi man who was carrying me, ran and jumped into the ditches and trenches. He was telling me why you didn't lie down?!

They took us in a military vehicle for a distance. The car going to Mandali was passing by the holy bodies of our martyrs and comrades. We entered Mandali city. Reporters were there. A reporter said to the first person Mr. Qoochi: Do you interview? He said no. The reporter went to our brother Ali Afchangi. He was shot in the stomach. Ali was 15 years old. He asked him whether you interview. He said nothing. Then the Persian-Arabic translator said why you are fighting against us? Ali was also in a lot of pain and was not feeling well. He said' "We have come to liberate Karbala". He said why? Are the Iraqi people unbelievers?! He said: No, his people are not disbelievers. The Iraqi officer also got very angry and showed his anger. When we reached Baghdad, we saw Mr. Saleh there for the first time. He began to translate. It was there that we understood Mr. Saleh's cleverness. Haj Agha Aboutorabi also praised him a lot. We were divided into 2 cells. We were there for two days.

In the afternoons, I don't know who was playing flute behind the prison! It was very sad. He also played a sad Arabic flute. There were a number of Iraqi army prisoners who had escaped from the army. We were there for two days.

After that, 30 of us were put inside one of the prison transport cars that could not fit more than seven or eight people. One of the Iraqis was holding both sides of the car and was pushing with his feet. He asked the other one to push in from this side. He would let someone in again. Just like canned fish, we had reached the ceiling. Most of us had broken hands and broken legs. He suddenly drove fast. We didn't know where it was going! It had no glass or window. He hit the brakes all of a sudden. Everyone was moaning. I was smart too, I had my mouth glued to the ventilator on the ceiling. Everyone was saying something; sir, brothers! They are martyring us, they are torturing us. Brothers, talk less, oxygen is low. That one said, why are you talking?! Now oxygen is consumed. In short, everyone was saying something.

Amid this, it was very interesting for us. Everyone was thinking such things. But someone was moaning and said, “Send salawat for the health of the imam”. Everybody sent salawat. In short, after half an hour or so, they took us to a shed. It was very cold from night to morning. They gave us tea for the first time. We had tea and left for Mosul by bus in the morning. On the way, martyr Hosseinzadeh was our first martyr. We entered the Mosul camp inside which Mr. Jahanban and Mr. Barmak were. Iraqis were calling our names mistakenly. We could hear the sound of salutations of the captives. We thought we had gone to the Iranian barracks. When they followed us from behind the window, they said: "Welcome, brothers!" Someone said: "Are you from Isfahan? Are you from Tehran...?" "Comrades, the government is in our hands here, welcome!"

We were taken to the rest house. Most of us were injured. Some 15 minutes later, we saw that a strong-built, dark-haired, charismatic Iranian the late Esmaeel Bakhtehnam, the chief of the camp surrounded by six or seven huge Iraqis came in. He said: "Salaam Alaikum. I am Esmaeel Bakhtehnam, born in Parkshahr, Tehran, raised in Tehran, now living in Mubarakeh, Isfahan, I was a truck driver. Comrades! Here, the government is in our own hands. The Iraqis tell us to ask for material facilities, we say no! Let it be congregational prayer, let it be prayer, let it be so-and-so." In general, our mood completely changed. Then Dr. Hossein came and started dressing. He dressed the wounds of the rest of the guys. He brought us a lot of honey milk and biscuits. The next day, they came and said: "Where are your honey milk and biscuits?" We said: "We ate them." He said: "This was your ration for one month, the guys did not eat and sent them for you."

When the doors were opened the next morning, the first one the late Mehdi Nazari came and said, “The guys of Shahabdolazim!” I considered myself both a guy from Sush neighborhood and a guy from Kianshahr neighborhood. Between these two, I said that I come from Shahabdolazim. He quickly carried me piggyback and brought me inside the camp area. It was noon. The voice of Mua’zinzadeh's call to prayer was broadcast on Iraqi radio. We said: "Iranian radio!" He said: "No! The government is in our hands here."

