Maryam Kashani

m.kashani@roozonline.com

We spoke to Parvneh Osanlu, the wife of Mansour Osanlu, famed labor activist who is on the verge of losing sight in his left eye while spending his third round of incarceration in the past two years at Evin Prison. Mrs. Osnalu’s wife says, “After two and half months, when we saw him for half an hour, his face was puffed up and he was complaining about his left eye, out of which he couldn’t see anymore.”

Osanlu’s eye sustained damage during his first arrest two years ago: “Because of a strike to his head, his retina was damaged. Then he got cataracts. He had an operation on his right eye, and his left eye was scheduled for operation this summer. But because of his arrest, the operation was postponed.”

Ten years ago, Osanlu was hired as a bus driver in Tehran. He was later promoted to an administrative position. But the story began when elections arrived. After the elections and the mobilization of bus driver union members, arrests and detentions followed.

For the family of a prisoner, this is “hard. Frightening. It is natural for a person to desire a peaceful and uninterrupted life. But on the other hand, I see that he is defending his rights. He is not doing anything illegal.”

Nonetheless, “most of the pressure is on his family. My second son, who is 17 years old, has many problems now. He loves his father very much and is attached to him. He needs his father at this age. Now he is depressed.”

The problems, however, have not affected the family’s affection for Osanlu: “We love him even more. He is a fair man. He is honest and never acts against the law.”

He wants to keep on going: “He says we have come this far, we have tolerated this much. Maybe officials will become more understanding.”

At the twenty minute long meeting, Osanlu’s mother cried for ten minutes. He needs an operation. She was afraid that he would die during the operation and she would never get to see him again. “Poor thing,” says Osanlu’s wife, “she thought things are in Osanlu’s hands, begging him to be released! Each of the kids spoke for 5 minutes. Then I got 5 minutes. What can you say in such a short time other than greetings?”

When it ended: “We were both happy and sad. Now we have nothing to do other than to count the days until Mr. Osanlu’s freedom.”