Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – March 21, 1998

At the moment of handing over the year, some of the children were gathered; Fati and Sara and Ali and Saeed, Faizeh and Mona and Hassan, Mohsen and Kazem [Marashi]. They also took a family photo. The children left and Efat and I fell asleep after listening to a part of the message given by the leader. The messages of the leadership and the president were short and devoid of the usual reports that I used to give in the past years, about the important events of the previous year and the positive expectations of the next year.

After prayer, exercise, breakfast, reading and listening to the news and seeing the reports on the computer screen, I packed my travel suitcase and left for Kish with the same set mentioned above. I gave a gift to the guards: two thousand tomans to each of them; [The same] amount that I gave to the family members when handing over the year.

We flew to Kish at ten in the morning. There were also a group of relatives, bodyguards and clerks. near noon We entered Kish with the welcome of Mr. [Mohammedreza] Yazdan Panah, the head of Kish Free Zone Organization. On the way from the airport to the place of residence, he gave a report on the situation of the island. This year's rainfall is good: it has rained about 200 mm so far and the island is green. The construction situation is not bad; Although the recession inside the country has had an impact here as well.

The tourism seminar they held a few days ago has reduced some of the pressure of the Thunderers. The transfer of customs to Kish has brought them problems, but if they increase the facilities, the situation will improve in the future. Carrying out customs at Tehran airport caused passengers to wander and put pressure on the situation of the airport and caused opposition to more requested flights.

Until night, I walked several times on the beach. The weather is pleasant and the sea is calm and the conditions are pleasant. I swam in the sea in the evening. Although it was windy, it was not too cold. In the evening, Ahmad and his family members came. They came to Kish before us and settled in another place, near the Arab neighborhood. He has recently traveled to Iraq, and he says that the situation in Iraq is better than what is reported in the reports, and especially about the good highway that they built from the Syrian border to Baghdad and the situation of dairy products, vegetables and livestock. Because he was a guest of the government, he has touched people's problems less. Hours were spent studying geology and history and reports.