For the Schoolgirls of Minab
i papered its walls, properly, / with pictures of heroes who / once held our humanity / high as a flag to fly freely / on dark days and days of woe / but all our heroes have died / and here and now / is our Time / of Woe . A poem by Séamas Carraher dedicated to the schoolgirls killed in Iran by the United States
“The American and Zionist aggression against Minab Elementary School will never be erased from the historical memory of our nation.”
Iranian President, Masoud Pezeshkian
“Based on what I’ve seen, it was done by Iran”
US President, Donald Trump
1
Listen.
Someone is hiding-out
in this hole in my head.
They dug it real-deep
with difficult books about
the future of humankind
not the profound catastrophe
of warheads
and ballistic missiles
nor the grim profits
of
greedy businessmen
and now never to be forgotten
these countless small
schoolgirls
the schoolgirls of Minab
(aged only
6 – 12 years old)…
2
So i sent my silenced songs
there to prepare our minds
for a future filled with wonder
one with no war nor wrath to
wound our soft sweet tissues nor
annoy these sensitive nerves.
i papered its walls, properly,
with pictures of heroes who
once held our humanity
high as a flag to fly freely
on dark days and days of woe
but all our heroes have died
and here and now
is our Time
of Woe.
3
i tried shelter there myself,
careless of the whispering
of dictators and death
but there
the schoolgirls of Minab
came to tell me
that truth is surely a
question with no need
for your answer
for here and now
is our Time
of Death.
4
The schoolgirls of Minab
come talk with me
they come to question
my quest for forgiveness,
my need for answers
for absolution, for redemption
these schoolgirls of Minab
from the Shajareh Tayyebeh school
from the all-small-girls elementary school
in the city of Minab,
in the province of Hormozgan
in the country of the peoples of Iran
please, do not to mention
their teachers, guardians, parents
“ eight women, one man”
Fatemeh Salari, 34 years old
Mahmoud Gholamyani, 35 years old
Mandana Salari, 29 years old
Fatemeh Taherifard, 29 years old
Samira Basarde, 38 years old
Roqayyeh Karimi, 42 years old
Marzieh Bashiri-far, 38 years old
Mohammadian Bahrami, 17 years old
Fereshteh Sangarzadeh, 44 years old
for here and now
is their Time
of Destruction…
5
Yesterday i whistled this song
like the schoolboy i once was
on his solitary way home
no Death, no Death Cult, no Destruction,
no Donald, No Dictator, No Disaster,
no Donald…
but
all the schoolgirls of Minab
were waiting at the door
waiting without arms or legs,
waiting where even
the light-itself was shredded
waiting without a body,
with a hand missing, a
schoolbag silenced
“I saw things like a small child’s hand
in the rubble, blood-stained backpacks,
homework scattered everywhere.”
6
Now we must all wait,
wait for the schoolgirls of Minab
to tell us
that truth is always a question
with no time left now
for an answer
no time left to say goodbye
no time to say what it must be like
to wake with no body, no past, no future?
to reach for the door
but all the doors
are closed?
for here and now
was the Time
of Detonation.
7
Look!
There are no bomb shelters
hidden in books
for these schoolchildren
no “terrorists” hidden in schoolrooms
no where to hide – no where to flee
no place to face the fury of
fire and metal and madness
no book big enough
no person strong enough
no God wise enough
to stop this missile
blast!
You understand?
Do you fucking understand?
For here and now
is the Time
of Monsters.
8
“No poetry – after Minab“
the wise ones will soon say
as if the philosophers of the future
will ever know
anything
of value
for here are only answers
without a single questions
for
here and now
is our Time
of Barbarism.
9
for all
the schoolgirls
of Minab
for all the small ones
still sheltering
from this storm
for all who must pay
the price for these fools
and fanatics
for all who must pay the
price for arms dealers
and other murderers
for these US-Tomahawk long-range-merciless-missiles
for billionaire oligarchs, and
the others, the rapists, the second-hand
car and real-estate dealers
all fraudsters, liars and louts,
all lethal, malicious, vicious
and malignant.
And for all
the schoolgirls
of Minab
here and now
is the Time
of Dictators.
10
Please listen
There is no one left
to hide, no heart
left to hold
there is nowhere to hide
in our head, no more,
no sanctuary, no refuge
not even the one dug deep
with difficult books on
the failures of humankind
the one that will soon forget
these small schoolgirls
the schoolgirls of Minab
11
only this one, here,
now, as deep as
the grave for
all the schoolgirls of Minab
this one with no hiding place
no forgiveness, no redemption
no absolution,
this one here and now
the one never to forget
these small schoolgirls
the ghosts of Minab.
séamas carraher
Sunday, 1 March – Friday, March 13,
https://seamascarraher.blogspot.com/
***
Online – The images [and names] of [some of] the Dead Children
Middle East Eye has collected the names and ages of some of those killed in the Shajareh Tayyebeh primary school strike
Middle East Eye – March 4, 2026
The Iranian daily Tehran Times, on March 9th, has also published a front page featuring photographs of children killed in the bombing at the primary school in Minab
News 18 – March 9, 2026
Alternative Quotes
“MINAB and TEHRAN, IRAN — Mohammed Shariatmadar stood outside the wreckage of the Shajareh Tayyiba girls’ elementary school in Minab… His six year-old daughter, Sara, a second grade student, was among dozens of girls killed when the school was bombed in the first few hours of the war launched by the U.S. and Israel on Iran.
