Ayatollah Khamenei Visits
The families of Martyrs Vigen Karapetian,
Herand Avanesian, And Herand Hakopian
Visit Date: 5/1/1993
The Photo of
Martyr Vigen Karapetian
Martyred at Dehloran,Ilam
Martyred on 26/3/1987
The Photo of
Martyr Herand Avanesian
Martyred at Kermanshah
Martyred on 12/7/1988
The Photo of
Martyr Herand Hakopian
Martyred at Fakkeh, Khusistan
Martyred on Summer of 1988
I had heard that the Leader of the Revolution visited the families of Armenian martyrs on Thursday evenings but this one happened on a Tuesday evening. I couldn’t understand it because that Tuesday had no significance in my calendar. I also heard that the Leader himself had chosen the date. Later on I found out that this choice was due to the Leader’s knowledge about the beliefs of the Armenian community, as we celebrate Christmas on the 6th of January; that Tuesday was the 5th of January, that is, exactly our Christmas Eve. The Assyrian Christians in Iran, who are Catholics, celebrate Christmas as the Europeans, that is, the 26th of December. I should add that the birth of Christ is also important to Muslims because they know Jesus Christ as the prophet of love and hope.
Thus this evening, the 5th of January is, as I said, the Armenian’s Christmas Eve and the Leader has decided to visit the families of three Armenian martyrs. Armenians in Tehran live in diffrent districts; so I think it was easy for the officials of the Leader’s Office to find three Armenian families of martyrs who did not live far from one another.
Two or three ordinary cars carry the Leader and his companions without any pomp or formalities from His Office towards Damavand Street and unto Vahidiyeh District.
The car carrying the Leader drives through Tehran streets among thousands of other cars and it stops at all red lights. The first place to visit is the house of martyr Vigen Karapetian. The car stops very close to the entrance-door of the house and the Leader gets out without attracting any attention.
***
First of all my brother and I, the elder brothers, came to Tehran. My parents, my sister and Vigen the youngest brother remained in one village because Vigen was about to finish his high-school studies and later they all came to Tehran because mother could not stay away from us, but I should confess that our time in the village was the best days in our life.
How we, in the first place travelled to Khakbab village after the Second World War, is a long story. Khakbad was a prosperous village near Khomein and Ali-Gudarz. We were the only Armenian family living there but my father was so revered by the villagers that even now, after so many years, whenever we go there, all villagers welcome us and praise Mr. Aghik, that is, our father. Father was a bone-setter with some knowledge of medicine and he was later chosen as the village-chief. Every day, many people with hands and legs broken or injured were brought to him from nearly villages and he was so skillful in his work that people in distant villages also heard about him and in these villages, if someone had his head injured, people said: you must quickly take him to Mr. Aghik, only he can fix it!
When such people were taken to our house, my mother welcomed them and brought them sweet and cakes but some of them, when they found out that we were Christians, wouldn’t touch anything but mother was not upset, she would borrow tea and other things from Muslims and served them!
But the fact that we were Christians and they all were Muslims never created any problems as they all were friendly and intimate towards us; the only difference was that they were mostly Hajjis, Mashhadis or Karbalais (the persons who have gone on pilgrimage to Mecca, Mashhad or Karbala) and my father was Mr. Aghik! Father often went to Khomein to heal people and there he had heard how Agha Sayyed Mustafa, the father of Imam Khomeini, had been martyred at the hands of the agents of Reza Shah, the father of the deposed Mohammad Reza Shah. He had also once met the mother of the Imam and told us what a brave woman she was. All this, of course, goes back to many years before the Islamic Revolution.
Well, as I said, we were now in Tehran. We were in the middle of the Iran-Iraq war and Vigen had reached the age for doing his military service. My mother was really worried about this; he was the youngest child and very dear to mother. He was also a courageous, fearless person and as from the beginning of the war, so very young, he used to say: I must go and fight this unmanly, coward enemy! My sister hid his identity card so he couldn’t go to register for the military! But he had a copy of the card and registered himself with it. He spent his short training period in Tehran and in winter he was sent to Sherhani region in Ilam. It was about this time when our father passed away. It was a real hard job to tell Vigen about this. He did, however, asked for a short leave and came to Tehran for father’s mourning ceremony. Almost all people in Khakabad took part in father’s mourning and funeral sessions. When these ceremonies were over, mother told Vigen: I don’t have the strength to bear another such heart-sore!
