Home page > News > 25 days of run around for Mother of Peace, Parvin Fahimi

"Sohrab, you grew up so quickly!

while your mother was looking for you

How many years did you age?

The coroner’s office determined that while you were 19,

You belonged to the 25 year old age group photo album

because you were shot on July 15

Open your eyes Sohrab!

Your mother is staring at your picture!"

She goes through the pictures. She has never seen so many corpses in her life. Cold bodies. Unknown bodies. She has never stared at so many corpses before. And now she has to. She has to stare at faces with closed eyes. Young faces, wounded faces. Tiny but calm faces. How many faces has she seen so far? she is counting. She passes by a two dozen faces.

His eyes are shut. But the break in his eye-brows, the newly grown beard shaved on the sides, his nicely shaped nose, the thin mustache laid down on his beautiful and quiet lips...open your eyes Sohrab!

God...the smiling blossom that you had lent me...

On July 15th, they were a drop in the sea of people. Until a week before, Sohrab had been all green: he was part of the human chain from Tajrish Square to the Rail Road Station, he was part of the demonstration from State T.V. station to Vanak Square., he was part of the Green Wave demonstration from Revolution to Freedom Square. Sohrab’s eyes were open. One could see the reflection of his green band around his forehead and his green shawl around his neck in his sun glasses and had turned in eyes into a hazel color. But by July 15th the time for campaigning was over and it was time to protest. He was wearing a solid black t-shirt, jeans and sports shoes. The whole family was there, joining the river of people on Jamal-Zadeh street. Parvin was walking slowly. She could not keep up with the young Sohrab. Thirty years prior, she could walk the same route a lot faster. In the past 30 years she had sacrificed her livelihood to raise her sons and her youngest son Sohrab was as thin as a pine tree.

Parvin is crying loudly. She turns to her friends who have lost loved ones and asks a question:

"Please tell me how you were able to cope with it? tell me. I am not able to! Tell me what to do! tell me!:

Parvin leaves Sohrab with his brothers because he can go faster with his friends. Many mothers have the same experience these days. Their sons are not patient enough to walk as slowly. They reach Azadi Square. The peaceful protests are over. Sohrab is mixed in the crowed. Maybe he has gone back home. They go back home. It’s 8:00 pm. There is no sign of Sohrab. The word goes around mouth to mouth that there was has been shooting at Azadi Square. The whole family gets together. First they check the hostpitals, the emergency rooms. They give them the names of some hospitals where the injured have been taken to. Fiaz-Bakhsh hospital has had one fatality but the name was not Sohrab. They say the youngster’s name was Hesam Hanifeh. The paramedics tell them that people have taken it upon themselves to carry the injured to various hospitals around town: "Keep looking" and they do!

Now it’s time to inquire at police stations. Azad Station, Yaftabad Station, Navab Station...and they tell them to go to the National Security Police Station. They go to Pastor street and the response is: "Go and come back tomorrow". Tomorrow comes and they go back. The emergency police tells them that he is not on our list of the arrested. Go to the nearest police station and fill out a missing person report. They go to police station 135 and fill out the report. Sohrab had his cell phone with him. All night they keep calling the number and keep hearing the cold pre-recorded message and at 8 a.m. the message tells them that the phone is off. They give his cell phone number to the police and the police tell them that with this info we can identify him anywhere. They go to police investigative center on Shapour street. There are 25 other families there and only five families receive news that their loved ones have been arrested. The rest are left confused. Someone tells them to go to Evin prison or the Revolutionary Court building.

Starting from the next morning they join the multitude of families shuttled between Evin and the Revolutionary Court. Sohrab’s name is not on any list. His name does not appear among the announced names in Evin prison nor is it listed in the names outside the Revolutionary Court walls. Parvin is not alone. The number of families with the same dilemma makes another list by itself. Parvin looks for her son in the mornings at the Revolutionary Court and in the afternoons stands in front of Evin prison with Sohrab’s picture in hand, showing the picture to anyone who is released from Evin: "this is my son Sohrab Arabi. Have you seen him?" A few people are sure that they have seen him.

The family is not satisfied with this. They go to Ghezel-Hesar prison. There is no news. In the police investigation center nobody has any answers. The officials are not there. They are call of duty. A week has passed. It’s now Saturday. They call the center and the officials are back in their offices. They go to the center.

There is a photo album for people aged 15-20 and one for 20-25. They show them 7 or 8 pictures. Sohrab is not among them. So he must be in Evin prison. That’s good news. Parvin prefers to go to Evin and Revolutionary Court everyday than to the investigation center.

Sohrab needs to take his university entrance exam. Wednesday before the national university entrance exams they announce that if you bring the papers proving they need to take the exam, they will be released on bond. Parvin is not crying. She wants to tell her story about how she was run around. So she stops crying and continues:

On the same Wednesday, in front of Evin they took the entrance exam paperwork from people who were on their list but they didn’t accept ours. On Thursday they gathered us under Evin bridge and someone came and said those who have university entrance exam but their names are not on our list and if they have not contacted their families, we cannot help them. They are in special sections. You need to go to revolutionary court. We went to the revolutionary court. For the first time they let us in. There were 39 of us who had kids with pending entrance examinations.

Parvin graciously continues: They had set up a table outside for those with pending entrance exams. They asked for name and info on Sohrab and wrote it down. They told us to go post bail. We did that. We gave them a receipt for $10,000. Then they told us to go home and that they have faxed Evin and they will be released today.

