Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (5)

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (5)Edited by Mohsen KazemiSoureh Mehr Publishing Company(Original Text in Persian, 2000)Translated by Mohammad Karimi Unburdened SorrowsFollowing Imam Khomeini BeginsWhen Grand Ayatollah Boroujerdi passed away, the Shah’s regime tried hard to show that Ayatollah Hakim in Iraq was officially the most high-ranking Shia clergy in order to transfer Shia power core out of Iran; however, presence of Ayatollah Khomeini and subsequent events showed these attempts were useless.In 1962 when Asadollah Alam government ratified the bill of “Provincial Councils”.(1) The Clergy and activist groups including Islamic Coalition Party (Hey’at-haye Mo’talefeh Eslami) shaped a movement and many announcements were issued in opposition with this bill.The announcements and telegrams of Grand...

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (4)

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (4)Edited by Mohsen KazemiSoureh Mehr Publishing Company(Original Text in Persian, 2000)Translated by Mohammad Karimi Teachers' Strike and Dr. Abolhassan Khan'ali MurderIn 1960 I was in 6th grade of high school for the second time. In May 1961 a cultural protest was made by the leadership of Mohammad Derakhshesh. In the continuation of this protest, teachers gathered in protest in Baharestan Square for their low salaries and bad economic situation and went on strike.The protest trend speed up and there were clashes between the teachers and the military. They started to shoot and a teacher, Dr. Abolhassani Khan'ali(1), who was a teacher of Jami High School was shot dead. Two others were wounded. Many protestors were also injured among the crowd when running away while being scared from...

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (3)

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (3)Edited by Mohsen KazemiSoureh Mehr Publishing Company(Original Text in Persian, 2000)Translated by Mohammad Karimi The First Prison Experience Pass mark for 1st to 5th grade of high school was 7 and for 6th grade 10. In 1960 I was in 6th grade that I witnessed there was a protest among the students that changed to a guild protest.Education Ministry had announced that pass mark for 5th grade and the lower grades would higher than 10.  The students did not like that. So they reacted so fast. I was in 6th grade of high school and this new regulation had no effect on my educational destiny. However, since I saw that matter unjust, I participated in their protest. The students of Marvi High School had a big in this protest. I observed the silence was broken with these students and...

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (2)

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (2)Edited by Mohsen KazemiSoureh Mehr Publishing Company(Original Text in Persian, 2000)Translated by Mohammad Karimi Childhood and Elementary SchoolI was seven years old when my brother, Mahmood, who was mentally sick, and I went to Farvardin elementary school which was located in the same quarter and registered our names for the 1st grade.Since my brother was sick, I always had to be beside him. His condition was in a way that always someone had to be careful about him and even at nights one of family members had to sleep beside him to care about.(1)Because of our family’s bad economic situation we had some hardships for going to school. Once I remember because of not having a pair of trousers, I could not go to school for one week; until my brother, Mahdi, came home on furlough...

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (1)

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (I)Edited by Mohsen KazemiSoureh Mehr Publishing Company(Original Text in Persian, 2000)Translated by Mohammad Karimi Foreword:This book narrates known and unknown events and memoirs by people who sought the light and paid heavily for it; and also talks about the ones who lost the way and went astray and reached to a mirage.This narrative contains the sweet and sour memoirs by “Ahmad Ahmad” who has been interviewed for more than 70 hours in two years. He was patient with our repeated calls and meetings and answered our fair and unfair questions.For the old Ahmad it was hard to narrate the memoirs of more 40 years ago. However, it happened by referring to different and outnumbered interviews and also some historical books. He admits that interviews remind him of interrogation...

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs

In the previous issue, we covered the last part of Mohammad-Rezā Hāfezniā's abridged memoires. The next issue will introduce a work considered groundbreaking for almost 15 years in the realm of memoires-writing of Islamic Revolutionary freedom fighters. It was an attempt to address the pre-revolution memories of a Muslim freedom fighter from a professional oral historic perspective. As admitted by the Islamic Revolution Documents Center, "A new window was opened to the studies on the People's Mujahedin of Iran," after it was published. Tapping the experience he had gained in his earlier works, the author sought to avoid propaganda and persuasion and act like a historian in discovering the truth free from common exaggerations. However, there are few words of propaganda and persuasion in his work. As he himself...

The Memoirs of Mohammad Reza Hafeznia (17)

Memoirs of Hafeznia (17) I came next to the road. I saw a closet of a well near there. I decided to enter it and wait until morning. I might have been arrested due to the martial law. At the same time, the closet was warm. When I reached the closet, I found out that it was locked. I had no choice but to sit by the wall of the closet. I was very tired and it was cold. I had been moving since 10 PM and now it was near dawn. So I inevitably tried to keep myself warm by doing exercises.Arrival in MashhadWhile I was waiting for the weather to become clear, every few minutes, I was hearing the sound of some vehicles which made me worried. The weather was clearing little by little. I prayed and prepared to move. When the sun rose, I came by the road and raised my hand for the cars passing by there.  A Paykan whose...

The Memoirs of Mohammad Reza Hafeznia (16)

Memoirs of Hafeznia (16) I stood there and started talking to my God. One moment, I said “Oh God save me if I am useful for this Islamic movement and for your way.” In Fact with this prayer, I decided to leave there.  I said if I was useful, I would leave, if not, they would fire at me, and achieve my goal that was martyrdom. I remained there until the barrage being fired at the hole ended in order to throw myself out of the space between the interior and exterior layers of the prison. When the barrage ended, I remained for some ten seconds and then jumped toward the wall and reached myself to the banned area. Nobody hung around there. It was filled with bushes. Since it was foggy, the projectors lightened limited space. At the same time, I considered precaution since it was possible that the guards...

The Memoirs of Mohammad Reza Hafeznia (15)

Memoirs of Hafeznia (15) He was a in a position that if someone had a job from outside with inside the prison, he or she acted through him. Political and ordinary prisoners believed in him. Mr. Zarif Jalali had been practically put in the position of leading rebellious prisoners and managed the affairs very well.  He directed the relations very well so that no special incident or problem happened. I in my part tried to have a close cooperation with him.On the other hand, when the people of Mashhad heard that the prisoners had revolted, they started moving toward the prison. But before the people wanted to be deployed around the prison, the military forces had cordoned off the area with full military equipment and several tanks. The group was apart from the guard forces of the prison.One time when I decided...

The Memoirs of Mohammad Reza Hafeznia (14)

Memoirs of Hafeznia (14) Apparently, I had not been banned to visit someone anymore. I didn't know who had come to visit me. It was for the first time that I went behind the visiting room which had big and closed glasses and talked though a headphone. I saw that Mr. Alireza Chaychi, my former friend who later became my brother-in-law had come to meet me. I was surprised. How had he dared to come and visit me? I never thought that someone had the guts to do so. Apparently, he had relation with some of the guards outside the prison and had found a way to come and visit me. He had brought me a little money and some fruits. It was very interesting for me that someone had been found to come and ask about my health after that incident. He left there and after him, others also came to meet me. His wife along with her...