Qasem Instead of Hossein

Qasem Instead of Hossein
When he learned that they had taken Hossein, he went quickly to the Gendarmerie. “Brother, what are you doing here?” “The Gendarmerie needed additional forces, so they brought us in to join the army.”
It all stemmed from Sarkhan, the village elder, who had little regard for religious people. He had schemed to recruit young men, including the eldest son of the Soleimani family—Hossein, who had just recently married. Qasem leaned close to his brother and whispered for him to go home. He would take Hossein’s place in the army.
When Sarkhan’s group noticed Hossein, they urged the Gendarmerie to take him. At that time, Kerman was calling for a hundred soldiers, so they lined up all the men again. Hossein stood in front of Qasem as the names of the one hundred were read. Those whose names weren’t called were exempted from service. Though Qasem’s name wasn’t read, he went to Hossein once more. “Brother, leave now. I’ll go in your place.”And so, Qasem entered military service under Hossein’s name.Narrator: Colonel Khalili, former commander of the Bam Corps
Audio Source: Interview from the Hamasa Cultural Institute archives