On the occasion of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi’s birthday and on the eve of March 1st 2012,  his daughters wrote him a heartwarming letter describing the last time they went to Akhtar street to find out about their parents’ condition and the fact that they have had no news from them for a very long period of time.  The full content of the letter as provided to Kaleme is as follows:

In the name of God the kind, merciful and ever present companion of the noble and freehearted behind bars,

“Alas…things are not what they seem

…a prison is a beautiful garden to the freedom fighters

…and torture, flogging and chains

shall not weaken human beings

rather, they are a measure of his values”

Shamloo

As we approach your birthday, it is hard to believe that a year has gone by without you; a year in which we anxiously awaited the ringing of the phone and an untraceable number, with the hope to hear your voice and have news of your well being – but alas the phone rang on only a handful of occasions, leaving us anxious and heavyhearted. During these dark and long nights we have remained patient our brave father in honor and memory of your Green, firm message of patience.  Do you recall how we always kept our promises to you? For an individual’s promise is his honor.  We remained patient and faithful, gazing at a bloody horizon  and looking forward to a sun rise that would bring with it your freedom so that you could once again join all those whose wings have been tied and believe in a God who is the most powerful and protects the beating hearts of those who crave freedom, independence and dignity for Iran.

Although you remain under house arrest in a small prison called Akhtar or perhaps in another prison whose location remains a mystery to us, you are nevertheless freehearted and free.  In these long and arduous days in which we have no news of you, let us at least fill you in on our lives. Let us tell you about a cold night last week….

We had received no news of you.  The pain of a bitter year without you had penetrated our souls and so we came on a cold night with the hope to obtain any news. We came to that melancholy and silent street. We came to Akhtar, a street that is now lifeless. We knocked but were once again told that no one by the name Mousavi lives here. Where are you then father? We cried out together. We greeted you. We cried out warm greetings from your companions with the hope that our cries would perhaps reach you from behind the walls and iron gates.  They attacked us. They held us back. On that cold night at Pastor street we held hands,  encircled the young and scared children in our arms and stood our ground.  Apart from the presence of the angry security officers, our only other witnesses were the tall, dormant sycamore trees and the frozen water canals.  Even there we heeded your words and remained patient; a bitter patience. We remained true to the lessons you had both given us over the years, for a van and no amount of tall walls, iron fences, nor iron bars installed on windows of that old house filled with memories will get in the way of your message of freedom.  No wall, iron fence, prison, threats and insults will destroy this love nor can it form a barrier against your desire for justice and peace; a desire that we all share with you.  Freedom is a anthem that flows in all of our hearts, filling the dark night and beckoning the arrival of a warm and unabated sun.

Our beloved parents, you are our Sun and you are our Moon! During this past year you have undoubtedly been worried about us girls and it goes without saying that we have worried about you too.You are our Seven Stars, now covered by dark clouds…yet we still believe that their efforts to obscure the face of the Sun is in vain, as this is an impossibility!

Like the honorable, great men who preceded you and remained true to friendship, honor, purity, kindness and truthfulness, sacrificing their lives on the streets of our beloved land,  you too have stood firm. You never retreated from your position. You remained true to your convictions and the promise to your compatriots and to your country.

As we approach the last month in the Persian calendar, all we have left of you is a picture hanging on the wall in a Green frame; a picture in which you and mother are holding hand.  In these days filled with questions and so much uncertainty about your true whereabouts and what is happening behind your prison walls,  we are left with the resonance of your warm voice and the promises which you steadfastly kept.  We face days filled with continuous news that only increases our concerns and it is your energy and love for our beloved country and commitment to the truth and freedom that keeps us warm.

We believe wholeheartedly and have faith in the fact that all these walls, chains and  bars will some day be broken. The day will come when singing the anthem of freedom will no longer be a sin and we will all be able to pick the fruit of our labor and patience from the tree of perseverance, sharing it with the entire world.  You, we and our companions will proclaim that this beautiful patience in the face of misfortunes will bear fruit, erasing the bitter taste of these sorrow filled days from our memories.

Our beloved and persevering mother and father, we send you a thousand greetings.

Your daughters Kokab, Zahra and Narges

February 2012

Source: Kaleme http://www.kaleme.com/1390/12/09/klm-92723/
Translate by BanooyeSabz
Translator’s Note: My thanks to Tour Irani for his support and guidance in translating this piece.