NEWSHA TAVAKOLIAN
Artist's statement
Mothers of Martyrs
Nothing is worse than to live longer than your own child. But these Iranian mothers are proud their sons have given their lives for Iran. They were boys, or barely men, when they left for places like Salamche, Khorramabad and Dezful. For eight years they fought Iraqi Republican Guards from dusty trenches all along the Iran-Iraq border. Some stepped on mines, others died during Iraqi attacks with chemical weapons. All their mothers at a certain point received a letter announcing the deaths of their sons.
“The Blood of the Martyrs feeds the society”, Iranian officials say. Every Thursday and Friday mothers visit their sons’ graves at the immense Behest-e Zahra cemetery South of Tehran. They are getting older, but their boys will always stay the same age. They all cherish the portraits of their sons.
