Winning Hearts And Minds

During the war, my mother lived in a town called Qazvin in Iran. She told me this story about her own personal experience, which I find very amusing and reminiscent of part of the efforts of the allies to win the hearts and minds of people all over the world.

My mother, Moloud Digini, was a child of 12 or 13 at the time. She told me that when she heard that the ally troops were coming to their neighbourhood, she was terrified and ran to hide in an old dried-out water well near her house.

She must have been noticed as she climbed down the well. She could hear the troops talking in a foreign language and this made her even more anxious as she did not know what they were planning. Eventually, they got her out. She was relieved to see that they were smiling. They gave her a chocolate bar and a pair of stockings. She was delighted to receive the stockings, as they were very expensive to buy. She led the party of troops to other people in the neighbourhood who were also wary of what would happen. She showed them her stockings and told them that the soldiers were friendly. A relaxed atmosphere followed. My mother also explained to me that other girls were also very pleased to see the ally troops who gave all the children chocolate bars and stockings to the girls.

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