The purpose of writing this book is not intended to be the
history of Iranian revolution or Iran’s history in general. It is
merely to put in words my own history, recollection, and
involvement in the event of Black Friday that took place on
September 8, 1978 as I remember it, and without any judgment.
This is a story of true struggle and courage, and undeniable
testament to the power of surrendering to god. This story is true
in content, but the names of the characters other than me have
been changed to protect their identity from any discrimination and
prejudice. It is not the intention of the author to condone,
demean, insult or promote the Pahlavi dynasty, or the Islamic
republic of Iran.
It took me 30 years to finally write this book. It took a lot of
encouragement from many different people to be able to finally
put words on paper about the massacre that happened on Black
Friday. It took me another 30 years to get the courage to write
about it, including 3 years of intensive therapy with one of the
world’s greatest therapist, Mili Naugle MFT.
I strongly feel that it was god’s will to have me there in the
first place to experience what I needed, to become the person I
am today. As Elisabeth Kubler-Ross puts in to perspective
“Know that everything in life has purpose. There are no
mistakes, no coincidences, all events are blessings given to
us to learn from.” I have no doubt, god spared me from certain
death so one day I can be the voice of the victims who lost their
lives in the Black Friday massacre. They certainly did not have a
chance to tell their tale and their side of the story. As far as I
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know, I am the only survivor. I feel the responsibility as well as
the compassion to be the voice of approximately 8000 innocent
people who died that day. Many of the families were never
informed about what happened to their loved ones or their
whereabouts. Most of the families still don’t know where their
loved ones are buried due to the fact that many of them were
buried in mass graves. The families of the victims also never had
the chance to say goodbye. I also deeply hope that upon reading
my story, perhaps the families will have the closure they so
desperately need and help answer the questions they may have
had.
- Nastaran Akhavan, San Diego, California
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