The following is the full text of the speech delivered on November 9, 2006 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Leader of the Islamic Revolution in a meeting with the families of martyrs and war veterans of Semnan province.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings be upon our Master and Prophet, Muhammad and upon his immaculate and pure household, especially the one remaining with Allah on earth.
I welcome all of you from the bottom of my heart, dear youth, fathers and mothers as well as the children, honorable wives and steadfast mothers of our dear martyrs.
This meeting and similar meetings - which I attended on all of my trips - are among the most exciting meetings for me. You remind us of self-sacrifice and martyrdom and of the people who showed patience in the way of God: "And give good news to the patient, who, when a misfortune befalls them, say: Surely we are Allah's and to Him we shall surely return" [The Holy Quran, 2: 155-156].
These are among the most exceptional ayahs in the Holy Quran. God's greetings and mercy be on those patient people who tolerate hardships and face problems with a smile on their face. Take the case of a mother who has spent many years to raise a son and who has helped him blossom in life. Take the case of a father who has made many efforts to raise his son and has cherished dreams about the time when his son would be a young man and suddenly he receives the news that his son has been martyred in the battlefield, but he shows patience. His beloved wife - the person who has stood by his side in times of happiness and sorrow, the person whose heart is firmly attached to him - receives the news of her husband's martyrdom. It is very difficult to endure this. It is very difficult. But our people endured these sufferings with a smiling face.
It is no exaggeration to say that in no country and in no war, the people underwent the test that our people did. In such a test, there were two issues involved. One issue was the war itself and the other issue was the consequences of the war - that is to say, the hardships that the families of the soldiers, the families of the martyrs and the families of the disabled war veterans and the disabled war veterans themselves endured. The second issue was sometimes more difficult to endure than the first issue. It is sometimes more difficult for the father, the mother, the wife and the children to endure their loved one's absence than for the soldier to endure the sufferings under enemy fire. But our people showed such patience. I have had a lot of meetings with the fathers, mothers and wives of our martyrs. In these meetings, they spoke to me about many astonishing events. You too know about these events.
In your province - which enjoys religious, proud and brave people - many astonishing events have occurred in this regard. You know more about these events than I do. This province is considered as a top province in terms of the number of soldiers who fought in the war. Semnan is ranked one of the highest provinces in terms of the number of soldiers. Three thousand soldiers from this province were martyred - which is a lot considering the population of this province - and many people from this province went to the battlefield once or more in order to participate in the Sacred Defense.
A father goes to the battlefield with his two sons. Both of his sons are martyred in one day. He asks army officials the names of those who have been martyred. When they give him the names of the martyrs, he says, "These two are my sons". And he does not show any signs of sadness. He only says, "I want to speak to their bodies". And they take him to the bodies of his two martyred sons. This sounds like a legend. But it is a true story.
Three teenagers from Mehdishahr make a pledge. They promise that if one of them is martyred, he should intercede with God on the behalf of the other two. They were three teenagers and all three of them were martyred. You know their names. You have heard their story. These are among the events which will go down in history. These are not events which are erased from the memory of a nation.
A brave youth becomes disabled in the battlefield. After he is disabled, he continues to fight so much so that the other soldiers carry him off the battlefield on their backs. He keeps returning after recovery and becomes disabled many times. We have two such martyrs. One of them is Shahid Mahmud Akhlaghi - whose picture is on the wall - and the other is Shahid Shokatpoor. They joined the front lines while they were disabled and finally they were martyred. Certain families have two or three martyrs. This is a great source of honor.
All the achievements have been made because of the blood that your dear ones offered to the Revolution. Our national dignity, our scientific progress, our political independence, the statements of Imam Khomeini (r.a.) and the fact that our revolutionary values prevail, are all things that are not easily achieved on a national level. Putting up such a resistance on this path, making progress in different areas on a daily basis, changing from a weak, backward and forgotten nation to an outstanding nation at an international level are things that are not easily achieved. Even if we had not had these achievements, we would have been proud of the families of our martyrs, the brave efforts that they made and the glories that they achieved. Even without the achievements of the Revolution, the glories of the martyrs and their families will go down in history.
The Qaem Brigade, which was formed in 1365, carried out 25 offensive and defensive operations until the end of the war - over two and a half hears. This is not a joke. Twenty five operations! The soldiers of this province formed the Qaem Brigade in 1365. And before that people from Semnan, Shahrud, Damghan, Garmsar and from the entire Semnan province formed the Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) Army and the Imam Ridha (a.s.) Brigade and they joined the front line. Apart from this, from the time the Qaem Brigade was formed, it participated in 25 offensive and defensive operations. This shows the value of a popular unit. This shows the power of people's determination. This shows the patience of Iranian families. The Qaem Brigade played the most important role in Operation Mersad. I heard that the role of the Qaem Brigade was so important that without it, the enemy would have been able to advance to Kermanshah. The brigade which resisted was the Qaem Brigade. These events will go down in history.