Despite this, he went back to his war-front; he said: I am needed there.
Months later, he came to see us again on a short leave. Whenever he was with us, we would all gather around him and he told us about his work at the war-front in his happy, humourous manner; he always brought smiles in our faces. Only when he narrated something about the martyrdom of his friends and comrades, there was a lump in his throat and he wept. After a few months, it was a year our father had died, and we told him we went to visit his grave but he said he was too busy and couldn’t come to Tehran.
His 20th birthday was on the 3rd of Iranian month of Farvardin but only four days after this, he was martyred. I was told that he had been shot when he was on a guard shift and that I should travel to the area. I didn’t believe this, so I didn’t tell anybody about it. When I got there and saw him lying in the morgue, he didn’t look like a dead person; he was like a person in a calm sleep; only he didn’t answer me when I called his name several times!
The martyrdom of Vigen following the death of father broke my mother down. When the news reached Khakabad, all Muslim residents wailed and wept so much as if they had lost a brother and now if you travel to Khakabad, you will see a large board with a photo of martyr Vigen Karapetian at the entrance of the village which was prepared and set up by the villagers themselves. Anyway those days after Vigen’s martyrdom were really tough days for all of us.
The Visit
Some 5 years have now passed since Vigen’s martyrdom but my mother is still begrieved; whenever she sees a soldier in the street, she says: May God protect him for his mother’s sake, and then tears come into her eyes. During these years only the birth of two grand-children has made her happy and brought her back to life.
Now it is Christmas Eve and we all have come to mother’s house on the occasion; our maternal uncle is supposed to come soon because we are going to have Christmas supper at mother’s house. Some people telephoned us and said: An important official is going to visit you this evening. We told them we have many guests tonight, but they said it would only be for a few minutes. It’s early in the evening when some people come to our house and say: in a few minutes the Leader will come here to meet you!
I ask: Who’s coming here?
And they answer: Mr. Khamenei, the Leader of the Revolution!
ـ Here, in our humble house?
ـ Yes, in your house.
ـ Why didn’t you tell us beforehand so we could prepare things and invite a few more guests?
The answer was; the Leader himself wanted us not to let you know, so you won’t be in some trouble, anyway, let’s stop talking, he’ll be at your house in a few moments!
I and uncle, walk to the entrance-door to welcome the Leader. He steps in with a few companions and it’s so good that our uncle was here because he is a cultured, intellectual person and very good at mixing with all sorts of people.
The Leader sits at the table in our reception room and we, the mother, the sister and brother, the uncle and our son-in-law sit down around the same table. The Leader first asks mother how she is. We all in Khakabad speak Persian and have no Armenian accent in our speech. In fact mother speaks the Persian dialect of our village region.
Anyway mother answers: fine, I hope you will be in good health. The framed photo of Vigen is on the table; the Leader picks it up and looks at it and says: this must be the photo of your martyr.
Yes, I say.
ـ Where is your father?
ـ Our father has passed away.
ـ And this lady is the martyr’s mother.
ـ That’s right.
ـ Tell me when was he martyred and where?
Mother is a little hard of hearing but she constantly prays for the health of the Leader.
I explain that Vigen was a soldier, how he joined the military, which places he served in and how he was martyred at Dehloran.
Then the Leader says: May God bless you with proper rewards and I congratulate you on the holy occasion of Christmas.
While the Leader speaks, one of his companions who’s taking photos, asks me: Is your mother really Armenian?! He still can’t believe it that mother speaks a local dialect of Persian so fluently. He adds: For many years we’ve accompanied the Leader in his visits of Armenian families and we never noticed anybody talking like that. I ask him: well, is it bad? No, he says, it’s excellent.
The atmosphere of the meeting has become so intimate because of mother’s simple manners and the Leader’s friendliness and humbleness. Before his coming to our house, I was really anxious but I feel good sitting next to the highest authority in our country and one of the famous political and spiritual figures in the world. I’m not so at ease even with our own priests and bishops.
