Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (9)

Edited by Mohsen Kazemi

Ahmad Ahmad Memoirs (9)
Edited by Mohsen Kazemi
Soureh Mehr Publishing Company
(Original Text in Persian, 2000)
Translated by Mohammad Karimi

For some seconds it was calm. I went fast to that boy and lifted him. Some others also came to help me. I took his left arm and one his right hand and the other two took his legs and we moved him together. While we were passing across the street, the colonel ordered the soldiers to fire again. The one who was in front of me and was holding the boys leg was shot and fell down. The one who was in my right side was also shot in back and fell. The other two and I ran away. I took shelter behind the walls of the bank. I found my hands and clothes bloody. I was shocked and looking around dazzled and confused. I could not move or do anything and full of scare. Then I heard people shouting slogans. I saw group of people carrying sticks and shouting: "Death, or Khomeini… Go to Bazaar...Go to Bazaar…"
I was a bit inspired. I saw my brother and some other youth of "Islamic Councils Coalition" coming to my side. Mehdi spotted me. He came to me and patted on my back and said: "Whats up, Ahmad?..." I controlled myself and replied: "Brother, look! Theyve killed them?"
He said: "Come on! Its not too much. Go and look out there. There, they have killed people like fall leaves and there is no one to gather them. Come on! Lets go…do not stand here…" Then he took my hand and we went toward Bazaar. When we were passing through bazaar passages, I could see the corpses on passage sides. In a hallway in bazaar, I saw a shocking scene. A man was shot in the leg and had fell beside a four-wheeled and was writing with his right hand finger on the four-wheeled "Death, or Khomeini". I had a strange feeling. I could not stand and ran away. Gradually it became usual for me to see bloody scenes and killed and killer people. Inside bazaar we were moving from a hallway to the other one; suddenly the military closed the bazaar gates and sprayed people by bullets. The soldier would not enter the bazaar and hallways in it; they would only fire through the gates. If somebody wanted to pass from one side to the other, they would spray him with bullets; he would succeed in passing by several falling and rising or would be shot and killed. Being beside my brother buoyed me. Seeing repeated scenes of death wiped out scare of dying to me. We went to Nowruz Khan Bazaar and came out from the back of Shahs Mosque. Just right there, we saw many people and we began shouting slogans: "Khomeini, Khomeini! May God save you! And kill your bloodthirsty enemy!"
The military fired and killed and injured many. Tear gas was burning my eyes and I was weeping. Mehdi gave me a wet handkerchief to put on my eyes.
Something interesting happened. I saw an unknown group who were shouting misleading slogans to send people to other sides. They told some to go to the Jews quarter and some to Siroos crossroads and some to ironsmiths bazaar. I found out the plot. There was an ice-selling booth. I jumped on it and while my eyes were weeping and I had to put wet handkerchief on, I shouted toward people and said: "Oh, people! Do not listen to the ones you do not know. They are separating you from each other. They want to make here empty for the soldiers to come. You may face with the police there. Stay here, stand and resist and…"
While I was talking, someone patted on my foot and said: "Sir! Sir! ...Watch out!" and then pointed top of my head. I looked and found out that my head was about to touch the electricity wire. I jumped down and when I was going to the sidewalk, I saw someone was shot and fell in water way. I suppose they had aimed me to shoot. We took him and moved to a corner. I found he was shot in the chest, and he had no chance to survive. We could not take him along. There were many dead bodies like him. When it got worse, I told my brother: "Brother! Lets go back to Nowruz Khan Bazaar." We entered the bazaar along with some others. At the entrance of bazaar from Boozarjomehri street (todays 15th of Khordad street), there were some steps downwards and at the next corner on the left, there was a tall wall. We coordinated with each other that some should go on top of shops and hide and some should stand down and shout slogans to attract soldier toward here and then the ones on top would jump on them and disarm them. So along with some others I went on the shop roofs and the ones who were down there started to shout slogans: "Khomeini, Khomeini! May God save you! Your bloodthirsty enemy is abject and weak!"
But the soldiers did not come toward us despite we shouted a lot. It seemed they had known our trick. When we found this trick useless, we jumped down and went toward Shirazi Bazaar and there we entered the street.
