TEHRAN – One of the Iranian soldiers who had suffered a brain injury due to chemical attacks during the eight-year Iraqi imposed war - called the Sacred Defense - has not slept for 35 years as a result of the illness.

Seyed Ghazanfar Mousavi, born in 1955 in the village of Rahiz in Isfahan province, is retired from the Ministry of Interior. He is married and has 5 children.

From 1980 to 1985, he was in charge of logistics, mechanics, and transportation during the war.

In 1985, he was wounded in Operation Valfajr 8 and suffered neurological and mental problems, but after various treatments and electric shock, got insomnia. Since July 1986, for 35 years, he never slept for a single moment.

“In those first moments, I was under a lot of pressure, and it was hard for me to accept that whatever I do, I cannot sleep,” he says about the first days of his sleep deprivation.

“Life seemed very difficult for me, but by reading the Holy Quran, I calmed down and thanked God and asked him to make me patient in enduring hardships,” he said.

While being awake all night, he is still short of time, for watching Quran programs, doing housework, going to Mount Dena, farming, repairing the house, or even making pickles.

The Iraqi army invaded Iran on September 22, 1980, setting the stage for eight years of war. With support from certain Arab and Western countries, Saddam Hussein ordered an attack on Iran nearly 19 months after the Islamic Revolution.

The war drew to a close in August 1988. The United Nations declared Saddam as the initiator of the conflict.

In Iran, Sacred Defense Week is commemorated every year from September 21st.

According to official statistics, 225,570 people were martyred and 574,101 people became veterans during the holy defense. Also, freed prisoners of war were 43,173.

FB/MG