23 People refers to a group of Iranian

teenager Adolescence () is a transitional stage of 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 with the te ...

s who were captured by Iraqi forces in 1982 during the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations Security Council ...

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

Kerman Kerman ( fa, كرمان, Kermân ; also romanization of Persian, romanized as Kermun and Karmana), known in ancient times as the satrapy of Carmania, is the capital city of Kerman Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its population was 821,394, in ...

. 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 ( fa, سازمان هنری رسانه‌ای اوج; 'Owj' means ''Climax'') is legally a media non-governmental organization in Iran, active in launching campaigns, film production and distribution. Ideology and ...

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

. The film features actors such as Majid Potki, Reza Noori and Abolfazl Amiri (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 Operation Beit-ol-Moqaddas ( fa, عملیات بیت‌المقدس) or Operation Toward Beit-ol-Moqaddas () was an Iranian operation conducted during the Iran–Iraq War. The operation was a success, as it achieved its standing aim of libera ...

in different areas of the front. On May 24, 1982, with the

Liberation of Khorramshahr The battle of Khorramshahr, also known in Iran as the liberation of Khorramshahr ( fa, آزادسازی خرمشهر, translit=Âzâdsâzī-ye Khorramshahr) was the Iranian recapture of the city of Khorramshahr on 24 May 1982, during the Iran� ...

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...

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 International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

approval. The

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

i press produced

video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...

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 in 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 autobiog ...

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

Ali Khamenei Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei ( fa, سید علی حسینی خامنه‌ای, ; born 19 April 1939) is a Twelver Shia ''marja and the second and current Supreme Leader of Iran, in office since 1989. He was previously the third president o ...

, Supreme Leader of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, 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 ( fa, قاسم سلیمانی, ; 11 March 19573January 2020) was an Iranian military officer who served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). From 1998 until his assassination in 2020, he was the commander of the Quds F ...

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