The Embankment Wounded Shoulders – 9

Diary of a Rescuer

Sabah Piri
Translated to English by M.B. Khoshnevisan

2025-6-1

The Embankment Wounded Shoulders – 9
Diary of a Rescuer

Sabah Piri
Translated to English by M.B. Khoshnevisan
Persian Version (1990)
Sooreh Mehr Publications

***

The next day when we were in Dokooheh, I visited the medical unit. Two or three days later, we traveled to Joffair and stayed overnight. The next morning, Haji Mameqani arranged for me to be driven to Majnoon Island. Upon our arrival, I was greeted by Ghiyassi and we embraced before I assisted him in the emergency room. I stayed there for some time, with Haji Mameqani visiting every few days to check on things before leaving again.

One day, he instructed us to dig the ground. He began by digging a 2-meter-wide and 10-meter-long area of soil with a shovel. Then, he directed Ghiyassi and the other guys to dig the ground to a depth of 2 meters. We all worked together to build two or three trenches. The drawback of these trenches was that if the enemy used chemical weapons, the toxic substances could easily seep into the trench due to the way chemicals spread on the ground.

When we arrived in Joffair, I went to Malek Ashtar's battalion at night to collect the equipment. The first and second nights passed without any news of the operation.

On the third night, we were suddenly awakened from our sleep. We eagerly put on our boots and headed outside, where several buses were waiting for us. Instead of heading south to Majnoon Island, the buses drove towards two mountains. It became clear that the operation had been leaked, and enemy planes had bombed the area, resulting in the tragic loss of some guys.

I decided not to go to the hospital and instead stayed with Malik's battalion. Eventually, we moved to Joffair, where I was assigned as a rescuer. I worked alongside another rescuer named Heidari Vaqar. Our unit also had two clerics, one of whom was known as Taj al-Dini. Early in the morning, when he wanted to go to the morning military ceremony, he would take off his clothes, run ahead, and make the children run for 6-7 kilometers. He was an active person and a skilled shooter. I remember he never missed his night prayers.

After a while, I was forced to go to the medical department. I was with Ghiyassi again, and this lifted my spirits. We started digging trenches once more. We dug seven trenches that were two meters deep. Then one day, Haj Mameqani and Asgari arrived and said, "These seven trenches are not enough. We need to dig more." We were happy to be kept busy with work. Haj Mameqani later revealed that the leaked operation had been a joke, and we needed to prepare the trenches quickly and seriously. Ghiyassi worked incredibly hard. He was a unique man! His faith had made him diligent and tough. One night, as he went to pray the night prayer, he somehow changed his location. Moments later, a mortar fell right where he had been previously standing, creating a hole there.

Finally, after some time, we had to leave. One day, Haj Mameqani came and informed us that we needed to depart. The children were upset; they had worked diligently to build a barricade. Despite their efforts, we had to leave. Haj Mameqani resolved the situation by suggesting obedience to God's command and trust. The guys departed the island with a mix of sadness and longing. Only Ghiyassi remained behind to spend the night, as he desired some time alone on Majnoon Island to bid farewell. After some time, I returned to Tehran and resumed my relief work at the school on a larger scale. This time, the curriculum included lessons on bones, cells, digestion, blood, heart, kidney, brain, nerves, ears, eyes, and more.

I also took a microbiology class and received training as a nurse. Prior to this, I had already received training in medical emergencies and how to handle injured individuals. Our training took place at Najmieh Hospital. Following the theoretical training, we were assigned to different hospitals for practical experience. Hassan, Abbas, and I were placed at Shahid Rahnamoon Hospital.

Abbas, who had been hearing-impaired since childhood, faced challenges with the nurses who would often get frustrated with him for not being able to hear. The way we were treated by the nurses was unpleasant, as they would repeatedly scold us for not wearing the proper hijab. Despite this, the most we could do was to administer injections there. It was puzzling to us why the nurses would always ask where we were from, to which we would respond proudly: "From the academic jihad!"

After some time, Abbas mentioned that he could no longer work there because he was being harassed and could not hear properly. We decided to transfer ourselves to Sina Hospital, a large facility with well-equipped wards. Many students were doing their practical training there, but they were quite inexperienced. I worked alongside Abbas in the emergency department, which had a ten-bed room for women and four rooms for men. On the very first day, the nurses, who were dressed in makeup and looked cute, made me feel completely focused. However, I accidentally entered the women's room at one point, quickly realized my mistake, and returned to the correct area. The nurses noticed and one of them instructed me to go to the women's ward and connect an IV for a female patient. I refused, and a disagreement ensued.

There were ongoing clashes between us and the nurses for a long time until it became impossible to continue working as there was no one to listen to us. Eventually, we decided to go to the clinic. At the clinic, we performed suturing, dressing, circumcision, and other simple procedures. Next to the clinic was the "catheterization room," which was run by an Armenian woman. She taught us how to perform catheterizations. Our work progressed rapidly, and we were doing at least 50 catheterizations a day, working tirelessly.

Here, the work was done in a rotating fashion. That is, after a while, we would go to the clinic and those who were there would go to the surgery department. After some time, we would go to the surgery ward and they would move to another ward. Eventually, I ended up in the dressing ward. The room was extremely clean and sterilized. There was a lady in charge who took great care to maintain the cleanliness of the room. Unfortunately, the nurses' attitude towards us was not pleasant. They would bother us with their hijabs. The most productive thing we could do there was to administer injections.

If someone didn't wear a mask or was a little careless about the sterility of the room, they would be severely punished. She had many clients, and the first two or three days were challenging for us because any slight carelessness on our part would result in severe punishment. However, the value of her work motivated us to endure. She could be considered a dedicated and true servant of the people. She performed her job exceptionally well, both educating us effectively and showing genuine interest in treating the patients. The sinful era was finally over!

After training and experiencing both difficult and joyful times, I believe it was more challenging, we returned to the area. Ghiyassi and the other guys were already there. The other guys had gone to a place called "Kozran" in the west, where an operation was scheduled to begin.

Not long after, Haj Mojtaba Asgari informed me that we needed to be prepared to accompany Ghiyassi to a different area. We loaded the necessary equipment into the back of the car with Ghiyassi and started our journey. Unsure of our destination, we passed through Andimeshk and headed towards Karkheh. Eventually, we reached a fork in the road, with one path leading to Fakkeh and the other to Dehloran.

The car drove towards Fakkeh. We drove a few kilometers and arrived at a camp that was in the shape of a circle. The units were inside the circle and the battalions were outside the circle. Ghiyassi pointed to a spot and said, “You should pitch a tent here!” We were supposed to build a few trenches there. A heavy, fine rain began to fall. We quickly set up the tent. They also gave us a new trail motorcycle to do the work. The person in charge of the camp’s engineering was a man named Lahijani, who worked very hard. He was wounded and had the same magpie eyes as me. He showed us the supply area so that we could get anything we needed. We started the work, which resulted in three large trenches. A bulldozer had also come to our aid.

Five days had passed and we had managed to build three more trenches. It seemed like everyone around us was also busy constructing trenches. Then, a few days later, as we were sleeping in the tent, it suddenly collapsed on top of us. With all our might, we managed to free ourselves and discovered that it was Ghiyassi who had accidentally torn the rope and pulled out the pole of the tent. He urgently urged us to get up, gather our supplies, and head back. Without hesitation, we packed up and made our way back. Additionally, during this time we also had a promotional trip to Mashhad, where we enjoyed ourselves.

To be continued …