Speech to the People of the Nomadic Village of Papi, Lorestan Province

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Thanks be to God, Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings upon our Master and Prophet, Abul-Qasim Muhammad, and his pure and chosen progeny, especially the remainder of God on earth.

We are very pleased to visit you, dear brothers of the Papi nomads and other tribes present here. On our way, we also visited the graves of some of your martyrs, who were evidently from the Papi tribe. We are very grateful for the gathering of you dear brothers here and for the affection you have shown towards me and my accompanying brothers.

Nomads across the country are among the best people in terms of sacrifice, courage, and bravery. No one doubts that nomads have sacrificed for Islam and the Islamic homeland. Anyone who denies this denies the obvious.

Under the oppressive regime, nomads suffered both material and cultural oppression, and their needs in terms of schools, culture, and roads were not met. This is the road we have now come to see. That oppressive regime, which had no interest in the issues of the deprived classes of the country, was never willing to go and observe the issues of the nomads up close. They wanted everything for themselves. That regime was good with some elements of the nomads—those bigwigs who had no connection with the nomadic masses—but had no dealings with the nomadic people.

I have visited nomads in Fars Province, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, and Sistan and Baluchestan Province; wherever I visited the nomads, I saw that their living conditions, roads, migration routes, and food supply were difficult, and some of the items they need—sugar, rice, and oil—must come from the city. God willing, you will never need city supplies; rather, you should truly be able to supply and support them so that this nation does not depend on foreigners. Nomads want their children to go to school, but it is difficult. Among these nomadic youths, there are very talented individuals; I have seen it myself. During the dark years of the Pahlavi regime—may God increase their torment day by day and gather them with the devilish figures of history—the problems of the nomads persisted, but after the revolution, much work was done; however, the amount of work done is far from the amount needed. Much more effort must be made for the nomads; it is a duty. Thanks be to God, I now see that the officials are sympathetic and interested in your work and are pursuing it; we hope they can solve the problems.

What creates all these problems across the country is the enmity of this global arrogance, this criminal and treacherous America and its allies. The main cause of our country's misfortunes is them and their mercenaries. They are enemies of Islam and our nation, which is a Muslim and believing nation. This imposed war, which the Iraqi regime and the vile Saddam Hussein waged against our nation for eight years, was in fact instigated by the enemies to occupy everyone with themselves.

Nomads performed well in the war. I saw the nomads—whether your nomads, the nomads of Ilam, or the nomads of Fars—on the battlefield, how they came to the war scene with faith and enthusiasm and performed well; they have many martyrs too.

If this war had not happened, where would the nation's and government's money have been spent? Certainly, it would have been spent on development. Whatever has not been spent on development in these ten years is America's fault, the arrogance, the eastern and western powers, Saddam, and the likes of them. They did not allow the Islamic Republic to do what it aspires to and wants.

Of course, our people everywhere—in the nomads, in the city, in the village—are believers. Thank God that Islamic faith has penetrated and influenced hearts. People rose for God and for religion. People had no material motivation in their uprising. All material analyses were refuted by our people's uprising. People rose for God; you too should remain on the scene for God, and be vigilant against the enemies. The enemy wanted to renew the same criminal situation of the oppressive regime. I hope God rewards you and grants you His favor and satisfaction.

Thanks be to God, we had the opportunity to see this area with our own eyes. I had previously sent people to examine the area. We must do whatever we can for the people; whether for you dear ones in this area or for other dear ones in other parts of the country. We are obliged, it is our duty, and we owe no one. If we have the opportunity to serve, the Almighty God has bestowed a favor upon us. We hope God grants you success and keeps you safe.

Representatives from all the tribes of Lorestan are present in this gathering. Of course, the nomads of this area are the main population; that is, the majority are these Papi tribes; others have come from other areas. Now, when the brothers who have come from other areas return, they should convey our greetings to the rest of our nomadic brothers and sisters. You dear brothers who are here, God willing, may you be blessed with divine success. We hope this visit is not in vain and without blessing. We entrust you to God and hope that God keeps you safe.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings