Last Letters Home: The Forgotten Voices of Iranian Volunteer Soldiers During the Iran-Iraq War (1980 - 1988)
Abstract
Last Letters Home: The Forgotten Voices of Iranian Volunteer Soldiers During the Iran-Iraq War (1980 - 1988)
Abstract
This study focuses on the writings of Iranian volunteer soldiers during the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-88, particularly their will letters. The research explores the motivations and objectives of these soldiers by analyzing their final correspondences, which served as a means to convey their last wishes and messages to their families and loved ones. The act of will-writing allowed them to make sense of their experiences in the war and address various aspects such as debts, fears, hopes, and the desire to be remembered. Writing held significant importance for these soldiers as they confronted the possibility of death. The study highlights the shift from oral wills to written wills during the war, even by semi-literate and illiterate soldiers. It argues that the war played a decisive role in popularizing the culture of will-writing among Iran's lower-middle class. The emergence of this new form of writing offers insights into individual and national identities at a grassroots level. It explores the impact of the state's policy of 'Exporting the Revolution' on soldiers' nationalist motivations and their relationship with the concept of martyrdom. The thesis divides the war into different phases and examines the soldiers' national and individual identities within each phase. It discusses the soldiers' secular anti-imperialist nationalism, their use of Islam as a practical ideology to achieve independence, and their alignment with the discourse of exporting revolution. The soldiers' letters also reflect their regional attachments and friendships, strengthening their sense of national loyalty. Furthermore, the research delves into the increasing emphasis on martyrdom in soldiers' letters, particularly in the later stages of the war. It explores how martyrdom became a means of achieving spiritual victory and compensating for military defeats. The study also analyzes the soldiers' anxieties about death and the challenges associated with pursuing martyrdom, including the need for self-purification and restitution for past sins. Overall, the study highlights the significance of will-writing during the Iran-Iraq War, shedding light on the motivations, identities, and experiences of ordinary volunteer soldiers. It emphasizes the transformative power of the war in shaping the culture of will-writing and the emergence of lower-class writers during this period. The research fills a gap in the scholarly focus on popular writing and provides insights into the experiences of soldiers and the socio-political context of the war.