100 Narratives from Hassan Bāqeri`s Life

The book 100 Narratives from Hassan Bāqeri`s Life, penned by Sa`eed Alāmiān and published in 690 pages, is at first blush indicative of a new approach to the life of this influential commander of the War. The Institute of Martyred Hassan Bāqeri has been active for a decade, having published a five-volume book named A Daily Account of War last year. The first volume is by far the eighth book published about Hassan Bāqeri.
Another interesting point about the book is its author: Sa`eed Alāmiān, a man who knew Hassan Bāqeri closely during his years as a journalist and a reporter of the War. His meetings with the said martyr, is his link to those years. Therefore, in light of his experience as the author of a number of books entailing observations from the War, Alāmiān`s narrative is imbued with facts.
As the mastermind of many operations during the early years of the War, Hassan Bāqeri (16 March 1955 – 29 January 1982) has often been portrayed with exaggeration. However, exaggeration could come into existence in the mind of the reader; it is not to be a tool utilized by the writer, for the author is not to be the sole judge of everything. But, A Daily Account of War and 100 Narratives from Hassan Bāqeri`s Life have been written by documentation to be both a document and a narrative of reality.
In his preface, Sa`eed Alāmiān states that there are going to be three volumes, entailing memories from 150 narrators, with the first volume recounting oral memoirs from74 narrators. In his preface, he gives a clear picture of the work, its points, and notable names for the reader.
100 Narratives from Hassan Bāqeri`s Life is written in a way that in each chapter with regard to specific periods and topics, related excerpts from the narrators` descriptions, documents, and Gholām-Hossein Afshordi`s (Hassan Bāqeri `s) own writings are recounted with often a linear narration (a description of the sequence of events) and occasionally with a non-linear narration (different descriptions of an events from different points of view). The chapters furthermore contain copies of some documents and pictures of narrators and events. Each page exploits footnotes to introduce the individuals mentioned in that page and some additional information about textual elements; this then results in a written database which provides brief descriptions of those individuals` background. Illustrations of each chapter do a similar job. Similarly, in light of its main topic, the first volume of 100 Narratives from Hassan Bāqeri`s Life relates the major events of the years 1357 (1978) to 1359 (1980).
The first chapter recounts Hassan Bāqeri`s early years and follows events of his life to the victory of the Revolution. His life is closely connected to the events of the Revolution; this chapter therefore relates particular points of life. The second chapter focuses on Gholām-Hossein Afshordi`s (Hassan Bāqeri `s) personal and social status in 1358 (1979), highlighting the journalistic dimension of his character. The accounts by Bāqeri from his trips to countries such as Lebanon, with few counterparts elsewhere, provide a background of his political, social, and journalistic points of view in the first volume of 100 Narratives from Hassan Bāqeri`s Life.
The third to seventh chapters portray Hassan Bāqeri on battlefields, with all narrators remembering to mention where and how they first met him. These chapters trace events to the end of the year 1359 (1980), in scenes which depict Hassan Bāqeri standing in the war room with complete information of the position of the enemy (Saddām`s army). These chapters retell the events of the first six months of the Imposed War Iraq waged on Iran in southern regions, with a focus on Gholām-Hossein Afshordi`s (Hassan Bāqeri `s) influence on the War.

Ahad Gūdarziāni
Translated by: Katayoun Davallou