“I cannot understand how a place where innocent children learn can be bombed like this,” Shariatmadar told Drop Site. “We are talking about small children who knew nothing of politics or wars. And yet they are the ones paying the highest price.”
Vijay Prashad (February 28, 2026):
“Having just formed the Board of Peace, the United States and Israel have begun the board’s first war, this time on Iran. The US-Israel attack launched early on February 28, on sites in Iran has already caused devastation, including the deaths of at least 60 little girls from an elementary school in Minab (Hormozgan Province), and dozens of others across the country. The latest estimates put the death toll at 201…”
A war that cannot be won: Israel and the United States bomb Iran
Peoples Dispatch – February 28, 2026
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian:
“This barbaric act adds another dark page to the chronicle of countless crimes committed by aggressors on this land, which will never be erased from the historical memory of our people. I strongly condemn this inhumane attack, express my condolences to the families of the victims, the residents of Minab, and the entire Iranian people, and share their deep sorrow…”
TASS News Agency – February 28, 2026
Malala Yousafzai
“Every child deserves to live and learn in peace.”
Twitter/X Post – February 28, 2026
References
As of March 12, the updated casualty figures from Minab, which have varied widely:
168 children & 14 adults
“Meanwhile, a preliminary Pentagon report confirms the U.S. was responsible for last week’s missile strike on an Iranian girls’ school that killed 168 children and 14 teachers.”
Democracy Now – March 12, 2026
the schoolgirls of Minab (aged only 6 – 12 years old)
As of 7th March – 1 week into the US-Israeli aggression
“Middle East Eye has collected the names and ages of some of those killed in the Shajareh Tayyebeh primary school strike” [with pictures of the dead children):
“Using sources including Iran’s Gymnastics Federation, a handwritten list and the Tasnim news agency, MEE has collected the names and ages of 61 of those killed in the strikes.
“The list includes 25 boys, 26 girls, eight women, one man and a two-month-old baby. These names are listed below.
- Hana Dehqani, eight years old
- Fatemeh Salari, 34 years old
- Reza Habashian, seven years old
- Arya Bahadori, nine years old
- Ali Asghar Zaeri, eight years old
- Zahra Bahrami, seven years old
- Ahmad Soltani, eight years old
- Hamed Par-ashegh-nezhad, seven years old
- Fatemeh Yazdan-panah, young girl, age unknown
- Mahdis Nazari, seven years old
- Athena Chamani-nezhad, six years old
- Amirghasem Zaeri, seven years old
- Fatemeh Dorazehi, 10 years old
- Arad Ahmadizadeh, eight years old, Minab boy
- Saman Karimzadeh, seven years old
- Fatemeh Shahdadi, age unknown
- Nadia Shahmiri, nine years old
- Parham Ranjbari, nine years old
- Mahmoud Gholamyani, 35 years old
- Fatemeh Rahdar, 10 years old
- Amir-Hassan Rasouli, eight years old
- Zahra Behrouzi, eight years old
- Mohammadhatam Raisi, 10 years old
- Asna Raisi, 12 years old
- Benyamin Jangjou, eight years old
- Mohammad-Sadra Zarei, eight years old
- Maryam Pazark, 10 years old
- Liana Mohammadi, seven years old
- Mandana Salari, 29 years old
- Sara Shayesteh, five years old
- Zoha Pasand, eight years old
- Esra Zakeri, nine years old
- Salma Zakeri, six years old
- Fatemeh Taherifard, 29 years old
- Zahra Ansari, seven years old
- Fatemeh Fadavi, 10 years old
- Mahna Zarei, two months old
- Athareh Zarei, 10 years old
- Alireza Zarei, nine years old
- Mohammadreza Shahsavari, eight years old
- Samira Basarde, 38 years old
- Ehsan Saleminia, six years old
- Fatemeh Zahra Karimi, seven years old
- Zeynab Bahrami, 10 years old
- Mohammad Shah-dousti, eight years old
- Reza Barani, seven years old
- Athena Ahmadzadeh, 10 years old
- Khadijeh Darvishi, nine years old
- Roqayyeh Karimi, 42 years old
- Reza Ranjbar, six years old
- Marzieh Bashiri-far, 38 years old
- Mohammad-Mehdi Chegini, 10 years old
- Mohammadian Bahrami, 17 years old
- Ali-Akbar Karyani Pak, eight years old
- Hananeh Mehdikhah, seven years old
- Fereshteh Sangarzadeh, 44 years old
- Mohammad-Ali Karyani Pak, seven years old
- Parsa Mokhtari-nasab, 12 years old
- Arina Arab-Kish, eight years old
- Makan Nasiri, 12 years old
- Esra Farahi-Zadeh, young girl, age unknown
Middle East Eye – March 4, 2026
Wikipedia – 2026 Minab school airstrike
Wikipedia – Minab School Strike
Who Bombed Girls’ School in Iran? Reporter Nilo Tabrizy on What We Know About Massacre, 175 Killed
Democracy Now – March 4, 2026 – Update
Video of US Tomahawk Missile over Minab
“We think it was done by Iran…” DJ Trump
U.S. Tomahawk Hit Naval Base Beside Iranian School, Video Shows
“The video, uploaded on Sunday by Iran’s semiofficial Mehr News Agency and verified by The New York Times, shows a Tomahawk cruise missile striking a naval base beside the school in the town of Minab on Feb. 28. The U.S. military is the only force involved in the conflict that uses Tomahawk missiles.”
