The Beating Pulse of a Nation at the Moment of Nowruz
Every year, in the days and nights leading up to Nowruz, Shohada Square had a special charm. A few days before the New Year, the shops would fill with customers, and street vendors would take over the sidewalks. You could find everything in their stalls (from items for the Haft Sin table, candles, goldfish, and spring flowers to clothes, bags, and shoes).Memoirs of Commander Asadollah Naseh
Commander Asadollah Naseh, deputy commander of Operation Mersad in 1988, was the guest of the 282nd episode of the “Night of Reminiscences” program (July 2017). He had also been among the narrators on the twelfth Night of Reminiscences program in 1993. Commander Naseh related that the account he recounted in 1993 pertained to events preceding Operation Mersad.A Spring Redolent of Gunpowder in the Days of the Referendum
That year I could not be with my family for Nowruz. I was not overly distressed by this—firstly because I was an army man fulfilling official duties, and secondly because I was not alone in separation; my comrades were likewise apart from their families. We endured cold, dispirited days during the Nowruz of 1358 (1979). The sole abiding recollection is that we marked the new year at the Mahabad barracks with thoughts of our families.An Exceptional Haft‑Seen Table
I wanted to celebrate the new year with my family. Together with two relief workers I boarded buses designated for transporting the wounded to Choubideh and received our mission orders. We waited for a helicopter to take us to Bandar Imam Khomeini. I was stationed near the helicopter’s touchdown zone and was slight in build. As the helicopter was about to land, I could not steady myself; the breeze generated by the rotor blades lifted me off the ground.Memoirs of Mrs. Seddigheh Samiei
Seddigheh Samiei, with a Master of Art’s degree in Nursing and Law, was the guest of the 281st Night of Memory program (July 2017). Samiei stated: “I started working from the spring of 1980 at Valiasr (pbuh) Hospital, which was the first IRGC hospital and was established at Pol-e-Raj St. in Tehran. I had the honor of working with Martyr Dr. Rahnemun, Martyr Asemani, Martyr Sharifi Nia, and Martyr Mortaji.The First Nowruz in Tikrit POW Camp No. 16
It was in December 1988 when I, along with about 150 other prisoners, was transferred from Tikrit POW Camp 12 to “Camp 16,” just a few kilometers away, on the charge of “indiscipline.” The Iraqis called it “Qafas,” meaning “the cage.” And they were right. More than anything else, Tikrit Camp No. 16 resembled a large cage, with five barracks and an attached prison known as the “Mulhaq.”The Ramadan War: A battle of Wills
A continuous, terror-inducing roar of an American fighter jet reverberated through the air. It circled the sky as if it had no intention of departing. I hesitated that should I go to the gathering or stay home? I could not tell whether being on the street at that moment was a wise choice. For several minutes my mind wrestled with this question. Eventually I told myself the jet was there not only to destroy buildings and take lives but to clear the streets.Qadr nights in Tikrit’s number.16 concentration camp;
Spirituality as a Mechanism of Resistance
Qadr nights in Tikrit’s number.16 concentration camp was not just a religious ritual, rather it functioned as one of the most important mechanisms of identity protection, rehabilitation of spirit and inner resistance of POWs. In a situation that access to Quran, Mafatih and even conducting communal rituals was strictly limited and prohibited, this limit itself was altering the meaning of Qadr night for us.Excerpt from the Memoirs of Mohammad-Hadi Ardebilli
I registered for Konkour (university entrance exam), following the conclusion of high school. I was accepted into Tehran’s polytechnic (Amirkabir) university and began to study chemical and petrochemical engineering. There was a building named Jordan in the faculty in which religious students had prepared a small room as a house of prayer and did the noon and afternoon prayers in there.An Excerpt from the Memoirs of Masoumeh Ramhormozi
The Blessed Month of Ramadan at the Front
In August 1981, the enemy’s fifth column was active in the border villages, and reports of their movements frequently reached us. Several patients had come from the village of Bechachreh near Arvandkenar and told us about their hardships. The villagers lived with the barest means, and diseases were spreading widely among them.2
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How can narrators and interviewers reach a common understanding?We asked several researchers and activists in the field of oral history to express their views on oral history questions. The names of each participant are listed at the beginning of their answers, and the text of all answers will be published on this portal by the end of the week.
Documentary Pathology of the US Embassy Documents
The Necessity of Scientific Rereading and Content Analysis of DocumentsMore than four decades have passed since the publication of the first collections of documents from the US Embassy in Tehran. However, despite the relatively easy access to this treasure trove of documents, systematic research exploitation of it has not been adequate. We still do not have a “comprehensive picture” of the content of these 11,000 documents.
100 Questions / 42
What is the importance of the narrator and interviewers shared understanding of the past in oral history?We asked several researchers and activists in the field of oral history to express their views on oral history questions. The names of each participant are listed at the beginning of their answers, and the text of all the answers will be published on this portal by the end of the week.
Validation: Challenges and Necessities
Where does truth stand in oral history? How can the correctness of a narrative be recognized? Does fact-checking matter? If there is exaggeration in the reporting of some accounts, how can it be detected? Is it possible to record an event accurately through the recording of a narrative? Readers and users of oral history works are often faced with these questions, and sometimes encounter doubts about some oral history works.
