The days I weep

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Party Girl
by Party Girl
17-Nov-2008
 

The life of this Party Girl isn't as glamorous as her name suggests!  As a volunteer for the site, I look for Iranians all the time.  Old, young, beautiful, ugly, inside Iran, outside Iran, stellar, infamous, inside a house, in a field, on a stage, in a kitchen, in a castle, or on a street.  I look for them mostly on YouTube.  I want to find them and know what of their lives they want to share with me.  Then I run as fast as I can (on the web) and I tell JJ that I found another "good" one, here he/she is!  About 3/4 of what I recommend is rejected because it doesn't meet the publication requirements.  The days my finds are featured are good days for me.  The days the Iranians I found are not featured, though, are a little sad for me.  I don't know how many other people out there are looking for Iranians, but I know I was on that particular day and I did find that Iranian in the North Pole or in a restaurant in Greece, in a high school in Missouri, in a village in Yazd, or on a sidewalk in New York, and he or she didn't make the cut.  Will that person be lost again?  Would it matter?

Sometimes I spend hours lost in the labyrinth of YouTube, forgetting what I was doing, watching images.  Sometimes I sit here and laugh my head off by myself.  Some other times I cover my little YouTube window with my hands for I cannot bear to watch the images of a man being beaten or tortured or hung, but I know that that video needs to be seen.  Some days I start dancing spontaneously with the music I am hearing, and some days I sit in my chair weeping for the pain or emotion I am experiencing at seeing something. 

I know I like it more and quite possibly you like it more when I share my fun findings.  But today I want to show you something that has affected me deeply for a couple of days and I wanted to write about it.  Though remarkably brave, it's sad, I forewarn you.  I have a 31-second clip of a young Iranian Basiji, who is talking to an American reporter during the Iran-Iraq war.  He speaks a perfect English.  Where did he learn that?  He can't be more than 16 years old, but his words are provocative and they will sear into your soul.  At the end of the short clip, he shows one of his fellow "soldiers" to the reporter, a 14-year-old boy.  Looking at that clip, you wonder where those boys are now?  Did they make it?  The helmet on the 14-year-old boy's head looks too big, or is his head too small?  I know we all know it, but will our nation ever fully comprehend who fought for Iran during the war? 

This clip reminded me of that really sad song by Rasoul Najafian, Rasm-e Zamooneh.  You can listen to it here

 

قصه برگ و باد خزونه
میرن آدما از اونا فقط
خاطره هاشون به جا میمونه
کجاست اون کوچه
چی شد اون خونه
آدماش کجان خدا میدونه
بوتهء یاس بابا جون هنوز
گوشهء باغچه توی گلدونه
عطرش پیچیده تا هفتا خونه
خودش کجاهاست خدا میدونه
میرن آدما از اونا فقط
خاطره هاشون به جا میمونه

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Abarmard

Thanks PartyGirl

by Abarmard on

My cousin was among them too and his body was never found. He was like my older brother since he lived with us for while. Great guy.

No one should forget the sacrifices that Iranians made in order to have the land stay the size that it is today and also be independent. Their sacrifices and braveries has made Iran a safer country where those who want to attack have been thinking twice about it because they remember what Iranians did without outside help, by themselves. We are a great nation because of this signs not a government that we have. We owe them greatly and need to contribute more to make Iran better.

They gave their lives to save Iran; It's shameful to want a foreign country to fix our problems today.


Jaleho

So, IRI attacked Iraq and started the war?!

by Jaleho on

Sour grapes of former regime who can't repeat this BS because of the by now overwhelming evidence to the contrary,  those who can't simply thank with a bit of humility a revolutionary crowd and leader who saved their country when they were just watching (myself included)...they have to nag by the common BS of IRI extended the war.

They repeat this BS even when thirty years later the historical documents have revealed they've been full of it!

And, all of a sudden those kids who shouted "allah Akbar, Khomeini Rahbar," as they headed to the front, became the "aryamehr" kids! Is there any self check for excessive nonsense?!!


Darius Kadivar

Thanks for Sharing Party Girl Keep Up

by Darius Kadivar on

Very insightful and touching. I remember so many similar cases that left so many of us feeling helpless in exile when hearing the recurrent news of the War Front. We could have been one of these kids were we in Iran. My Dad often used to tell us to appreciate how lucky we were to be in safety in France. I didn't always agree with him but now I know how true he was. These kids grew up so fast and what a pity that this generation had to pay the price for the mistake their parents generation did. These kids were True Heroes who would have had a brighter future if they were at school preparing for their future than on the mine fields on a no mans land.

I get the same uncomfortable feeling when I see images of kids in some African country shooting with a Kalashnikov bigger than his size or the young kids in Iraq or Afghanistan.

War is never a Solution, if it was we would have solved it centuries ago.

