Instead of the Spring special;

Spring under the shadow of war

Mahya Hafezi
Translated by Kianoush Borzouei

2026-3-23

Composing the Spring special for the new year in the past years was mostly along with hope, nature’s rebirth and the promise of renewal of life. Spring has always been a reminder for returning of life and peace after the Winters’ cold. This year though, another atmosphere has settled over our land in the last days of Esfand (March). Roars of explosions and the continuous reports of offenses and destruction have left no room for that usual passion. In days that our country is facing a heavy and costly war and while no one knows how long would this crisis last, speaking of Spring will inevitably have a different tenor.

Among the unpleasant news of these days, some incidents are so grave that will remain in peoples’ collective memory for years. martyrdom of the Islamic revolution supreme leader, attack on a primary girls’ school in Minab, the loss of innocent lives and damage to hospitals and civilian neighborhoods are some of these events. Such occurrences are not some ephemeral news in the media; each one of them is a fragment of the lived experience of a community that will stay in peoples’ memory and will be told later in reminiscences and memoirs.

This is where the importance of oral history is revealed more than ever. Oral history is not simply the compilation of remote recollections; it is the documentation of human experience at history’s decisive moments. Today, as our society faces severe and turbulent conditions, thousands of narratives are taking shape: the accounts of families who have lost loved ones, the testimonies of rescuers who sift through rubble for signs of life; the stories of teachers and students whose schoolrooms have suddenly become into a different scene and the everyday chronicles of people whose daily existence continues beneath the shadow of war.

Although it’s a time of sorrow and anxiousness, but these days too will become a part of our historical memory. Years later, generations who hasn’t seen these days would want to know how did the people of this country live under this condition, what did they feel and how did they deal with their pains and hopes. The answer to many of those questions are among the narratives that are today being produced.

This Spring may begin with anxiety and grief, but even in the midst of these troublesome days, humans are still narrators of life. Oral history reminds us that amid statistics and official reports what is most worthy of preservation is human experience; the voices of those who are living these days.

Perhaps more than ever, this Spring will make us conscious of the truth that a nation’s memory is not formed solely in official archives but in ordinary people’s recollections, in brief testimonies and in lived experiences that—if not recorded—will easily be lost. The role of oral history in such times is not merely to recall the past but to document the present with candor; a present that will itself one day become history.

In these hard days, a hope will undoubtedly flourish through our inner resistance; the same solidarity that, throughout Iran’s magnificent history has showed courage and union against vicious enemies every now and then. Today we can traverse this path with courage as well; as history has shown when faced with numerous threats, Iran and its people will ultimately prevail with dignity and our adversaries will be vanquished. In the meantime, vestiges of strength, peace, and a brighter destiny will remain enshrined within our history.

May the coming year soon pass beyond the shadow of war, and may spring once again reclaim its true meaning in the lives of the people of this land.