The Leader went on: This young man of yours, who defended his home, his patriotic country and was martyred in his prime of youth, is a great source of pride and honour for you, for all your family and for all of us in this country; such young people are truly great and we should all be proud of them.
What he says touches us all and I feel that the face and features of Vigen are changing for the better all the time.
He asks about our exact relationship with the martyr and when I introduce our maternal uncle, he tells the Leader: I don’t really know how to thank you for coming to our house; your presence here has really made us happy.
The Leader says: Well, it’s really our moral duty to express our gratitude to these families who sacrificed their dear children for their country. I always take advantage of this occasion of Christmas celebration to pay a visit to some Christian families to congratulate them on this occasion and to console them in the absence of their martyrs.
My mother thanks the Leader again and adds: I don’t know what to say, my tongue is tied!
Uncle says: Yes, it’s our Christmas Eve and we have guests. Actually I wanted to go out and buy things for dinner, but your companions asked us to stay and we did, out of respect, but we didn’t know who the guest was. So your surprise visit is a great pleasure for all of us.
The Leader thanks him and says: We do not intend to take much of your time at your Christmas Eve and I’m supposed to visit a few more Christian families this evening.
We all would like this pleasant meeting to continue and we don’t care anymore about our own Christmas celebration and I say a few words to convey this.
Mr. Khamenei then says: May God bless your Christmas and I hope you’ll be happy from now on; may God Almighty bring happiness in your hearts.
Mother says: I hope all people will be happy; I thank you very much for your kindness. Then she sighs and says in her dialectal Persian: Of course a martyr’s mum’ll never be cheered.
The Leader says: Well, I understand you, but God could favour you with His rewards because all these worldly pains and tragedies are not hidden in the sight of God.
Mother says: May God always protect you, you’re right, it was my fate.
Mr. Khamenei then says: May God keep these young men for you. Because of the war, we have families in this country who lost two, three or even four sons in the path of God; there are many of them.
It’s true, I say, we have a neighbor whose two sons were martyred: Sayyed Mohsen Husseini and Qaasem Husseini. My mother is friends with Mrs. Husseini and she has really helped my mother spiritually.
Mother now serves tea together with cakes and Mr. Khamenei has his tea with a small lump of sugar. Then he asks our uncle about his job and he says: we have a small, metal workshop; there I work together with my brother and my son-in-law, and he adds: I have also worked in some educational institutes.
Mr. Khamenei, who is drinking his tea, asks: Do you always falavour your tea with cinnamon?
I think to myself: Perhaps he doesn’t like it, but he adds: No, I don’t dislike it, but I’m told it’s not good for me! And I say to myself wishfully: Next time he comes to see us; we’ll serve him tea without cinnamon!
When the Leader asks us if we face any problem, we tell him: no problem, we only wish a long, healthy life for you. But before saying good-bye, Mr. Khamenei again asks us to tell him of any problem, I inform him that my brother and I run a car agency but because of certain obstacles we are about to close it down and the Leader orders one of his companions to note it down and try to remove the obstacles and then he gives mother a gift and tell her: it’s only a keep-sake for our meeting this different evening.
Well, we are now left with our sweet memories of this touching visit and, if it were not for the gift to mother, nobody, including our guests tonight, would believe that the Leader of our country was in our house an hour ago!
The Second Visit , the Same Evening
Mr. Khamenei leaves the house of martyr Karapetian and steps into his car. In our district all people know each other and if some of them felt there were strangers in our house, they thought they were some non-Armenian guests.
The next destination is not far from the Karapetian house. Inside the Companion’ car some talk about the martyr’s mother and her Persian dialect saying: if it weren’t for some Christian signs and symbols in the house, we would have thought that we were in the wrong house!
After a few minutes, the Leader’s entourage reaches the house of martyr Herand Avanesian.
