Aziz’s move to Barghan and my father’s remarriage caused severe conflicts between him and the people of Barghan. These conflicts had two main reasons; first, Aziz’s ex-husband and his relatives were living in Borghan and were influential there. Another reason was that my father had found work there and had become well-known; he was quite confident and dressed in a particular way, for example, he didn’t wear a hat, which the older generation considered a bad habit and criticized him for it.
These reasons created troubles and problems for our family. My father had separated from my Mash Reza (his business partner) some time before these events; he had started a caravan business and was working independently. The owner of that caravanserai was my maternal cousin, and he had a connection with Aziz’s ex-husband. When we brought Aziz to Barghan, he pressured her to “vacate the caravanserai.” His conflict with my father had roots in the past; his mother had been the wife of my paternal grandfather years ago. It seemed like my paternal grandfather married another woman who became my father’s mother, meaning my father was from the second marriage. The first wife divorced him before having children and went to Barghan to marry one of the wealthy individuals there. As a result, they had a longstanding grudge against my father and his family, and they interpreted any opposition as coming from them. In addition to the caravansary owner, the landlord also pressured us to “vacate.” In short, Barghan’s opposition gradually became public and intensified. They decided to practically attack us and wage a kind of war.
There was a coffee shop near the mosque where the locals were supposed to gather to make decisions and settle the matter; they wanted to evict us. My father was aware of their plans and sent me to gather information; he said, “Behind that coffee shop, there is a caravansary with a window facing the coffee shop. Go there, listen to their negotiations, and bring me the news.” I carefully positioned myself behind the window, so I could fully grasp the situation; I could both see and hear what was happening. People arrived and sat in groups, drinking tea, using narcotics, and chatting. They constantly insulted my father; one said we should throw his belongings out, another suggested we should get rid of them, who was a source of discord. In short, the atmosphere was very hostile; everyone was against us. Among them was someone who remained silent; he was one of the elders and wealthy individuals of Barghan with a very respected personality. He was known as Haj Aqabeg, and he just listened and slowly consumed narcotics, while others kept talking and he kept sipping tea. After everyone had expressed their opinions, Haj Aqabeg straightened himself up, put the tea and narcotics aside, which meant he was ready to speak. The others fell silent, and, as they say, “listened with their ears standing” waiting for him to speak.
He said, “I’ve thought about it, and I see that these gentlemen from Dorvan haven’t done anything to upset us. Has he married a woman? Well, what’s it has to do with us, Is he doing business? Well, let him do it, has he taken someone else’s job? Everyone is doing business; he’s doing it too. He hasn’t done anything wrong, hasn’t taken anyone’s property, hasn’t insulted anyone, and he’s not an unreasonable person. These gentlemen from Dorvan haven’t done anything wrong.” Haj Aqabeg emphasized the term “Dorvan” in a way that implied they should reconsider their actions since Dorvan people were known for their strong and sometimes violent nature, and the surrounding villagers respected them. Then, someone from one side said, “Yes, Haj Aqabeg is right, what does it have to do with us?” Another person from the other side said, “Yes, indeed, what do we have to do with these matters?” In short, the atmosphere completely changed. I got up and quickly went to convey the picture of the negotiations to my father. He said, “Let’s go to sleep; the matter is settled.”
The next day, my father said that to calm the situation, we had to vacate this house and caravansary. Barghan had a lot of endowed properties, from houses and gardens to shops and caravansary. My father secretly rented all of those properties, without anyone knowing. He went to Tehran as if he had information about those properties or the responsible office being there in Tehran. After that, we vacated the house and caravansary, and we moved to the places he had rented. The situation seemed calm on the surface, but in reality, a hidden struggle had begun. Since their initial plan hadn’t worked out, they were secretly fighting us. For example, they would stand in our way and divert the goods that were meant for us, saying that a we had left from there, and they were taking the goods themselves to another place. This situation lasted for four years and reached a point where my father couldn’t continue working. On the other hand, in 1940, I also separated from the family and went to Karaj, which meant I couldn’t support my father anymore.