Lets Hope Humanity and not just Iranians learn from their mistakes and help build a more peaceful and tolerant world.

Warm Regards Party Girl, Keep Up the good work.

Dariush 


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To Jaleho and Kaveh

by Abbass Taheri (not verified) on

It seems you guys contradict your own statements, Jaleho in particular. Make up your mind.


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From A Bunker

by Killjoy (not verified) on

A fifteen-year-old kid didn't want his "comrades" who were 10- or 11-year-olds to know his real age. Those unfortunate, innocent kids didn't even know what their mission was.

Later in the day their body parts were collected to be shipped to their poor parents.

Let's condemn those who instigated the Iran-Iraq war and all those who brought it on Iranians.

Let's condemn regime's reluctance to terminate the hostilities early on and expose and condemn the brutalities perpetrated by the butchers in Tehran after the war had finally ended!

Dear Kaveh, I sometimes wonder how you could possibly get into a debate with this woman(I remember Bill Clinton each time I say, "this woman."), a heartless regime supporter?

Her claim that she knew some of these kids who were sacrificed by the mullaahs, makes me laugh. It's part of her "Taghieyeh" to come up with all sorts of lies and falsifications anytime she touches upon a topic out of context.

And this outrageously irrelavent piece of nonsense,

"That is indeed true, and we're enjoying the benefits of what you think is 'wrong,'"

is how people like her try to cover up the war crimes committed by the regime.

One would almost venture to ask who "is enjoying the benefits?" But why bother when only what one gets for an answer is another hate-filled slanderous one-liner towards the opponents of the regime she adores so much.


ThePope

The truth

by ThePope on

Why some people just don't wanna accept the truth. So many little boys were brainwashed during elementry school, after class hours they were held at school and taught how to use J-3 and ak-47...only to be sent to the fronts a few years later.
So many other boys were forcefully taken off the streets and dragged to "sepah's military camps" by bus, and were trained some lame combat tactics (like how to scream Allah-o Akbar!) for a few days, and sent to the fronts...

BTW, those older teenagers, youth, adults that volunteered and fought with heart and devotion were in fact arya-mehr's children...

And yes, Iran will never forget how khomeini sacrificed these young men (for an additional 6 years).


sanazi

This young man

by sanazi on

I have seen this clip many times, and every time I hear this young man talk, I am profoundly touched. His words are powerful. His devotion and sincerity are evident. Iran will never forget the sacrifice of these young men.


Jaleho

Kaveh

by Jaleho on

you say:

"Khomeini's call for those who believed in the revolution to go defend the country. And what happened to those who didn't share that belief? "

stayed in their home's safety and the youth we are talking about went and saved the country? 

And please, BABIES were sent to clean mines? by whom?

The regime saved the country and is doomed? if it didn't, generations in the future would have cursed it for failing to protect its integrity. BTW, that kind of self sacrifice historically is seen ONLY from a revolutionary crowd, isn't it so in the history?

Also, it was not just the youth doing the sacrifice. Last summer, I was listening to a driver, an old man,  we hired for few days to show us places around Mashad. He showed me many heart breaking pictures of himself  and his friends in the war. He said that he was a regular driver back then too, had nothing to do with the war, and one day he was offered extra money to go around Abadan by a fellow who before getting close to the center of fights bought large amount of bread to go distribute. He said that when he went to the danger zone and saw women and children poured out starved for the bread, he quit his job, left his wife and children and went to war. It was the atmosphere. Many younger kids followed their older brothers. And I am sure the older driver we had was not unique.


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Awwww

by Toofantheoncesogreat (not verified) on

Dont weep.. please dont weep.. pweaase.. if you weep, then Im gonna weep, then we're gonna look like two dorks weeping..(holding my arms out wanting to give party girl a big warm comforting hug)

I love your vids, keep at it! :)


Kaveh Nouraee

Jaleho

by Kaveh Nouraee on

You're talking about youth. I'm talking about elementary school aged children. Babies sent to be human landmine detonators.

Khomeini's call for those who believed in the revolution to go defend the country. And what happened to those who didn't share that belief?

That Indian thrived on chaos just as much as Saddam did. Those two were made for one another.


Jaleho

Kaveh,

by Jaleho on

That is indeed true, and we're enjoying the benefits of what you think is "wrong."


It is thanks to them that Khuseztan is still part of Iran. It was the revolutionary ferver of kids like that which made Iran resist a war against practically the world. And I might add, it was Khomeini's single call to resistance that gathered anyone who believed in the revolution to go and volunteer. you know that Iraq used the opportunity of revolutionary chaos to attack. We had no military but the volunteers who went and freed Khorramshar.

No other way this resistance would have been possible except for the fever of these youth to go and defend their country.