***
Narration by Herand Avanesian’s Father:
By driving my Taxi through the crowded streets of Tehran and taking passengers to their various destinations, I somehow managed to bring up my children. In my youth I did some technical jobs but I enjoyed driving so much that I ended up to becoming a taxi-driver. It may sound strange or funny to some people that someone enjoys driving in Tehran with a population of some 12 million! But when I started driving in 1954 most people did not have cars and you could still see horse-drawn coaches in the streets. Traffic jams or congestions did not have any meaning for us; so I used to enjoy driving. But nowadays when I come back home, I’m dog-tired physically and spiritually.
Today I decided to stay at home to help Lusik, my wife, with preparations for Christmas Eve but I don’t know much about a housewife work; so my wife sometimes tells me: Grigor, go drive your taxi because when you’re at home, you only add to my chores! Yes, my name is Grigor, after the name of Saint Grigor who in 301 AC. declared Christianity the official religion of Armenia after the conversion of the royal Court.
Anyway, I’m staying at home to help and it was good that I did because someone telephoned and asked in Persian: Will you be at home this evening, we want to come and see you for a few minutes.
I said: Yes, we’ll be at home, it’s our Christmas Eve but why do you want to meet us?
ـ It’s for the sake of your martyr, Herand Avanesian, are you his father?
My heart sank by hearing my son’s name.
but then I thank God that I stayed at home because Lusik cannot speak Persian properly but I have talked to thousands of people in my taxi for so many years that sometimes I feel I speak Persian better than Armenian!
Anyway, now I think: who’s coming to meet us this evening? Perhaps some people from television and for an interview about Herand. But why this evening, this Christmas Eve? I couldn’t go on guessing so I busied myself with cleaning paintings, framed-photos and other things. Then I think: If they’re from television, I’ll tell them to come a few days later.
My thoughts are stopped by a knock at the door. There are two persons; one of them is the one who telephoned this morning; I recognize this by his voice. Politely they ask me some strange questions that smell of security matters. I become a little angry and tell them: Have you come to our house to ask such questions.
They try to calm me down by saying: We are not the principal guest, he is on the way. This makes me more confused and so I object: Well, why didn’t you come together, what the hell is going on?
One of them takes my hand kindly and says: Because your guest is the Leader, Mr. Khamenei; Who?!
Mr. Khamenei, they say.
Somebody on his behalf? I ask.
ـ No, he himself will come to your house in a few minutes.
You must swear to God you’re telling the truth. I say the same thing to the other person too.
The first person talks on his walkie-talkie and says to his friend: I think they’re near and he goes towards the entrance-door; he also says to me: If you want, go and inform your wife.
What shall I say to her? I think; I don’t believe it myself that the highest authority in Iran is coming to the house of an Armenian taxi-driver on Christmas Eve!
I tell her and she says: Perhaps they’re having us on!
ـ No, I don’t think so, they’re polite, serious persons and one of them spoke something on his wireless thing.
ـ Ok, let them come, we welcome them, why are you so worried?
I should say that Lusik is a statue of calmness and her calm and patience sometimes bother me! She says: you know I don’t speak Persian well, so calm down, speak nicely and tell them what a great boy Herand was.
Now we hear some noises at the door, so my brother and I go to the door, and when the Leader steps in and says ‘salaam’ to us, I have to believe that it is Mr. Khamenei.
We also say: Salaam, you’re welcome.
How are you? Asks the Leader
ـ Well, fine, thank you
The sweet, friendly smile on his face takes away all my anxieties. The Leader comes into our reception-room and he and his companions sit down around the table. I quickly go and take Herand’s photo and put it in front of the Leader and say: this is Herand in his soldier uniform. My brother looks at me saying: let me sit down comfortably, don’t hurry. He is right; I haven’t told the Leader who I am. But the Leader guesses this and says: you are the martyr’s father, aren’t you?
ـ Yes, sir.
Then Mr. Khamenei looks around the table and asks: where is the lady-mother?
I had forgotten her! She’s probably gone into kitchen; so I say: She’ll be here. The Leader adds: Please tell her to join us.
I’m still standing. Mr. Khamenei says: please sit down. He then takes a look at Herand’s photo but it seems that he’s still waiting to see the martyr’s mother. Now my wife comes and sits down and Mr. Khamenei says: How are you lady?
Merci, my wish is your health, she says.
