TEHRAN -- It is time to feel proud of what we posses and who we are. These are the innermost thoughts of a young Iranian designer whose martyr images on T-shirts attract every passerby on the street.

Now it is the time for the post-war generation to get to know the concept of devotion, sacrifice and generosity. It is time for the world to see that Iranian youth are familiar with their masters and highly praise them.
T-shirts bearing the printed images of martyrs Ebrahim Hemmat, Mostafa Chamran, Mehdi Bakeri, Morteza Avini, and Ali Asemi are so dear to the young designer Omid Seifi.
The idea was sparked in Omid’s mind at the time he read the biography of martyr Avini narrated by his widow.
“We always think these people are so different from us, but this is not true. Martyr Hemmat was always happy and smiling. He was so brave, and was an individual like every one of us,” he told the Persian service of MNA.
Mohammad-Ebrahim Hemmat (1955-1983) was an Iranian commander during Iran-Iraq war. He was martyred in the Kheibar Operation.
“When I read a short biography of the martyr, I admired his character and thought of designing a T-shirt with his image. The idea came to my mind five years ago, but I did not have the means to actualize it at that time.”
Omid lives in Karaj, a city 40 kilometers west of Tehran. He was studying electronics in high school but was more interested in graphics and chose to study graphics at the university.
Omid and his friend Mohammad-Hossein Ghiasvand printed their first T-shirts with the images of the martyrs in 2007 while they were still studying at the University of Semnan.
“When I was wearing a T-shirt bearing the sign ‘my hero martyr Hemmat’ some thought the image was of a non-Iranian hero. However, when they learned Hemmat was one of our own, they were very surprised.
Some became highly interested and asked me to design some for them, he said, adding, “I even had one lady call me from Germany who ordered the same design, something that was extremely motivating for me.”
Printing images of professor Hesabi and (poet) Sohrab Sepehri are my next designs, he added.
Photo: Omid Seifi (2nd from right) with his friends clad in T-shirts bearing the designs of Iranian war heroes (Mehr/Mohsen Rezaii)