Taha Asadi/staff reporter
Born in a country fueled with Political tension. My father has been through a lot in his life; first a big revolution then a massive war. His life stories and lessons are truly worth listening to. My father, Jahangir Asadi, was born to a working-class family in Tehran, Iran in 1968. My grandfather did not have much and moved from his small village to the capital city and enrolled in the military. My father’s life was normal for the first 12 years. Until war came into his life.
In 1980 when my father was 12, the Iran-Iraq war broke out. After the Iranian revolution in 1979 an Islamic Republic replaced the previous secular monarchy. The following year Iran’s close neighbor Iraq and their ruler Saddam Hussain decided to take advantage of Iran’s instability following the revolution and invaded Iran in the hopes of annexing Iranian soil Iran-Iraq war . The Iran-Iraq war would be the last classic war in the 20th century. Living in war is not a great feeling but it was worse for my father and his family because my grandfather was a military officer who now had to serve his country in the front lines of war. “The worst period of my life was during war,” said Asadi reflecting on his memories from that era.
My father was the family’s only son, he had three other sisters. In our culture, no matter how many females are in the household, it is the man’s job to take care of them and provide for them. That was more so the case in that era as well. My father now had to take care of four other people at a very young age while his father was away fighting the war. “There were a lot of sacrifices I had to make alongside school, it was now my duty to provide for the family. That takes a huge toll on someone that Young.” said Asadi
There is a lot of anxiety that comes to you when your loved one’s head to war. War is not an easy phenomenon. It was very difficult for my father being away from his dad for so many years and worrying about whether or not he will see my grandfather ever again. “Every day there would be bodies of soldiers who were returned, and I always feared that the next one would be my father. I had to live with that anxiety for my entire teenager years and a part of that anxiety is still with me today,” said Asadi.
The Iran-Iraq war lasted eight years. These eight years took a huge toll on my father, especially because he had to experience such a difficult lifestyle in his youth. “The war started when I was a 12-year-old boy and ended when I was an 18-year-old university student. While teenagers in the rest of the world were busy going to the movies on the weekends and the concerts of their favorite singers. My family and I were taking refuge in a bunker, praying that the next Iraqi missile doesn’t hit us. Said Asadi reflecting on his teenage days during war.
Although war was extremely difficult, it thought my father many important lessons that made him who he is today. War is an experience like no other and witnessing it makes you a much stronger person than before. “Although war was unfortunate, it gave me tough skin. It truly helped me deal with many other obstacles that I faced in the future.” said Asadi reflecting on how war impacted his life.
After his experiences growing up in war and growing up to be the elder that he is today. There were some advice that my father wanted myself and my peers to know. “I would tell youth to not be afraid of hardship and failure. When you fear failure, you are making it stronger and creating a monster out of it. There’s a higher chance of success for you if you are fearless in everything that you are doing in life.” said Asadi when asked about advice he can provide for youth.
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