The Leader then says: May God grant proper rewards to you and bring happiness into your hearts for the sake of this lost son, how old was he?
I show his identity card to the Leader and say: he was twenty-two.
ـ He was a soldier, wasn’t he?
ـ Yes, he was.
The Leader looks so intensely at Herand’s photo as if he was a dear, close relation of his.
I explain: He was a coach and trainer in gymnastics and when he was on leave he told us that at the war-front he performed some strange, gymnastic acts to make his comrades laugh and be happy.
The Leader asks: Your family name is Avanesian, I think many Armenian have the same surname.
ـ I’ve heard this surname often
then he thinks for a few moments and says: Now I remember, when I was a prisoner in the Qezel-qal’a prison in 1963 there was an Armenian inmate called Avanesian.
I think deeply but I don’t recognize such a political activist in my own family.
ـ Well, what’s the meaning of Avanesian?
I answer: I don’t know, I never thought about the root of my family name!
ـ When was he martyred?
I don’t remember the exact date but I think it happened in one of the operations towards the end of the war.
Mr. Khamenei then consoles me and my wife with some kind words.
My wife thanks the Leader and I say: we’re indebted to you for your visit. Mr. Khamenei then congratulates us on the occasion of Christmas and my brother serves tea to all and while the Leader is drinking his tea, I say a few words about Herand’s character: After his martyrdom, we found out that once he had been wounded but he never told us about it; he worried that we may prevent him from going back. Bullets had injured his right hand badly but we didn’t know. His commander had given him leave of sickness, but he did not come. We only found out about it after his martyrdom. I continue: Herand’s brother was a top mechanic and when he came to Tehran on leave, he would bring lots of mechanical parts and repaired them with the help of his brother and would take them back to war-fronts. Once, when he was on leave and we were having supper, his elder brother warned him: You must be watchful, don’t take risks and don’t put yourself in danger. He was angry and retorted: Is my blood bluer than all the others who are fighting for their country?
The Leader listens to me very attentively and several times said:
ـ Wonderful, great, praiseworthy.
And then he comments about the values of martyrdom which puts my heart and my wife’s heart at rest; he says:
ـ These young people who face martyrdom in defence of their country and its independence are most valuable; they also bring about new values for their families. If it was not for their selfless sacrifices, we could not know what would happen to our country. It is because of their valour and courage that our people could raise their heads high; anyone who did contribute something to preserve the integrity and independence of this country, shares their values and you, as families of martyrs, certainly share their values. He then asks us: Do you have other children?
ـ Yes, four children now.
ـ Sons or daughters?
ـ Two sons and two daughters.
ـ Are they living with you?
ـ No, they’re all married.
ـ What’s your own job?
ـ I’m a taxi-driver.
ـ I see, how do you find the traffic in Tehran?
ـ Well, as you know, it’s bad, but well it’s a profession and it’s some public service.
You’re right, says Mr. Khamenei, it’s really difficult to drive in these crowded streets, yet, as you say, it’s public service, helping people to reach their destinations, it’s important, as walking in these streets is meaningless!
I say: it’s some thirty-three years I’ve been doing this job.
Mr. Khamenei repeats: thirty-three years! How about your brother?
ـ He has a metal repair-shop.
Right, he says and adds: Many Armenians are in technical and industrial jobs, repairing engines and the like.
My wife gets up to bring some sweets and cakes; the Leader notices this and says to her: please don’t trouble yourself.
My wife says: Oh, no trouble; her voice is a mixture of respect for our guest and sorrow in remembering Herand.
Then Mr. Khamenei talks about churches in Tehran, in our district and our priests and asks some questions and tells us about his meeting with Bishop Manoukian years before. I get up and bring a framed photo of the Bishop taken before the Revolution. Mr. Khamenei is very interested and asks me about all the people in this photo and then he asks us some questions about the Armenian community in different cities of Iran. While we talk, I am thinking that if tomorrow I tell other taxi-drivers and friends about the Leader’s intimate meeting with us, they all think I’m a liar.
Anyway, now the Leader says: Well, our intention was to congratulate you and your wife on the important occasion of Christmas, and to pay our respect to your young martyr.
