23 People refers to a group of Iranian

teenager Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated wi ...

s who were captured by Iraqi forces in 1982 during the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

. They ranged in age from 13 to 17 years old at the time, and they were members of the Tharallah Brigade of

Kerman Kerman (; ) is a city in the Central District (Kerman County), Central District of Kerman County, Kerman province, Kerman province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. History Kerman was founded as a def ...

. A famous book was written about the subject and based on the memoirs of Ahmad Yousefzadeh (one of the captives), ''Those 23 People'', which was published by Soore Mehr Publication. A film based on the events and Ahmad Yousefzadeh's book, '' 23 People'', was released in 2019. It was produced by Mehdi Jafari and sponsored by

Owj Arts and Media Organization Owj Arts and Media Organization (; 'Owj' means ''Peak'') is legally a media non-governmental organization in Iran, active in launching campaigns, film production and distribution. Ideology and affiliation The organization's works have been descr ...

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

. The film features actors such as Majid Potki, Reza Noori and

Abolfazl Amiri Abu al-Fadl or Abu'l-Fadl () is an Arabic male given name which also occurs in place-names. It means ''father of virtue''. It is variously transliterated as Abu'l-Fadl, Abu'l-Fazl, Abul Fazal etc. It is also used in Iran and Azerbaijan, usually in t ...

(who was present in this film as a stuntman under the supervision of Mr. Bahmani).

Event

The 23 teenagers were captured during Operation Beit ol-Moqaddas in different areas of the front. On May 24, 1982, with the

Liberation of Khorramshahr The Second Battle of Khorramshahr, also known in Iran as the Liberation of Khorramshahr () was the Iran, Iranian recapture of the city of Khorramshahr on 24 May 1982, during the Iran–Iraq War. The city had been Battle of Khorramshahr (1980), ...

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

attempted to use them for his benefit. He had the teenagers separated from other Iranian captives and brought them to his palace, where he reportedly sympathized with them, his daughter Hala Hussain giving them flowers. Hussein said they were released with

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

approval. The

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

i press produced

video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...

s and photographs of the teens and published them alongside a famous quote by Hussein, "کل اطفال العالم اطفالنا" (all the children in the world are ours). They remained in

captivity Captivity, or being held captive, is a state wherein humans or other animals are confined to a particular space and prevented from leaving or moving freely. An example in humans is imprisonment. Prisoners of war are usually held in captivity by a ...

until August 26, 1991.

Adaptations

The event has been adapted into a book and a film, and the teens appeared on TV.

Book

''Those 23 People'' was published based on the

memoirs A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobio ...

of Ahmad Yousefzadeh, one of the captives, by Soore Mehr Publication.

Ali Khamenei Ali Hosseini Khamenei (; born 19 April 1939) is an Iranian cleric and politician who has served as the second supreme leader of Iran since 1989. He previously served as the third President of Iran, president from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei's tenure ...

Supreme Leader A supreme leader or supreme ruler typically refers to powerful figures with an unchallenged authority, such as autocrats, dictators to spiritual and revolutionary leaders. Historic examples are Adolf Hitler () of Nazi Germany, Francisco ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, expressed his appreciation to Yousefzadeh in a letter.

TV program

From June 25 to 26, 2015, the 23 were invited as guests on the '' Mah-e Asal'' show.

Film

In 2019, a film, '' 23 People'', based on the book was produced by Mehdi Jafari and sponsored by

in Tehran. In October 2018, General

Qasem Soleimani Qasem Soleimani (; 11 March 1957 – 3 January 2020) was an Iranian military officer who served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). From 1998 until Assassination of Qasem Soleimani, his assassination by the United States in 2020, h ...

attended the movie's release and met with members of the cast and crew on location in Iran's capital. Yusefzadeh and some of the other teen captives attended the movie along with the cast and crew. Yusefzadeh said, “We were absolutely thrilled with this movie.... By watching the film, we didn’t know whether to cry or to be happy, because everything was very real in the film.”

References