New York Times – 8, March, 2026
The BGM-109 Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) – Munitions
“The TLAM-D contains 166 sub-munitions in 24 canisters: 22 canisters of seven each, and two canisters of six each to conform to the dimensions of the airframe. The sub-munitions are the same type of Combined Effects Munition bomblet used in large quantities by the US Air Force with the CBU-87 Combined Effects Munition. The sub-munitions canisters are dispensed two at a time, one per side. The missile can perform up to five separate target segments which enables it to attack multiple targets. However, in order to achieve a sufficient density of coverage typically all 24 canisters are dispensed sequentially from back to front.”
Translation:
At least 168 people – the majority: the schoolgirls of Minab – Dead.
Wikipedia – Tomahawk missile – Munitions
Iran holds mass funeral for girls, staff killed in US-Israel school attack
“Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday accused the US and Israel of killing the schoolgirls.
“These are graves being dug for more than 160 innocent young girls who were killed in the US-Israeli bombing of a primary school. Their bodies were torn to shreds,” Araghchi wrote on X, alongside an image of newly dug graves.”
“’This is how ‘rescue’ promised by Mr Trump looks in reality. From Gaza to Minab, innocents murdered in cold blood.’”
Role of AI (Palantir, Anthropic’s Claud mentioned in different media)
Children filled the school and park; the algorithm marked them for death
“Somewhere in a command center, an artificial intelligence system had scanned satellite imagery and street names, detected the word “police,” and flagged the location as a government target.
“Even if it were a police station, it would still be criminal aggression. However, it starkly exposes how callous algorithms (and those who deploy them) are in turning civilians into targets.
“Did a human analyst review the coordinates and pull up photographs showing playground equipment and picnic blanket? Or did the algorithm decide based on the data it was fed?
“Either way, the decision was executed. And Iranian families paid with their blood.”
References (Text)
(5)
no Death, no Death Cult, no Destruction,
no Donald, No Dictator, No Disaster,
no Donald…
“Trump blamed Iran for the Minab girls’ school bombing, as more evidence emerges it was the U.S. Trump denied reports that the U.S. bombed the elementary school in Minab, at which around 175 casualties have been reported, saying on Air Force One that,
“Based on what I’ve seen, it was done by Iran.”
His comments came as the investigative group Bellingcat said a newly released video appears to contradict Trump’s claim that Iran was responsible for the attack. The three-second clip of a video circulated Sunday by Iran’s semiofficial Mehr news agency shows a munition falling on a building. Trevor Ball of Bellingcat identified the munition as a Tomahawk cruise missile—which only the U.S. is known to possess in the war. Previous reports by the New York Times and Reuters also point to U.S. culpability for the deadly school strike.”
Drop Site News Daily – March 9, 2026
And:
Trump on X/Twitter – March 7, 2026
“I saw things like a small child’s hand
in the rubble, blood-stained backpacks,
homework scattered everywhere.” (Nilo Tabrizy)
Nilo Tabrizy on Democracy Now – March 4, 2026
(7)
And here and now
is the Time
of Monsters.
Attributed to Antonio Gramsci: “The old world is dying and the new world struggles to be born. Now is the time of monsters.”
Loose translation, commonly attributed to Gramsci by Slavoj Žižek, presumably formulation by Žižek (see below).
Also:
No, Žižek did not attribute a Goebbels quote to Gramsci
The Charnel House – July, 2015
(8)
here and now
is our Time
of Barbarism.
“Rosa Luxemburg said that the choice facing humanity was between ‘socialism or barbarism’.”
(9)
for all who must pay the price
for arms dealers and
murderers
Which US and Israeli military companies are profiting from the Iran war?
“Defence stocks reach all-time highs, driven by need to produce billions of dollars of weapons systems.”
‘We’re going to make a tonne of money’: US Senator Graham on US war on Iran
Al Jazeera – March 9, 2026AJ Mar 9 26
Finally: Hope for the future?
Arundhati Roy
“Any regimes that need changing, including the US, Israel, and ours, need to be changed by the people, not by some bloated lying…cheating, greedy, resource-grabbing, bomb-dropping imperial power and its allies who are trying to bully the whole world into submission.”
‘Iran is Not Gaza’: Acclaimed Writer Arundhati Roy
“International law matters precisely because departures from it can be identified, judged and condemned.
“The rubble of a girls’ school is not evidence that the law is meaningless; it is a stark reminder of why the law exists, and why insisting on compliance remains essential.”
The Conversation – March 2, 2026
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