I say: I pray from the bottom of my heart that God will keep you in the best of health and he says: You all have your share in defence of this country and preservation of its independence; I came here because we are indebted to you all.
ـ You were most kind to have come to our humble house and we hope that, as a result of all sacrifices by our young people, we will one day have a prosperous Iran worthy of those selfless acts.
If God will, if God will, says the Leader; it will be so.
Then the Leader gets up, he gives a gift to my wife and says: this is a keep-sake of this evening’s meeting. My wife cannot say anything and I say: it was very kind of you, you’re really so kind.
And the Leader says: it was our moral obligation, nothing else.
I don’t know what to do next, I want to embrace him but I don’t dare to, I only thank him again saying: you were must kind, taking the trouble of coming to our house, may I be sacrificed for you!
The Third Visit , the Same Evening
The next family lives not far from the previous one. They are the family of martyr Herand Hakopian; their house is located on the opposite side of the Avanesian house in the same street, so the Leader crosses the street on foot and walks to the entrance-door of Hakopian family.
***
I am a sister of martyr Herand Hakopian. Our father who was a truck-driver died in a car accident in Khorram-Abad. He had six children, four daughters and two sons, Edward and Herand. Herand was the youngest child. He joined the military in 1986. In the periods between two leaves, when he came to see us, mother was half-dead. She used to say: After your father’s death I cannot bear the death of another family member, I pray to God to take me away before such an accident; my only wish in the world is to witness Herand’s wedding! Well, he was martyred and mother’s wish never materialized; instead we found an endless sorrow.
Anyway, that year he was supposed to go to Isfahan on leave to see our eldest sister and then come to Tehran. But there was no news from him; a week passed and mother was almost dying of worry and anxiety. We telephoned everywhere and called on some places the military told us. They only told us that there has been some tough operations in Fakkeh (in Ilam Province, near Iraqi border, where he served) and that they had no more information.
We were also told that perhaps he had been wounded and taken to some hospital for treatment. We went to numerous hospitals to no avail; mother was sick and tired and almost half dead. She wanted to go to provinces and search for him but we didn’t let the old woman do this.
Almost 40 days had passed when we found out that the son of our neighbor Herand Avanesian had been martyred. After the burial and mourning ceremony of Avanesian’s son, my brother, Edward and Mr. Avanesian, the father decided to go to Fakkeh and find out something about Herand. After a few days, he returned but he was so grief-struck that he could not speak a word.
Mother kept asking him: Did you see Herand? Is he alive? Where is he now? Why don’t you answer? You’re killing me!
Finally he could not remain silent and started weeping loudly; I had never seen him weep and wail so tragically. More than being a brother, he was Herand’d closest friend. Now we felt he was about to give us some very bad news. Mother and I began to weep too. With tears running down my cheeks, I asked: Has he been martyred? He only nodded his head in confirmation.
I asked again: did you see his dead body?
He cried and said: No, I didn’t.
I was stunned and tears in my eyes went dry but mother went on weeping and wailing without noticing anything around her. I took my brother’s hand and looked at him in a way that made him calm; I asked: what do you mean then? You didn’t see his body, so how on earth are you sure he has been martyred?
Some of his comrades and friends had witnessed his martyrdom, he replied.
ـ Why didn’t they deliver his body to you?
My brother did not say anything; his head was down thinking hard.
I asked again: Please answer me, dear brother.
He could hardly utter more than two quick sentences: there was a hasty retreat in that operation; they didn’t have time to collect the bodies of their martyrs.
I couldn’t believe this; then how was I to tell mother? That day was the worst day of my whole life. She couldn’t believe that her son had been martyred; she was always waiting for his return. In the winter of this year we were informed that a film about Iranian prisoners of war in a military camp was discovered in Abadan and it is going to be screened in Ahvaz. Mother insisted that we should travel to Ahvaz to see the film. The quality of this film was really bad, faces were not clear and most of them resembled one another because all heads were shaven and they were wearing prisoner’s uniforms .but in the middle of the show, seeing one of the young men, she cried: this one is my Herand! That film kept mother hopeful that Herand was alive.
