FOR A LEAF:a window into an unexplored black box of trauma and misery

FROM THE EDITOR

Decades in exile have not been kind to dissident Iranians. Alienated and persecuted by the Islamic Republic simply for having an alternative political viewpoint, exile was their only chance of survival from a brutal theocracy intent on silencing dissent by any means.

Most have either tasted ‘justice’in Islamic prisons or lived in hiding prior to their escape from Iran. Some have written their memoirs detailing the horrendous experiences in Islamic Republic prisons. Thanks to these memoires, public awareness about the atrocities inside Islamic prisons has steadily increased in recent years. It takes plenty of courage and emotional energy to delve into one’s traumatic years in prison in order to document the atrocities and unmask criminals against humanity in detail.

Mehdi Aslani has achieved exactly that. As this book is headed for publication, Aslani is preparing to give evidence to a landmark trial at a Stockholm court where Hamid Nouri is accused of crimes against humanity and involvement in the 1988 Massacre of Political Prisoners. Swedish prosecutors have included Aslani’s works Kalagh va Gol-e Sorkh and Akarin Forsat-e Gol as part of the Prosecution Dossier in this trial.

The distinguishing feature of Aslani’s latest book is his focus on families of political prisoners. Unlike their loved one(s) who knowingly chose to oppose the Islamic Republic and faced the consequences, families were largely apolitical and simply caught up in the political cross fire. Their pain and suffering started at the arrest of their loved one and continues to this day. Aslani opens . One that researchers can investigate further from various perspectives.

Translating Aslani is not easy. He is a Persian language expert in his own right with a solid command of contemporary literature shining throug

his speech and writing. Aslani wrestles with words and twists phrases to create fresh expressions. Often he relies on mythical, literary and even social metaphors to convey a message. In doing so, Aslani challenges the audience to think outside the established modes of expression. For example, in the Persian version of this work, Aslani selected a poetry verse as a heading for each narrative from the renowned contemporary poet, Ahmad Shamloo. One has to understand the context of the verses in order to connect the headings to each narrative.

This takes me to my next point. The Persian version of this work contained many details that appear inexplicable to an English audience Enigmatic details that are rooted in Persian culture and traditions are not able to be understood without background introduction(s). There were also instances where the narrator(s) stray off topic, use poetic analogies or get sidelined by details. In editing this work, every effort was made to allow western audience to establish a rapport with all narratives. There were also commercial and page limitations. With these constraints in mind, I reluctantly omitted some sections from the Persian version. For that, I apologise in advance to all narrators concerned.

Sepehr Manuchehri

FOREWORD

Four years ago The Last Breath of the Rose was released as a portfolio of notes, final letters, literature and artwork by political prisoners during the first decade of the Revolution. This work galvanised my resolve to finally implement my long cherished desire in exile, a work featuring the accounts of families affected by prison during the 1980’s. My mother was a key driver for this project, having suffered years of grief for her son, alongside and beyond the walls of various prisons. The extent of miseries and tribulations that devastated families beyond the walls of Islamic prisons remain largely uncovered as countless accounts about the horrors of the Islamic Regime during the 1980’s remain unreported.

Since it’s inception, the Islamic Regime in Iran has been synonymous with prison. Not wishing to underestimate the sufferings of victims and their families by the Regime in recent years, this work concentrates on the first decade of Islamic Republic, signifying the most grotesque period of prisons. Documenting the accounts of families of political prisoners shines a light on the infinite horrors perpetuated under the Islamic Republic and helps to understand prison processes during the bloodstained decade of 1980’s.

My first priority was making contact with grieving mothers who were mostly in their senior years. In fact, four mothers I planned to interview passed away on the first year of this project. Their loss provided added impetus to expedite interviews with mothers. It was almost impossible to expect mothers to write down the tragedies of those years. The only method, I imagined, was to record their voice through phone calls before transcribing the contents later. But soon I realised this method was ineffective. I had to approach mothers in person and gain their confidence before they could open up and provide their account. Once they established confidence, they revealed intimate details that were truly heart breaking. Details that seemed lost in the hurricanes

of memories and unresolved nightmares riddled with tears. I had to listen, transcribe and edit the contents into a flowing narrative. Meeting mothers and families based in US, Canada and Australia would have been ideal. However, it was cost prohibitive and unfeasible. As a result, the project was limited to those residing within Europe. Having said that, I managed to listen to several families during two talking tours of North America.

I never imagined the project to be so arduous, time consuming and expensive but obsessed with the end result, I had no intention of withdrawing. While I initially planned to include 50-60 narratives in the book, the final number increased to 123. They include accounts from 8 mothers’ faithfully reproduced by their children. I conducted interviews with some families as others sent me their accounts via voice files. Each account had to be transcribed and then sent to the originator for review. After amendments and corrections, the final version found it’s way to the book.

I did not seek assistance or provide the accounts/voice files to anyone. I owed it to the families who had trusted me with their accounts to honour their confidence. Often during interviews, mothers would interrupt their narrative to warn me:

‘Darling, please don’t mention this piece, it is just between you and I.’

I also had to distil a long interview of several hours into a handful of pages.

Let me profess that prior to this project, I felt confident about knowing the horrors of Islamic prisons in the 1980’s. However, reading these narratives increased my awareness of these prisons and the sufferings of families.

What can be concluded after reading such narratives? Most are inconsolable narratives that open a window into the enormity of the horrors. Horrors arising from the impasse of repeat tragedies and trauma. Even the children’s stories are unable to rejuvenate the sombre tone of the book, as if the impasse has turned into destiny. These narratives relay their sufferings and attempt to analyse their destiny

and draw attention to their loneliness. The 1980’s remains blurry with unreported narratives and accounts.

Narratives are inclusive of gender and political affiliation of the prisoners. The book allows the reader to begin from any page. Each account bears the narrator’s name as a heading. Narrators are fathers, mothers, wives, husbands, children and siblings. Two narrators talk about their uncles. The seemingly unrelated or scattered accounts form a connection through the overall text. Like secluded mountain springs, they join together and form a river filled with dreams. The chorus embodies the whispers of alienated families, wishing for an end to terror. These accounts resemble unfinished poems lamenting someone’s absence and the ever present misery under the Islamic Republic. Empty homes, sombre alleys and silence of familiar voices are evidences of such absence.

Special thanks to dear Sepehr Manuchehri who took on the meticulous task of translating and editing this work to enable English speaking audience establish a rapport with the content. Also special thanks to M. Amini, Reza Talebi and Behrooz Asadi for their invaluable assistance.

Finally, I wish to thank Behrooz Sheyda for his extraordinary support that eventually led to this book. Dear Behrouz, I am eternally grateful for your kindness.

Mehdi Aslani 

FOR A LEAF
Mehdi Aslani
Editor and Translator: Sepehr Manuchehri
Cover image: Parastoo Frouhar
Cover design and layout : Reza Talebi
First published in hardback by Mafan Publisher 2022 Copyright © Baran Publisher
ISBN: 978-91-88653-20-8

tabestan67@gmail.com