Bayan News – This letter, written by Sakina Adib, a journalist and educator, on the occasion of the one-year anniversary of the tragic incident at “Kaj” School, has been shared with Bayan News. Marzieh, an excellent student at Kaj and Sakina Adib’s sister, lost her life in this event.
To Najiba, the Victim of the Nightmare of Ignorance:
Dear Sister, you haven’t slept for a year, day and night. You struggled and even studied in the kitchen and on the streets to reach the university entrance exam (Konkur). The Konkur that you were eagerly waiting for and loved. The Konkur that had a heavy cost, and you didn’t know how bloody and painful its ending would be. You didn’t know that its cost would be the end of your life and the lives of your peers.
Today, one year has passed since your absence and the announcement of the Konkur results. I don’t know how many of your questions you had solved or how many questions of others remained unanswered, as none of your names are on the list of successful candidates today. Even Marzieh, who had written in her diary, “On the day of the Konkur results, I will be among the top ten,” but today, there is no news of her.
My dear! Did you write on your exam paper that your gender is female? Is it because you are a woman that you don’t have the right to life and success today?
Dear sister, didn’t you used to say that one can learn and work as an artist without going to university? Didn’t you paint people’s faces without studying under any teacher? Najiba, if only you had believed in your own words and neglected the Konkur and university. You loved painting and colors. You wanted colors to express your silence and speak, so why did you go towards the Konkur?
Najiba, I don’t know if you were aware of our condition during this year. For example, did you understand how our parents were and how they are now, and how many times their pain was relieved by visiting your grave? Or are you aware that your lonely and sorrowful sisters and brothers are burning like moths away from the candle and turning into ashes?
I really don’t know what you know about us, but I must say that it’s been a year since you’re gone, yet we always felt and still feel you by our side. Every day when we perform our duties, your white gem-studded boots catch our eyes. And hey, do you remember when you used to envy me and say that it’s enough for a few years to pass, and I will grow older, and there will be no certificates and diplomas hanging on the walls with the name “Sakina Safari Adib”?
Dear sister! How quickly you grew up, and every corner of the house has become a showcase for your paintings and certificates. It’s as if the art gallery you wished to build in the future was already here in our home.
Najibe, my kind and precious one, you were such that even today, we were looking for your name on the list of successful candidates. Later, we realized that there is no one named “Najiba Safari Art Student” on the list, nor “Zahra Ahmadi” or “Shegofa Saadat.” And in that case, there is also no one named “Marzia Alizadeh” who breathes loneliness after your departure. How sorrowful today is, and how difficult and exhausting our breaths are. And what meaningless breaths they are!
May your memory be honored!
With pain,
Your sister, Sakina