Since the year 1989 when POWs were exchanged, we took part in the welcoming ceremonies; she kept asking the released prisoners if they did know anything about Herand but they said they knew nothing about him. And mother, little by little, was convinced that her son would never return alive; and after this, she only wished that his body would be found so she could go to a tomb-stone in the name of Herand and shed tears over it.
The Visit
Now some 5 years have passed since Herand’s martyrdom and we have all come to mother’s house to help her with the celebration of Christmas Eve. But in the morning Edward received a phone call saying: You have guests this evening, they want to meet you and talk about your dear martyr. Edward is my nephew who is two years younger than Herand and was most friendly with him. He came from Isfahan to Teheran to take care of mother. This grandson of my mother is the only hope of mother in life and if she doesn’t see him for a few days, she would be dead.
Well, we are all together this Christmas Eve and I had forgotten about the guests who were going to visit us when the door-bell rang.
A few moments later, I hear Edward saying: Please come in, you’re welcome.
In our house, nobody has said: Ya Allah before coming in!
We go to wear our clothes and wear our head-scarfs because the guests are supposed to be Muslims.
Inside the room, I hear the guests saying to Edward: your guest is on the way and he’ll be here in a few minutes. They ask questions I don’t understand and dislike them: How many people are here? How many telephones do you have? Are there any other people supposed to come here? I don’t understand what the meaning of such questions are! So, I go to the kitchen to help mother when Edward comes in and says: Mr. Khamenei is coming to visit us in our house!
I want to tell him: don’t be funny, but his reddened cheeks are not indicative of any joking; then I think: Maybe he’s mistaken. So I go to the reception-room and ask those two guests: Is what my nephew says right? They say: ‘salaam’; I am a little ashamed and say: Oh ‘salaam’; excuse me, I’m confused.
One of them says: No there’s nothing to be shocked about, lady, the Leader is going to pay a visit to your family; he must be in your street now. He then together with Edward walk towards the entrance-door and the other person, pointing at the arm-chair beside the television above which my father’s photo is hung on the wall, says: well, this is a good place for the Leader to sit.
I only have enough time to tell mother and then, yes, it’s him, Mr. Khamenei, the Leader in a white robe, a walking-stick in his hand and a smile on his face.
He says ‘salaam’ to all of us and sits on the big arm-chair and tells us: Please, sit down.
First of all, the Leader asks about Herand, his missing body and the relation of every one of us with the martyr.
I and Edward try to answer his questions: He was only 17 years of age when he volunteered to do his military service, one year earlier than the legal age. We often told him that he did not have to go now but he didn’t listen to us. a few of his friends had already gone to war-fronts and he liked to join them. He first was sent to Kerman to pass his training course, later he was sent to Andimeshk and Fakkeh. When he returned from Kerman, he said: there were some 25 Armenians there and they called us ‘the Armenian brigade’! We go on narrating about how he was martyred and why his body was not found; we also told the Leader about his lost contact with us and how we heard about his martyrdom. We add: Because he was, after our father’s death, the only bread-winner of the family, he did not have to do military service at all or he could remain in Tehran. But he decided to go to the war-fronts.
The Leader asks mother about the circumstances of my father’s death, and I say that mother does not speak Persian well.
The Leader asks: How was it that she never learned Persian?
She tried to learn and she also attended the classes set up by the Literacy Campaign but after Herand’s death, she was so grief-stricken that she even forgot the little she had learned.
ـ Well, if you sometimes speak with her in Persian, she’ll remember.
Then Mr. Khamenei says some important things about martyrs, their families and their high values for the society (I hope mother understood parts of his statements):
ـ These families whose young men fought for the independence and integrity of this country have special rewards with God and they are respected and valued by the people.
These young men fought for high ideals, some were martyred, some are missing, many others were wounded, many lost some limbs; they all will be equally rewarded by God.
We have great respect for you, our feelings for them are not only expressed by our tongues, no, we respect and value them in our hearts, for this lady-mother whose son is missing or has been martyred, we have great reverence. It was for this reason that I came here on the evening of Christmas, that is, the anniversary of the holy birth of Christ Jesus, to congratulate you on this occasion and also express our sympathies in your sorrows.
