A victim’s story: The sound of a train whistle

 

 

 

Martyr Farzaneh Behvandi

 

 

The sound of a train whistle

 

 

Martyr Farzaneh Behvandi

Date of martyrdom

3  ⁄  10  ⁄  1979

In the name of Allah, the Merciful

 

The sound of a train whistle always announced its arrival or departure. Children’s sharp ears were usually more sensitive to the sound of a train whistle, and hearing it brought back sweet memories.

 

Farzaneh was born into a farming family. She was a child of the soil and farmland. She always helped her father, along with her other brothers and sisters, in agricultural work and harvesting grapes from the garden. She would pick grapes from the vine branches and was always grateful to God for this blessing.

 

For children raised in farming families, travel is always fascinating. They have a deep connection to the soil and their hearts are stirred when they go from one place to another. Like trees, they are rooted in the soil and their footprints are always engraved on the ground.

Farzaneh was also a child of the soil; a child of vineyards, a child of fertile lands. She spent hours with her father tending to the trees and gardens. Her father was a shadow of security and a halal hand for her. Farzaneh had learned that, like her father, she should strive for a halal livelihood. She not only studied in school, but also learned simplicity and purity in her father’s school. For Farzaneh, life was nothing but beauty and love.

But on the morning of October 11, 1979, she encountered something more than clusters of grapes. Farzaneh was about to board the train. She was waiting for the train with her family at the Abadan-Khorramshahr train station. It was not yet 8 o’clock. There was a lot of people on the platform, and many were waiting to board. As always, Farzaneh felt safe being with her parents and was not afraid of the crowds. Like the other passengers, she was waiting to board the train and reach her destination.

she was a child of the soil and always felt a sense of unrest in her heart when she traveled; but this time the feeling was much stronger and different. It was as if the nature of this anxiety was different from the previous times. she tightened her tent more tightly so that she could feel safer, along with the feeling of security of being with her parents.

The ticking seconds of the clock were slowly approaching 8. The train doors opened and people started moving towards it. The closer the moments got to 8, the faster the seconds passed. A buzz formed in the station. Everyone was talking to their companions and some were saying goodbye to each other. Some were shouting loudly or calling someone and the rest of the people were carrying their belongings and bags, women and men were holding their children’s hands and trying to get on the train as quickly as possible.

Farzaneh’s family also moved towards the train’s entrance, and Farzaneh followed behind them. Everything had been normal up until this point. Suddenly, a huge explosion sounded on the train platform. The blast wave shook everything violently and threw people around. Smoke and fire spread everywhere. The speed of the seconds suddenly changed; every second seemed like a thousand years passed. Smoke covered everything and the eye could not see. The screams of women and children could be heard from all directions. The sound of the locomotive had been lost in the meantime. Screams, shouts, and panic had spread everywhere.

The smoke of the fire had not yet subsided when the sounds of the wounded and the cries of the survivors were heard. Farzaneh’s parents were severely injured. The rescued people rushed to help the injured. But Farzaneh did not make any sound. She did not moan or scream about her parents’ injuries. She was martyred in the very first moments of the explosion, due to the brain shock caused by the explosion.

The grapevines no longer touched the wise man’s hands. The fertile lands no longer engraved his footprints.

A powerful time bomb planted by the MKO TERRORIST GROUP at the train station exploded at exactly 8:00 AM on October 11, 1979. Many compatriots were martyred and injured in the incident. Members of the hated MKO TERRORIST GROUP, continuing their terrorist activities, this time targeted ordinary people at the train station and bombed them without paying attention to the presence of children, teenagers, and women.

The string of crimes committed by this group is so long that every corner of this land bears a bitter memory of that era. Many innocent blood was shed by these criminals on the ground, and the pain of these crimes will never be erased from the historical memory of the Iranian people.

Farzaneh’s parents were never able to complete their last journey with their beloved child. Farzaneh’s brother also never saw his sister again. Years later, he took up arms to fight the enemies of our beloved country and, with his sacrifice, was hit by shrapnel and became a martyr.

The wise ear never heard another train whistle, and the train whistle never again brought back sweet memories for his survivors.