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Thank you

by Sara D. (not verified) on

Party Girl,

Thank you for all the time you spend looking for these unique gems and posting them for us to see...too bad most of the videos you find don't get published here, but maybe you can start a separate blog somewhere (blogspot maybe?) to post all the other ones you find...the clips are sometimes funny, sometimes sad, sometimes silly, but they're always interesting. Looking forward to seeing more :)


Kaveh Nouraee

Jaleho

by Kaveh Nouraee on

If that's indeed the case, then something is terribly wrong.

 


bajenaghe naghi

party girl jan

by bajenaghe naghi on

i always enjoy your videos. i did not know you go through so much trouble for each video. now that i know i will enjoy them even more. thank you.


Jaleho

Kaveh,

by Jaleho on

I personally know few kids who ESCAPED home to go to war. So, stop.


Kaveh Nouraee

Very Powerful Clip

by Kaveh Nouraee on

Jaleho, while the boys in this clip are certainly very young, there were children who were even younger who certainly lacked the ability to make the decision to engage in combat.

A child should never be forced to fight in a war, nor should they be allowed to fight in a war.


Jaleho

Thanks a million Party Girl!

by Jaleho on

Your video clips show the depth of the feelings you just described.

 

It is clips like this that makes me mad like hell when I hear others talk about these devoted young people as if they were bunch of sheep who were taken to slaughter house for promise of plastic key to heaven or virgins up there. The entire symbolism of their sad martyrdom is joked by idiots!!

 

Thanks as always.


maziar 58

very well done

by maziar 58 on

 your regular clips fans'. But some of the kurdish claims are outrageouse!!

May theie god spare us persian peace in future.      Maziar


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We did too

by Iraqi (not verified) on

We had kids fighting too.

It was a bad war.

God bless all who died there.


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Dual containment!

by Ajam (not verified) on

Indeed, a black period in our history when we had nothing but human waves to fend off Saddam and his American patrons' aggression.
The Americans called it the Policy of Dual Containment (adding fuel to the fire to have both sides wear out their infrastructure, natural and human resources while weakened OPEC would have to sell oil for fraction of its value at low teens) and, Khomeini, called it a devine blessing (muhebat-e elahi) and prolonged it.
Never again, I hope...


Iranian Reader

Party Girl joon you are fantastic!

by Iranian Reader on

Thanks so much for sharing with us the "process" of your posts. I for one really appreciate your finds and have been suspecting that you spend an inordinate amount of time looking for them. I understand that published work is only the tip of the labor iceberg.

And this clip... very precious. How would we ever see it without your hours of dedicated madness?! All good work is part madness.


Party Girl

Dear Behmanchea

by Party Girl on

I want neither of the things you want.  I want no more wars and no more weeping, anywhere.  Americans have wept plenty, too!  I want no nation's beautiful young men and children killed and maimed in wars.  I hope for peace.  It would do your soul good, if you did too.


Monda

How Touching

by Monda on

I know I will remember him and many like him, always. Thanks PartyGirl for your fantastic finds. 

 


IRANdokht

Beautifully said

by IRANdokht on

It's hard not to get emotional after watching these kids. 

You said it best, now I am in tears too...   Shame on the ones who took advantage of the people's most patriotic and honorable sentiments. 

Thanks Party Girl

IRANdokht


Zan Amrikai

wow

by Zan Amrikai on

Party Girl, I hear you.  Truly, that young man is something...those eyes, the hope, the belief, the conviction there.  Wow.  And I know what you mean about getting lost in youtube. I was just there and I saw these videos of "freaks" and my heart just broke for their lives and the lives of those who lived and survived at a time when all they could be was circus attractions.  So sad.

Thank you for this post.  Found it while just messing around on THIS site, much like I sometimes do on youtube!  Our children need to have a consciousness raising; their complaints about not having enough clothing to wear (my youngest) make me fall over sometimes when I see things like this.

zan amrikai


I Have a Crush on Alex Trebek

My reaction to their bravery - compare them to the "Iran Lovers"

by I Have a Crush on Alex Trebek on

This is what gets at me when I see people who want to rule Iran and "free it". They have no idea about these struggles and complexities. It's just a "dumb Islamic place that needs cleansing". 

This is a really interesting clip. I wonder if this young man could have run away from the war like some others ahem Reza Pahlavi. They are probably the same age. I'm so proud of these guys for fighting for their country and sacrificing while most of us on this site probably stayed away and are safe. War is so emotional for me. Have you seen born on the fourth of july Party Girl? If you're into war themes, it's a good one and it stars Tom Ceruise. 


behmanchea

No one wants to hear the truth, the ugly truth

by behmanchea on

 

But we have to remind ourselves ... Look at Iraq today...

same player who brought the Iraq war ... same game ...

I want to see the day an Iranian camera man looking at US from the other side of the camera lense.

I want to hear an American blogger  WEEP .

Thanks for the reminder!

Remember but stay resolute 


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