Feb 22, 2004
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| The event drew a large crowd, filling the hall and leaving many attendees standing in the aisles. |
Tabriz—Ali Abbasi: On Saturday, February 21, a ceremony marking International Mother Language Day was held at Dr. Mobin Hall in Tabriz. More than 500 people attended the event. It was scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m., but for unknown reasons it started half an hour late. It should be noted that permission for the event was granted only at the last moment.
Public interest in the event was so great that every seat in the hall was occupied. Many additional chairs were placed in the aisles, but because of the large turnout, numerous participants still had to stand while listening to the speeches.
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| Poet Abbas Bariz participated in the ceremony in this manner. Mr. Bariz had not attended the memorial ceremony organized in his honor by the Ministry of Culture and Guidance. |
Alireza Sarrafi: The Linguistic Calamity That Befell Us in 1946
Alireza Sarrafi, one of the organizers of the event, welcomed those present at the opening of the congress and said:
In the struggle for their mother language, many children of Azerbaijan have been driven from their homeland and displaced to other cities. Azerbaijanis have paid a heavy price for their mother language—both materially and spiritually.
Referring to the tragedies that occurred in Azerbaijan in 1946, Sarrafi continued:
During that year, between 25,000 and 35,000 people in Azerbaijan were martyred at the hands of the Pahlavi executioners. In other words, over the 57 years since then, this amounts to one martyr for every day in the struggle for the mother language.
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| For a photo caption, I’d make it concise: Alireza Sarrafi, one of the organizers of the gathering. |
He added:
Our mother language is as sacred to us as our mothers, and we must strive to preserve it.
Sarrafi continued:
There is no nation in the world that does not love its mother language. If such a nation exists, it will no longer exist tomorrow; it will be absorbed into other nations and disappear.
Explaining why this day was designated International Mother Language Day, he continued:
When Bangladesh was still part of Pakistan, its people were compelled to use Urdu instead of their own language. The people of Bangladesh suffered many deaths because of this. In 1951 and 1952, many were martyred in this struggle. One of them was the martyr “Dibush.” Following Bangladesh’s independence, the country’s representative to UNESCO proposed that February 21—the day Dibush was killed by Pakistani police—be designated International Mother Language Day. The day was subsequently recognized under this name.
Sarrafi concluded:
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the designation of International Mother Language Day, and Azerbaijanis were the first people to commemorate it in Iran.
Behzad Behzadi: We Must Secure Our Children’s Natural Rights—and We Will
Behzad Behzadi, a lexicographer and editor of Azari magazine, was the event’s next speaker. Congratulating everyone on the occasion and noting that Azari had been very warmly received in Tabriz, he added:
Today, the eyes of all Azerbaijani activists are fixed on Tabriz.
He continued:
What power does our mother language possess that enables a four- or five-year-old child to learn all its words and rules, while many linguists remain unable to analyze it? Children do not consciously know the laws of language, yet they speak their mother language so accurately that linguists derive a language’s rules and structures from their speech. This is the miracle of the mother language.
In another part of his speech, Behzadi said:
The Pahlavi regime sought to teach children a single language and prevented them from learning their mother languages. The harmful consequences of this policy are evident.
He continued:
Our Constitution—that is, the Constitution of the Islamic Republic—recognizes education in one’s mother language as a natural and human right, but this provision has not yet been fully implemented.
He concluded:
We must secure our children’s natural right to education in their mother language, and we will do so.
Dr. Husseinghuli Salimi
Dr. Husseinghuli Salimi commemorated International Mother Language Day by sending a poem to the event. His poem was read by Jafar Keyvanchehr, a political activist from Tabriz.
Dr. Jamal Ayrimlu: The Oppressed Mother Language
The event’s next speaker was Dr. Jamal Ayrimlu, a member of the editorial board of Navid-e Azerbaijan. Reading an article titled “The Oppressed Mother Language,” he spoke about the injustices inflicted upon the mother language. Dr. Ayrimlu said:
Education in another language is the most formidable weapon used against the mother language.
He continued:
Knowing that we are among the most deeply rooted nations, we must devote even greater effort to healing our mother language.
The member of Navid-e Azerbaijan’s editorial board added:
Although relative freedoms concerning mother-language education have existed since the establishment of the Islamic Republic, the educational methods and practices of the Shah’s era continue. We are still unable to study our mother language in schools.
The guest speaker from Urmia said:
According to scientific findings, the influence of the mother language—and of receiving proper instruction in it—on the development of an individual’s personality is undeniable.
He concluded:
Our innocent children unknowingly face an injustice being committed against them. Teaching a child another language in place of their mother language distances that child from their true identity.
The Lachin Children Group Recited Poems About the Mother Language at the Congress
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| The Lachin Children group recited poems in Turkish at the gathering. |
The Lachin Group performed during the next part of the event. The children delighted the audience by reciting poems about the mother language and Azerbaijan. Their poetry recitations were warmly applauded by those present.