One night, Esmaeel Bakhtehnam was called. A soldier came and said, “Seyedi wants to talk to you.” He went there. Then, he came back and told the story. The translator was also standing. He says he saw an Iraqi officer laying grenades on the table. He said: "Do you know what these are?" I said, "Yes, these are grenade." He said, "If you don't stop your congregational prayers and Do’a Komeil, I will drop them in your rest house." Did you think here is Iran?! Esmaeel, may Allah bless his soul, smiled. "What are you laughing at?" says the Iraqi officer. He says: "Shall I say here?" He says: "Yes, say it in the crowd" He says: "Seyedi! You told me this, but the guys did not hear it." He says why? He says: "The guys swallowed these at the front. If they hear that you want to do something like that, you will not be able to stop them. Or you have to throw the grenade." The first time we heard this sentence was there when an Iraqi officer said: "By God, we are your captives, you are not our captives. I have a wife and children, have mercy on me." I have responsibility. You don't think of yourself, think of us."

Two or three weeks after we entered the camp, it was 8^th of Azar (November 28). We were captured on 25^th of Aban (November 15). 28^th of November is the day of the liberation of Bostan. The Iraqis claimed that you killed 15,000 of our prisoners, so 28^th of November was the day of Iraqi martyrs. Every year on the morning of 28^th of November, we were waiting for the Iraqis to cook our goose. They usually opened the doors at 8 in the morning. It was 10 o'clock but they did not open the doors. Now we have no water, no food. They came and called the seniors of the rest houses. An hour later, they were shouting from the other side of the camp, comrades! They are beating the seniors. It was as if it had been preplanned. In retaliation for it, we also at two o’clock in the morning, when they had been sleeping, said Allah-o Akbar with a loud voice. The unfortunate ones got up in underwear and pajamas. They would run upstairs, preparing the weapons. As soon as they left, we counted when their eyes were warm, Allah-o Akbar... But because the guys had no water or food for several days, after three days or four days, the sound had become very weak. Allah.... Akbar.... Ayoha.... Al-Jeish.... Al-Iraqi... but still we had not given up. When I say that there was no food or water, some of our comrades had not drunk a drop of water for several days.

On 7^th of Azar (November 7), we performed noon prayer. Alireza was 11 years old when he was captured with his father. Alireza was great. That night, when the guys were guarding, the camp was in our hands. Colonel Nazar who was in charge of all camps of Iranian prisoners. He said: "I will tell you tomorrow." Tomorrow at noon, the voice of Alireza's takbir came all of a sudden. There was an uproar. Some people said that the combatants have come, we thought that the combatants have come. It was the voice of Allah Akbar was because of anti-rebellion. Some four hundred people, all of them drunk, had come with axes, pickaxes, shovels, and crowbars. We had been sitting too. The window was far away. We said to Reza Tuiserkani: "Go and see what's going on, your legs are fine." He went back to the window very normally. He had seen scenes where we were horrified by Reza's face. He came and said that they were killing the guys They had beaten the guys as much as they could on that day. Two of us were martyred. A few days later, they took us to Mosul 4. We were in the service of Mr. Aboutorabi in Mosul 4.

From the first days we were captured, we wrote programs, prayers, and teachings on cigarette covers. Pen and paper were worth as much as gold bars. Our Ten-Day Dawns were turbulent. There were so many programs, hymns, theaters and exhibitions. Although it was secret, the Iraqis knew that the Ten-Day Dawn had come. Sometimes they said: "Huh... is it Ten-Day Dawn?" Various competitions, exhibitions, etc., when you came in, you thought you had entered Iran. With no facilities, they made decorations for the theater; only with cardboard and sack.

At the end of his speech, the narrator said about the creation of hymns: We wrote the poem and in order to put it on a song, several people would sit together and agree on a song. We memorized and repeated it. But when we got together the next day, the song was gone from our minds. Since there were no writing tools available, we had to create songs from the beginning. He ended his speech by singing the song "I am a captive" which was also used in the movie "The Outcasts 2" and accompanied by his comrades.