When we were kids, we always played in the alley. Football, volleyball, “Haft Sang,” “Vasati,” and similar games. The kids were usually clever, energetic, and lively. Sometimes our noise would bother the neighbors. Some neighbors were patient and kind and tolerated us, but some had a lower tolerance threshold.
If a child was overly mischievous and annoyed the adults, the most common term used in those days for a naughty and mischievous child was to call them “wretched dead.” We had no idea what “wretched dead” meant. It didn’t matter to us. What mattered was the game.
When I grew up, I realized that in the realm of politics, there is a kind of game called the game of fate, which has always had its own wretched dead. The wretched dead of the game of fate are those who, due to the injustices they commit during their lifetimes, face bitter and cautionary destinies before and at the time of their death.
The kings of the Pahlavi dynasty almost both ended up wretched dead because they were expelled from the country they had ruled for years and died wretchedly in exile. Mohammad Reza Shah transferred his father’s body to Iran and built a mausoleum for him in Rey.
Reza Shah’s mausoleum, compared to my grandfather’s, was a very expensive tomb, but it was insignificant compared to some other mausoleums. When the Islamic Republic was established, Ayatollah Khalkhali, the judge appointed by Ayatollah Khomeini, demolished Reza Shah’s mausoleum, and Ayatollah Khomeini, Iran’s leader, approved this action.
In my lifetime, I recall three lifelong presidents, and all three of them did not almost but precisely ended up wretched dead.
1) Nicolae Ceaușescu was the highest official and lifelong ruler of Romania. His government, tied to suppression and harsh methods, collapsed in 1368 [1989] following the Romanian Revolution. He, along with his wife, was condemned to execution after a hasty trial broadcast live on television and was executed by a firing squad. Their execution was the last in Romania, as the death penalty was subsequently abolished.
2) Saddam, the lifelong president and dictator of Iraq, ruled for a quarter of a century. After his defeat in the war by the American army, he fled to an unknown location and was later found disheveled in a hole and executed by hanging in his own country in 1385 [2006] after a trial.
3) Muammar Gaddafi, the revolutionary politician and lifelong leader of Libya, ruled the Islamic country of Libya for over forty years. In 1390 [2011], after escalating protests and conflicts, he fled to his birthplace and was captured while hiding in a sewage pipe by revolutionaries and executed without trial.
◀ A few days ago, former President Mr. Ahmadinejad complained at a gathering of the Ahmadinejadian officials, meaning those dismissed and banished in the current government, that injustice is being done against him these days. He said: “Everyone hits with whatever they have; one throws a stone, another kicks, one strikes with a sword, another with a spear, in fact, they are attacking from six directions.”
I address Mr. Ahmadinejad, saying, dear brother, where are the spear and sword? These are from the wars and conflicts of old times. You have borrowed this style of speaking from the eulogists, deriving it from deep in history. Let’s read the mournings in a way that resonates with today’s generation. For example, it would be good to say it like this:
“Those with batons struck with batons, those with bullets struck with bullets, some used tear gas, the punchers punched, the kickers kicked. Some ran over us with a car, and others pushed us off a bridge, celebrating and cheering after their work was done.”
And again, I address Mr. Ahmadinejad, saying, you were not a lifelong president of this country; it was only for a term. Now sit and watch as others judge you. May God lead us to a good end. Go and pray that you do not end up as one of the wretched dead, like the examples I mentioned.
Of course, our experience and historical memory have proven to us that the probability of a lifelong president or ruler becoming a wretched dead is more significant and noteworthy compared to a president or ruler who serves for a term. And since this probability is highly noteworthy, it is better to consider it the great lesson of history for the rulers of the world.