Parvin is uneasy: "I had brought him clothes. I thought maybe his clothes were torn and I didn’t want him to come home with torn clothes".

That afternoon Parvin returns to Evin prison. She takes her little rug out of the care and puts it on cement blocks and waits until nightfall, until midnight, until dawn and no sign of Sohrab.

On Friday the Revolutionary Court was open. We went to the court. I started crying. I told them it’s okay that you didn’t release him. Just tell me if he is okay. One of the workers at the judge’s office told me not to worry and that Sohrab is fine. There was a young man sitting in the back. When he saw me crying he came forward, took my information and left. He returned in a few minutes and told me: "your child has interrogations today so he won’t make it to the entrance exams". I asked: "are you sure?" and he told me not to worry and go home. I told him that I count on his words and said: "remember that you promised".

Parvin didn’t see the young man anymore. When she asks for him, they say that he belonged to another office and was only present at the revolutionary court at the time on a call of duty.

Next day they go back to the revolutionary court. There are 10 or 11 of them who have the release documents but there is no sign of their children. The entrance exams are coming up. Parvin continues:

"In the judge’s office they took our names. They rejected two people and told them their children could not be freed. They wrote the rest of the names on a piece of paper. They told us to leave and that they would be freed that day. I saw that he wrote Sohrab’s name and faxed it over. We waited two more days and went back to the revolutionary court. There were 3 names left and Sohrab’s name was the third one. The judge’s deputy told me: "your son is one of those phospheric prisoners". I asked what that meant and he replied: "those who burn cars and banks". I told him: "you don’t know my son. He has a reputation of having great manners and everyone knows that. You don’t know my son and you shouldn’t be saying that".

They faxed the names again and again Parvin sat waiting. No sign of Sohrab.

She continues: I went back to the Revolutionary Court. The secretary said: "Lady your son’s name is not in the list of Evin prisoners. I told him about the young man who had promised that he would be on the list. He sent us to the man responsible for carrying out orders at Evin. There were three of us. They found out that the first person in our group had a misplaced Id card. The second person in our group had a misspelled name. When it got to me, they said: "he is not here". They said: "maybe he gave us the wrong name". They looked for him based on the description based on prisoners who were born in 1989 and based on those with pending entrance exams and...his name was not on any of the lists. They said: if his name is not here, he must be with national security police. You need to go see them.

Parvin talks about her ordeal. No one informs her that if Sohrab’s name is not on the list, then he is not a prisoner! Nobody says that: not the prison guard, not the deputy, not the judge, not the district attorney. Why no one gives her the last word?

The tell Parvin to go see the national security police. She goes there. The operations director enters Sohrab’s descriptions into the computer and says: "he is not here". I come outside. I cry so much that the outside guard feels sorry for me. I go back to the operations manager. He says go to another office. They must have him. I go back to the Revolutionary Court and see the judge. There are two other parents there who don’t know the whereabouts of their children. The only difference is that their kids had contacted them the first day. Once those two are gone, the judge calls me. I explain everything to him. I told him that it’s been 17 days since I saw my child. He said: "we don’t have him". I asked what I should do. He said go find him yourself. Go see the district attorney.

Parvin does not want to go seek justice by going to the district attorney. She fights with herself the whole day and finally her motherly instinct overcomes: "The district attorney or anywhere else...I will go until I find Sohrab".

The district attorney was not in his office. She sits and waits with Sohrab’s picture in her hands. She is crying. The secretary comes over and says that he will investigate. Parvin sits in his office for 2 hours and prays. The man comes back and says: "give me another 20 minutes. I am following up on your child’s case". He comes back in 1/2 hour.

"He asked me to sit. I did. He said: your son is in Evin prison. Go home and don’t fetter about it. I asked why he hasn’t called? He replied: don’t worry. I will have him call you. Go home and wait for his call."

Parvin goes back home all happy and smiling. The district attorney has told her that her son is ok. She sits home on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday waiting to hear the ring. Once in a while she picks up Sohrab’s new clothes and goes to Evin prison, waiting to hear from Sohrab.

On Saturday she loses her patience. She goes back to the Revolutionary Court. She tells one of the workers there that her son has not called. The questionings begin all over. The deputy comes over and says: "The district attorney’s office had contacted us and it was us who told them that your son is in Evin prison. I had told you the same thing! why are you making a scene?" Parvin replies: "You never told me that". The deputy said: "remember? you were standing in the hallway when I told you that." Parvin says: "oh I must not have heard you then". The deputy continues: "now go home and relax. Your son is all find and happy in Evin and you are torturing yourself like this".

Back to zero. On Sunday before Imam Ali’s Birthday Ceremonies begin, Parvin writes a letter to the district attorney: "Dear District Attorney of Tehran: on this occasion of Imam Ali’s birthday please allow my son to call me". Nothing happens.

On Saturday July 11th she goes back to the Revolutionary Court for the nth time. This time they completely deny the whole thing: "his name is not the list of Evin prisoners. Go to the investigation center". "Investigation center? I went there once and his picture was not there". "Well go again".

Parvin goes back to the identification center. This time the photo albums are much thicker. Unidentified victims ranging from 25-30 year old. But Sohrab was only 19. You grew up so fast Sohrab!. Since the past 25 days when your mother was looking for you, how many years did you age? The Coroner’s office has determined that a 19 year old Sohrab should be put in the photo album belonging to 25 year old victims. Open your eyes Sohrab. You mother is staring at you!

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