During the war, the support groups and engineers of this province - yesterday in a public speech, I pointed out that these groups were affiliated with Construction Jihad - carried out outstanding work. What is reported to me is that they built 25,000 kilometers of roads and they built 4,000 kilometers of earthworks. How large these numbers are. It has been narrated that a 14, 15-year-old boy was sitting behind the steering wheel of a bulldozer and he was building earthworks. He was so small that one could not see him behind the steering wheel. Whenever he wanted to see what he was doing, he had to stand up. This boy built an earthwork by the morning. Where are these youth? They are among you. They are among the people of Iran. Where is their strong determination? Their determination makes up the determination of the Iranian nation and it will not be broken.
Some people were hoping that the Revolution would grow weaker over time. They can see that such a thing did not happen. Our determined people are the same determined people who stand firm and announce that they are not intimidated by the threats of the greedy global powers. These people and the youth who are behind them are the people who put up such a resistance.
Today, our young generation has faced the same tests that the young generation did during the war. Some people jump to conclusions when they witness that a girl or a boy behaves in an abnormal way on a certain street or in a certain place. They say, "Our young generation has become decadent". No, this is not true. During the war, there was also such abnormal behavior. Our young generation is a religious generation. It is difficult tests that show the true nature of a nation. Outstanding personalities of a country can show their role in the destiny of their country only when they face difficult tests.
One day in Shahrivar 1320, some armies entered the country from our eastern borders and some other armies entered our country from our western borders. A few airplanes also appeared in the sky. At that time, the armed forces of the country ran away from their camps. Not only did they not stay on the front line, but also those soldiers who were in their camps crept back into their homes and they hid there. In contrast, one day after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, Imam (r.a.) announced at 2:00 in the afternoon that the people should go and liberate Paveh from the clutches of the enemies. The late Shahid Chamran said to me, "As soon as Imam's (r.a.) message was issued on the radio, we - who were under the siege of the enemy - felt that the enemy is being defeated". After a few hours, a large crowd of people moved towards Paveh. On that day, I was going towards Imam's (r.a.) house at 4, 5 o'clock when I noticed that things were different. I saw a lot of people near military establishments - the ones which dispatched the people towards the front line. They were getting into cars to move towards the front line. Our people are the same people [who escaped from military camps in 1320], but their mentality has changed. They have values now. They are aware of their identity. They have self-knowledge now. They should continue to be like this.
This province enjoys many outstanding martyrs. The pictures of a number of them have been put up here. Shahid Shahcheraghi, Shahid Sayyid Kazem Musavi - who is one of the martyrs of the 7th of Tir - Shahid Sayyid Kazem Kazemi, Shahid Hassan Shokatpoor, Shahid Mahmud Akhlaghi, Shahid Hemati, the commander of the Peikan Frigate, Shahid Sayyid Ahmad Nabavi, Shahid Hassan Arab Ameri, Shahid Morteza Shadlu and many other martyrs belong to this province. Among the children of these outstanding martyrs, we can refer to Mr. Akhtari's children and Mr. Nasiri's children. They are very valuable and significant people. Your province is a glorious province in this regard. You should appreciate the value of this.
The dear youth should know that these are the things that establish the identity of a nation and a people. It is these things that establish the identity of a nation. If you build these things today, you will have a good future. Those people who made certain achievements and those nations which achieved certain glories, achieved them in this way. Of course, the majority the people of those nations were not at all hopeful about their personal destiny in afterlife. And many of them were not hopeful about the future. But you are hopeful. "Allah has purchased of the believers their persons and their goods. For theirs (in return) is the garden (of Paradise)" [The Holy Quran, 9: 111]. Allah the Exalted traded them paradise for their lives. "Do not exchange your lives for anything except paradise" [Nahjul Balaghah, saying 456]. Never exchange your valuable lives for anything other than paradise. Your lives are as valuable as paradise.
This is what matters for an individual: success in this world and the perspective of God's paradise. These things can be achieved through diligence, patience, piety and purity. They require untiring efforts. People endure certain hardships when the enemy creates obstacles. But the Holy Quran tells us not to be intimidated by these hardships: "And slacken not in following up the enemy: if you are suffering hardships, they are suffering similar hardships" [The Holy Quran, 4: 104]. If you suffer from certain hardships caused by the enemy, the enemy is also suffering from your resistance, patience and courage. But there is a difference: "But you have hope from Allah, while they have none" [The Holy Quran, 4: 104]. You have bright future prospects, but the enemy has none. This is the issue of martyrdom and jihad in Islam. If you make efforts, you will gain benefits in different ways and without suffering a loss. These efforts should be genuine efforts. They should be the kind of efforts which give your life meaning, determine your path, create bright future prospects for a nation and help an individual attain paradise. This is jihad and martyrdom in Islam. Nothing can replace this.
Dear God, bestow Your mercy and Your paradise on the immaculate souls of our martyrs. Dear God, bestow endless patience and great rewards on the dear families of our martyrs. Dear God, make us die as martyrs on Your path.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings