The Embankment Wounded Shoulders – 6

Diary of a Rescuer

Sabah Piri
Translated to English by M.B. Khoshnevisan

2025-5-11

I was there for about two months when they announced that they were holding classes and exams at the Dokooheh Garrison. I went to Dokooheh with a few of the guys to continue my studies. One night while we were studying, one of the guys noticed that I was sick with leishmaniasis. He suggested I go to the garrison’s hospital. I went and they gave me some injections. The doctor said: Inject some under the skin and some into the muscle. I took the injection to give it to a trainer who was there teaching his students how to inject. When he inserted the needle of the injection under my skin, I don't know how he turned it, I suddenly felt dizzy and I couldn't understand anything anymore. When I came to my senses, I saw the hospital doctors above me. When I was unconscious, I lost my ability to urinate and had a fever. I went to the shower in the same condition, shivering and unable to communicate. I lay on the bed for about five days, burning with fever. I was so ill that the guys gathered and prayed for me. After a while, when I began to feel better and resumed the injections, my leishmaniasis was cured.

One night, I dreamt that Haj Mojtaba Asgari was sick. I told Ghiyassi about the dream and asked where Haji was.

 He said, "Haji has gone to the West!

"Two days later, Haji was brought to the medical department on a stretcher. He had a broken arm and a bruised chin from an incident in Bamoo, near the road. While trying to pick up a stone, his foot slipped and he fell to the ground on his back. When I mentioned the dream to him, he chuckled and said, "Try not to have any more of these dreams about me!"

One night, while we were sleeping, Ghiyassi entered the sanatorium and started shooting. Afterwards, he informed the guys that we had a 48-hour march ahead of us the next day. We quickly gathered our sleeping bags, backpacks, and other essentials before setting off. Our journey led us to the river and the village of Hosseiniyeh. As we crossed the road to Hosseiniyeh, Ghiyassi suddenly declared, "We need to turn back." Reluctantly, we retraced our steps. By the time we reached the river again, the sun was setting and the water had risen significantly, submerging the rocks the guys had previously crossed. The weather was cold, and the guys were waiting when Ghiyassi came and handed me his backpack.

I watched him, wondering what he was going to do. Then, I saw him jump into the water. I had never seen a leader like him before. In the cold weather of December, Ghiyassi carried 36 people on his back and took them to the other side of the water. When I remember this incident, my heart is filled with the intensity of his sacrifice. Ghiyassi was a martyr even before he became a martyr. He was crushing his breath under the whip of piety every moment.

He emerged from the water with wet boots, clearly trying to suppress any trembling. His determination was as strong as a mountain. As he emerged from the water, he spoke: "There was a meeting a few days ago where I learned that counter-revolutionaries are scattered around these areas. I brought you here to help identify them, so please remain quiet and keep a distance of at least one meter from each other."

We continued moving, crossing a ditch and rounding another bend. Ghiyassi then ordered us to deploy temporarily, saying, "We will stay here for the night and appoint a guard; he himself will be in charge of the guards".

We fell asleep on a rock with Heydari Bagha, overcome by extreme fatigue. I was in a deep sleep when I heard someone whispering, "Sabah... Get up, Sabah..." I was jolted awake by a kick to my back, courtesy of Ghiyassi. He told me to wake up Heydari Bagha as well. When I tried to rouse him, Heydari Bagha just rolled over and went back to sleep, only waking when Ghiyassi kicked him too. We decided to switch places with the two guards so they could get some rest as well.

After about fifteen minutes, Ghiyassi returned with a handful of weapons he had taken from under the guys’ heads. He announced his plan to start a real night battle that evening!

Then he explained his plan: "First, I will give the command to stop twice in a loud voice, and then I will fire a shot. After that, you start shooting. You, towards the hill and Heydari Baqa towards the ditch."

Then he went and gave the command to stop in a loud voice, and...

The sudden shooting startled the guys out of their sleep in terror. They didn't know what had happened, and their fear only grew when they realized their weapons were missing. Ghiyassi shouted, "Get up, they attacked!"

One of the guys had wet himself inside his sleeping bag.

Ghiyassi began to remind them that a soldier should never lose his weapon under any circumstances...

Ghiyassi did not drink any water until we reached the barracks. By evening, we had reached Dokooheh, feeling tired and thirsty, but ready!

The season had changed, with winter shedding its cold grip to cover the land in white. I took some time off and traveled to Mashhad with a few of the children. Upon returning from the pilgrimage, I enrolled at the Shahid Madani Seminary with the intention of studying religion. As I delved into my studies at the seminary, I eventually decided to return to the war zone, feeling that I could be more useful there.

Upon arriving at the health center, I encountered the same individuals as before. Ghiyassi had taken leave to join the married circle, but soon returned to share a tent with me. He was always in a state of ablution, and our conversations often revolved around religious rules and issues.

One night, Ghiyassi decided to launch a night raid with a new plan in mind. He instructed me to bring a bag of blood for the mission. The next morning, after the ceremony, we began a 48-hour march. Ghiyassi had specified that only Sabah and I were to carry weapons. As we passed the guardhouse, we followed the same route as our previous night raid. Ghiyassi was leading the way, while the others were being noisy and not paying attention to my instructions. Eventually, we reached the same river we had crossed before, but this time the water was higher. Ghiyassi once again jumped in, and I mistakenly stepped on what I thought was a rock, causing me to fall in and soak all my belongings. On the other side of the river, Ghiyassi warned us about the dangerous area and reminded us to be cautious.

It was getting dark when suddenly we heard a hail of bullets coming from the top of the hills. The column continued its movement. As we passed a bend, I quickly took the blood bag out of my backpack and poured it over my head.

Radbar also knew. He took the gun from me and fired a shot. I said, "Oh," and threw myself to the ground. Radbar, with a shout and commotion, made the others realize that Sabah had been shot. Ghiyassi came over to me and called for the paramedics. The guys on the hilltop immediately started shooting from above. We had previously coordinated with several of them to shoot over the children's heads as soon as they heard a single shot. Everyone was considering running away. One had gone behind a rock and was crying! Ghiyassi tried to gather the guys, but they were scared because they had blood in their eyes. Ghiyassi quickly moved around, and each time he came near me, I could see tears flowing from his eyes. He didn't pretend that the children really thought I had been shot; he remembered the Operation Valfajr 4, where the night battle had been well-executed. Now, in addition to building their bodies, their spirits had also been strengthened. They had just tasted regret. They had run away when I was lying on the ground, bleeding and injured, and now that they had realized everything, regret had taught them a good lesson.

To be continued ….