Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – March 16, 1994

We went to the [Mehrabad] airport at 7:00 in the morning and immediately flew to Khorramabad. A group of ministers, representatives and deputies were with them. On the way, [Mr. Ali Mohammad Basharti], the Minister of Interior gave reports. He asked for my opinion about the quality of dealing with representatives and the issues of future elections. He criticizes the behavior of the right wing of the parliament.

An official reception was held. The people on the way and inside the city had a very wide and enthusiastic welcome. Due to the crowd, there was a lot of delay until finally the clutch plate of our car burned and we were pushing the end of the road.

First, I had a program in the community of families of martyrs. After performing the hymn and Quran and presenting the report, I spoke. People expressed strong feelings. Then we participated in the community gathering at the sports stadium. The crowd was very large and enthusiastic. Imam Juma and the representative of the city spoke and I gave a speech. A good song was performed by the Basijis.

It was noon, we went to Imam Juma's house; It is the former house of Shahid Rahimi. Imam Juma asked for help to build a mosque. The congregational prayer was read. I spoke for scholars and students. After having lunch, we flew to Poldakhter. He was explaining on the way to the governor. He is a novice and is not yet familiar with the situation in the province. So that he imagined that the Keshkan and Simrah rivers flow into Dez, while they flow into Karkheh.

We landed next to Poldakhter Sports Stadium, the community center of the people. The community was much more than we expected. Friday imam and the representative of Khair Moghaddam said and raised the demands. Shahid's children sang an interesting song. I also spoke. I agreed with their request regarding the city becoming a city and speeding up the completion of the drinking water project. The city was badly damaged in the war and has been completely rebuilt.

From there we flew to the mountains. Almost everywhere is green, forests, pastures, fields, rivers, and springs. The community of Kuhdasht people was extremely wide. According to the usual procedure, Imam Juma and the representative talked very intimately and tenderly. A poet in the Laki language, which is the language of a large part of the nomads of the region, recited a poem in praise of me, which was as long as the sea and had many subtleties; Including the fact that there are three Eids in Lorestan: Fitr, Nowruz and our presence.

Then I gave an encouraging speech and we opened a new 84-bed hospital next to the same place. Dr. Marandi and Dr. Karimian explained. Then we went to the farm that had done the integration and rain irrigation. The general manager of agriculture and the owner of the property explained. They were very satisfied with the results of the work. I gave an interview and encouraged such reforms.

They asked me to help collect water from nearby rivers. They have one hundred and eighty thousand hectares of land, which is mostly planted by rainfed method. It turned out that the cost of pressurized irrigation facilities, which is about 120,000 tomans for each hectare and is completely built in-house, will pay back in the first year and reduce water consumption to a third.

We flew to Parselon spinning factory. It is a huge factory. Managers explained. At a cost of ninety million dollars and one billion tomans, it was established before the revolution and confiscated. It can produce sixteen thousand tons of palmyra yarn annually. Its raw materials are foreign. We visited different parts. It is very modern. Managements are just becoming dominant.

I reached the governor's office. Listening to the news and dinner and writing diaries and reading reports were done. In the reports, Saudi Arabia's attack on Ayatollah Khamenei is important in response to his statements in Friday prayers.