Mosaddegh at the Hague

by Majid Naficy

If you go to the Netherlands
Visit The Hague court of Justice.
On a rainy night
Linger at its closed gate
And look through the iron rods:
There, in that lighted building
Across the rain-laden trees,
An old man stood
More than half a century ago.
He came from our homeland
To speak out against the oil cartels
Before the whole world.
He did not hold anyone hostage
And took only a few steps
To reach the podium.
Listen, listen
Even years after that bloody August (1)
One can still hear his voice.
He speaks in beautiful French:
"Mesdames et Messieurs!
Ladies and Gentlemen!"

September 24, 2005

1. On August 19, 1953 Mohammad Mosaddegh (1882-1967), the Iranian Prime Minister, was overthrown in a coup d'etat orchestrated by the American and British intelligence services, in collaboration with Kashani, a fundamentalist clergy and Zahedi, a Nazi-sympathizer general. They gave absolute power to the Shah who had fled the country a few days earlier. In 1951, Mosaddegh led the movement for nationalization of the Iranian oil industry, which was under the control of the British. In June 1952, he traveled to the Hague to defend Iran's case in the International Court of Justice.

مصدق در لاهه

مجید نفیسی

اگر به هلند می‌روی
از دادگاه لاهه دیدن کن.
در یک شب بارانی
پشت در بسته‌اش بایست
و از لابلای میله‌ها نگاه کن:
آنجا، در آن عمارت پر‌نور
کنار درختهای باران‌خورده
بیش از نیم قرن پیش
مردی کهنسال ایستاد
که از سرزمین ما آمده بود
تا از بیداد غارتگران نفت
با جهان سخن گوید.
او هیچ کس را به گروگان نگرفت
و تنها چند قدم برداشت
تا به پشت میز خطابه رسید.
گوش کن، گوش کن
حتی سالها پس از آن مرداد خونین
هنوز هم می‌توان صدایش را شنید
که به زبان زیبای فرانسه می‌گوید:
“Mesdames et Messieurs!
خانمها! آقایان!"

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