Source: news.gooya.com, by Reza Alamehzadeh
Translation by Iran Press Watch
I became familiar with the name of Ms. Fariba Kamalabadi1, before I became involved with the making of the Iranian Taboo documentary 2, when she and six other Baha’i leaders, called the “Yaran” (Friends of Iran), were arrested and jailed in Iran.
Since two days ago, knowing that Mother’s Day is coming up in two days, I attempted to write a note, but I just could not. I wanted to write about my mother, who sacrificed her youth, and all she had in the world from her early youth, but I knew that in my past three sequential novels I had written about her; since I have a distaste for repetition, I decided not to deviate from my effort to avoid repetition.
But I can no longer block this unbridled mind of mine, and not write about a mother who, while imprisoned in Evin Prison, has handled being apart from her loved ones for eight consecutive years with the utmost dignity. Now, the day after Mother’s Day, she has been given a furlough from Evin Prison, this notorious prison with which I, a former prisoner, am all too familiar.
Although I don’t personally know them, I am familiar with the names of many noble political, ideological and ethnic prisoners. If it does not come across as an exaggeration, my heart feels their sorrow, but some of these loved ones occupy much more of my heart and mind. One of these is this mother of three children, who after eight years is able to embrace her loved ones for a few days, and liberate her mind from the cruel world of prison builders and prison guards.
I became familiar with the name of Ms. Fariba Kamalabadi, before I was involved with the making of the Iranian Taboo documentary, when she and the other six Baha’i leaders, called the “Yaran” (Friends of Iran), were arrested and jailed in Iran. These leaders, in the long night of our homeland, which has not seen the break of day for many years, had more luck than their predecessors, who were kidnapped and disappeared or executed.
During the making of Iranian Taboo, dialogue with her was not possible, but I used this opportunity to have a dialogue with Ms. Fariba Kamalabadi, a mother subjected to a great deal of sorrow and suffering. This opportunity ‒ the news about Fariba Kamalabadi, the mother of three children and an infant grandchild ‒ has afforded me the gift of a brand new meaning associated with the concept of Mother’s Day.
Although I haven’t have the chance to rush to her visit and kiss her auspicious forehead; however, with this short note I share in the joy of her three dear children and her beloved grandchild.
Fariba Kamalabadi is out on a five-day furlough from prison after eight years.
On Monday 9 May 2016, Amad News reported that Fariba Kamalabadi, one of the leaders of the Baha’i community in Iran, is on a five-day furlough after serving eight years of her prison sentence in Evin Prison.
Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaluddin Khanjani, Afif Naimi, Saeid Rezaie, Behrouz Tavakkoli, Vahid Tizfahm and Mahvash Sabet, six members of the Baha’i community leadership were arrested on 14 May 2008 in their homes.
Fariba Kamalabadi is one of the leaders of the Iranian Baha’i community who was sentenced to a heavy 20-year prison term; she has been in prison since 2008.
The Baha’i community in Iran since the 1979 revolution have been deprived of their citizenship rights, and have been under continuous pressure and repression.
Ms. Kamalabadi is one of the seven members of the “Yaran” (Friends of Iran) who were responsible for the affairs of the Baha’i community.
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1. Fariba Kamalabadi is on leave after eight years
2. A description of the film can be found here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2014255/. The entire movie is available here: https://youtu.be/o8c832e0i-E
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