Commandos would attack repeatedly and force us to retreat. We reached Siroos crossroads. There was an under-construction building with a lot of materials in front of it. It was a good chance. We used the bricks and stones to confront. In street fights we were sometimes able to go forward and sometimes backward. Meantime, a young boy who was wearing dusty black suit and shouting was suddenly shot in the mouth. The bullet came out his neck in the back. His mouth became full of blood and he fell down on the ground. We ran to him and pulled him to the sidewalk. There was no car. We looked around. We spotted a car that had parked in the street. We opened the cars door some way and switched it on. Then we put the half-living body of that boy in it and one of us took him to Sina hospital.
The clashes continued till 3 oclock in the afternoon. We had not been defeated yet. The full-armed army commandos and the police advanced toward us after reinforcement. They advanced from Galoobandak crossroads to Siroos crossroads. Up to this time we had stood resisted well. But gradually we became hungry, thirsty and tired. We had not said our noon and evening prayers. Our clothes were bloody because of carrying injured and martyred people.
Meantime I spotted the tanks entering from Rey Street. Commandos got out of two military trucks in Rey Street, near eastern Boozarjomehri crossroads. They marched and fired toward Siroos crossroads. The conditions became worse for protesters. We entered Siroos Street (todays Martyr Mostafa Khomeini Street) so fast when the conditions changed this way. The commandos followed us to Siroos Street after their attack to ironsmiths bazaar. The conditions were so scaring and critical. We went to Mowlavi Street pantingly. The crowds were escaping to alleys and sidewalks. I was panting some times and it was my brother every now and then browbeating that would make me run lamely. The commandos and soldiers were still firing and following us. There were fire and blood everywhere. In some cases crowds would hit each other and fall all together and then stand up again run. While I was running I spotted three red spots on the back of the person who was running in front of me. I told my brother: "It seems he is shot but still runs!" He went some more steps and fell down suddenly. Unintentionally I bent to lift him. But my brother grabbed my neck back and lifted and said: "Ahmad! Run. Theres no time to help him. They are merciless and reaching us. We have no time to move him to a corner."
We ran to Mowlavi crossroads and found out the military had occupied Haj Abulfath Mosque and the Shahs Square (todays Qiyam Square).
It was 4 oclock in the afternoon that we were around Mowlavi Street. In that throng and crisis, we felt that our movement was defeated. People were scattered out of the streets and went to their homes. Gradually the military and the police occupied all the streets and dominated over strategic locations in the city. We also distanced ourselves from that location. Tired and breathless we could lamely reach our own quarter. We were so tired that it took us 45 minutes to reach our home. There was nothing of fire and gunpowder smoke.
Some had told my parents that Mehdi and Ahmad had been killed during that days clashes. When the neighbors spotted us, they all gathered in our alley and watched us surprisingly; our bloody and torn clothes, our injured dusty hands and heads, our dry lips had doubled their surprise. Some were frightened if the military would chase us and attack there, so they called their kids and went home. It was after 5 oclock in the evening that reached home with that disturbed and distorted condition. My parents were crying when they saw us they stopped crying. They watched us surprisingly for some moments and then ran to us cheerfully.
Although I could not be a martyr of that big day, but what I observed that day so close is indescribable and my tongue cannot describe it more. By the Gods will we survived that day to experience more up and downs and pass more ordeals in future.
Whatever I tell about this days affects and godly reasons behind it is not enough. On this day, God opened my eyes to some great truths that made me continue my fight against the regime the victory of Islamic Revolution under the leadership of Imam Khomeini.
On this day I found out SAVAK had easily penetrated its elements to our groups and parties benefiting our lack of experience and also other revolutionaries. SAVAK was these elements on the right moments to divide us and collapse the line of protests. I observed with my own eyes how these black suit elements scattered people to abate their strength in front of the military and it was one of main factor to the apparent defeat of that movement on that day.(1)

1- Mr. Ahmad insists that this defeat for June 5th rise was an apparent one. The trend of events after this great day proved this event had a great victory inside that appeared 15 years later. The regime could proudly create a police state by killing people on this day for some short time. However, this way people understood its evil identity and followed news ways and methods to fight and overthrow it.