Dr. Rahim Raisnia: Whenever the Voice of Freedom Has Been Heard, Our Language Has Flourished
Dr. Rahim Raisnia said at the event:
Languages, like human beings, can be subjected to pressure and oppression. Whenever the voice of freedom has been heard, our mother language has begun to flourish. During the Constitutional Revolution, our language was present in schools and newspapers. Under Reza Shah, however, languages were torn from the throats of those seeking freedom.
He continued:
Following the dictator’s departure, the atmosphere of freedom in those years gave our language an opportunity to make itself heard. Newspapers were published either bilingually or in Azerbaijani, and Azerbaijani Turkish was taught as an official language in schools. This contributed to the language’s growth and flourishing, the effects of which we witnessed in subsequent years.
The author of Azerbaijan in the Course of Iranian History continued:
Languages do not stand against one another; they are brothers and sisters. Political authorities sometimes suppress other languages and continue doing so until those languages are destroyed.
The Azerbaijani researcher and writer concluded:
Shahriar’s Heydar Baba brought him out of the village of Khoshknab and introduced him to the world.
Kowsari: Every People Has Its Own Language
Mr. Kowsari, one of the poets attending the event, then recited a poem titled “Every People Has Its Own Language.”
Farideh Asgharnia: We Must Speak and Write in Our Mother Language
Farideh Asgharnia was the event’s next speaker. Emphasizing the necessity of reading, writing, and speaking in the mother language, she continued:
Although there were many women poets and writers in Azerbaijan until the relatively recent past, unfortunately, their number today can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
The Azerbaijani poet continued:
Learning our mother language is essential, and teaching it to others is also a responsibility we owe to our language.
Yahya Sheyda: A Servant of Azerbaijani Literature
Yahya Sheyda, who has devoted his life to Azerbaijani literature, was also present at the event. He congratulated everyone on the occasion by reciting a poem about mothers and the mother language. Yahya Sheyda has been writing for nearly 60 years.
Isa Nazari: We Have Taken No Practical Action for Our Mother Language
Isa Nazari, a lawyer and member of the editorial board of Navid-e Azerbaijan, said at the congress:
Thus far, we have taken no practical action concerning our mother language. Our task today is not merely to raise public awareness. Schools, television, and newspapers have, in various ways, prevented us from learning our mother language.
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| Isa Nazari, lawyer, journalist, civil activist, and contributor to the weekly Navid-e Azerbaijan. |
He continued:
We must make mother-language education a central issue in our relationship with the government. This demand does not contradict either the Constitution or international law; our country’s Constitution also recognizes this right. Recognition of this right must be a fundamental condition for dialogue. Before addressing political matters, we must resolve the question of mother-language education. By doing so, we will fulfil our responsibility to our language, our nation, and our future.
Referring to International Mother Language Day, Nazari said:
February 21 can mark the beginning of efforts to resolve the mother-language question in Iran. If this issue is raised internationally and the world learns that the language of a nation is being destroyed, it will not remain silent.
Criticizing a letter sent to the Cabinet by several chauvinists, which opposed adapting school textbook content to regional cultures, he said:
If four chauvinists can persuade the government to take—or refrain from taking—a particular action, millions of people can likewise compel the government to fulfil their demands.
He concluded:
Language represents the existence and identity of a nation. If a nation has no language, it will be unable to express its identity.
Nazari proposed establishing groups in every Azerbaijani city to discuss the mother-language question. He emphasized:
We will not bargain with anyone over our language. We must tell the government to resolve this issue as soon as possible. Otherwise, we will ask international organizations and institutions to help us secure our rights, and I am certain they will respond to our appeal.
Dr. Hossein Feyzollahi Vahid: Turkish Was an Official Language 700 Years Ago
Dr. Hossein Feyzollahi Vahid presented a paper on the Turkish language at the congress and congratulated the people of Azerbaijan on the occasion. Referring to the history of Turkish becoming an official language, he stated that the Karamanids were the first dynasty to use Turkish as an official language:
From this day forward, Turkish shall be written and spoken in the court and the royal council.
He dated this declaration to May 14, 1277, corresponding to Ordibehesht 24.
The statement issued by the journal Araz for the occasion was then read aloud. Houshang Jafari of Zanjan, Ms. Ipek of Tabriz, and Yalqiz also commemorated the day by reciting poems. A similar event was held simultaneously in Tehran. Young people were particularly well represented among the participants.
At the conclusion of the congress, Mr. Hasan Omidoglu read the resolution adopted by the participants of the First International Mother Language Day Congress.
Seyedzadeh, Jafar Keyvanchahr, and Alireza Sarrafi organized the event in Tabriz.
The family of Ensafali Hedayat, the prominent journalist from Tabriz, also attended the event.
Resolution of the First Tabriz Mother Language Congress