A trip “Under the Wounded Skin of Roads”

Memoirs of 50 drivers

Elham Saleh
Translated by Natalie Haghverdian

2016-6-6

There was a group usually ignored and less attended to during the war. Gradually, they as well, became an interesting subject for authors in an effort to introduce their hard work and endeavor to the public. “Under the Wounded Skin of Roads” has targeted this group: drivers, who during eight years of Holy Defense, drove in dangerous roads, who count their stories in this book.

“Under the Wounded Skin of Roads” is the story of 50 drivers, who, during Iraq imposed war against Iran, drove in fronts, operation sites and battlefields.

The book starts with an introduction and then narrates the memoirs of the drivers. Some memories are painful just like the one of Ali Niknam; a veteran exposed to chemical attacks who has suffered injuries in his eyes, lungs, skin, groin and sole: “I couldn’t see clearly. Through the black curtain hanging in front of me I saw a soldier from Mashhad. He had long beard and a big belly. During bomb attacks he had screamed and his mouth was full of quivers which had then penetrated his face and got out and he was martyred as he sat there.”  

Some memories are normal such as the memory of Sattar Rezapour: “One night, I wanted to sleep in my car and I had just closed my eyes when I heard munching. I got up and jumped out of the car. There was no one there. Again I lay down and closed my eyes and again I heard munching. When I looked closely, I saw a rat which had found a biscuit under the car and was busy eating it. I threw all the biscuits out of the car and while it was busy munching them I fell asleep.”

There is a biography of the driver at the beginning of each story. Some memories are short and some are long.

“Under the Wounded Skin of Road” is a beautiful title and the image for the cover is also suitable; however, the content could have been drafted and processed to be more intriguing for the audience.

However, this book narrates the efforts of a specific group of people during the Holy Defense and each memory is part of the oral history of the war, recounted by the narrators, which is a concept that has rarely been addressed during these years.