I hope this Christmas God will bless you and bring happiness into your hearts and may God make you happy for the sake of Christmas and as a further reward for your martyr. I know that hearing such events is very hard and bitter but there is absolutely no doubt that God will bless people with rewards if they consider these accidents on God’s account.
I should say that I often thought of Herand but after Mr. Khamenei’s comments I think differently, I am really proud of him now. Later in the meeting, our conversation was about Armenians in Faridan, Isfahan, because we are originally from Faridan and we still own some agricultural land there; the Leader is very interested about our roots and history and we give him some information about it. At this point there is a knock at the door and one of the Leader’s companions goes and opens the door. We are surprised for it’s Mr. Davood, our neighbor who lives in the apartment above us and who owns the house; he is a well-educated man and he is good at conversation. Above all he’s a generous and kind gentleman who, since the death of my father, has taken care of us and sometimes he did not ask for any rent. Well, the coming and going in our house and voices have attracted his attention, he found out that Mr. Khamenei has come to our house. He comes in and after saying ‘salaam’, he adds: it was my duty to come and say welcome, we really thank you, you’re so kind, we are proud of your presence on this Christmas Eve.
The Leader said: I hope, God willing, this Christmas celebration will be a blessed occasion for you and all Armenians. He adds: Armenians in our country are gentle people; they are hard-working people, they have always served this country. Mr. Davood says: it’s not extraordinary; all Iranians must serve their country.
The Leader comments: it’s not a question of being extraordinary, this means something above normal, ordinary procedures, we don’t expect that. As long as people’s services are performed shoulder-to-shoulder, in a normal way, for the progress and construction of this county, it must be appreciated and Armenians have always acted this way.
Mr. Davood says: we all have good, free and comfortable life in Iran, in the Islamic Republic. A few years ago I was in England. There was a friendly meeting of British retired lecturers and professors who were discussing about the civilizations of West and East and their focus was on the lines of minorities in the Islamic lands. When I informed them how free we were in Iran, culturally, socially and religiouswise, most of them were surprised because they were not familiar with facts, they only generalized! I told them that in Iran, we are, in most aspects, freer than in Armenia.
Mr. Davood used to be a book-binder in Tehran many years ago and he started talking about this profession with the Leader and if given the opportunity, he would go on talking for an hour! But Mr. Khamenei looks at my brother’s daughter and asks her school, her studies and her interests. It seems that the education of children is highly important to the Leader.
This unforgettable meeting is coming to an end; I don’t like to look at my watch!
Finally Mr. Khamenei says: Well, we shouldn’t bother you anymore; we meant to convey our feeling to this respectable lady; also to congratulate you on the occasion of Christmas and to praise your courageous, selfless martyr.
Mr. Davood looks at mother and says: yes, he is a source of pride and honour for us.
The Leader continues: For her and for all of us too. This lady’s son is not only a source of pride for her, but also for his family, for his country and for his nation. All those who fought enjoy this high position. All people honour him, so do we. I hope God Almighty will protect you and make you happy.
The Leader then hands mother a gift and asks: Would you allow us to leave? Well, then, with your permission, I say good-bye.
Mother is just looking at the Leader but Mr. Davood says: We wish to be in your presence for a longer time.
And Mr. Khamenei says: Well, it was you who came late; we came much earlier than you!
This humorous remark brings smiles to everybody’s lips at these final moments. My brother and I follow the Leader to the entrance-door and his image at the door when leaving us will remain in my mind for many years to come.
***
I would like to add a few more sentences to my narration: the car carrying the Leader drove through the Vahidieh District without any pomp and people in this district could not imagine that the Leader of the Islamic Republic had been a guest at three Armenian houses the previous evening. Also last evening all Armenians were busy with preparations for Christmas Eve and news of the visit did not spread. But tomorrow at our church gathering there will be great commotion about this; I am sure that the three families visited do not know about others. However, I witnessed at the church that the mothers of martyrs Avanesian and Hakopian embraced each other while tears were running down their faces. And the brother of martyr Vigen Karapetian gathered the youth around him and narrated the event of the Leader’s visit in detail. That Christmas of ours, with the presence of Mr. Khamenei, was totally different from other such occasions.
