Memories of Akbar Hashemi - May 12, 2002

The Shahid Rajaei Dam power plant has not been installed yet, and the tourism project around the lake has also been handed over to storage. The water cascading from the dam's spillway presents a very magnificent view.

Complete text of the daily report:

We set off towards the Shahid Rajaei Dam at eight o'clock in the morning. At the dam site, Mr. Bagher MirTabar, the operations manager, provided explanations. He said that since your call in 1997, people from all over the country have been continuously visiting this dam and its beautiful surroundings and praying for you. He mentioned that in the first two years of operation, which coincided with a drought, all the costs of the dam were covered. Since that year, the people of the area have not felt a shortage of water at all. The power plant of the dam has not been installed yet, and the tourism development plan around the lake has also been shelved. The water cascading from the dam's gate has a very magnificent view.

From there, we continued towards the Firuzkuh road via the rural mountain roads. About 10 kilometers were unpaved, and the rest was asphalt and very picturesque. We stopped in some villages. I talked to the villagers. They usually complain about unemployment, high prices, and the prohibition of using the forests. Next to the city of Pol-Sefid, we entered the Firuzkuh road. We had lunch at a farm near Damavand; the [guards] had prepared kebabs in advance. It is a beautiful and quiet place. An Afghan who was taking care of the place said that the farm belongs to Mr. Jahaanbakhsh.

We went to my office. I took the remaining tasks and came home. We arrived at five in the afternoon. Efat also arrived at seven. They had been guests for lunch at Dr. Mohammadzadeh's house - in Sari. In the evening, Mohammad and Sara came. Mohammad [Lahouti, Fati's son-in-law] reported back from his trip to Japan; he had gone with Mehdi.

Today, the European Union was unable to make a decision on its economic cooperation policy with Iran during the meeting of foreign ministers and postponed it to the next session. They are under pressure from the United States and the Zionists.

A newspaper in Afghanistan reported that a missile was fired at the aircraft carrying [Gerhard Schröder], the Chancellor of Germany, in northern Afghanistan, but it did not hit. The failure of the interim Afghan government in combating opium cultivation is noteworthy, as well as the hitting of two missiles at U.S. and British military centers, the killing and arrest and injury of a number of Palestinian people, and the audacity of Israel and the inaction of Western governments are also noteworthy.