**In the name of God, of the Pen and of Expression**
Journalist’s Day is a day to honor responsible pens, awakened minds, and those who, with commitment, honesty, and courage, recount the truth. A journalist is like a lamp that neither storm can extinguish nor darkness can penetrate. The seventeenth of Mordad (August 8) is a day we have drawn from the heart of history so that we may honor those who have made a stronghold of the word.
The journalist is the guardian of awakening and the living conscience of society. Standing amid the storm of events, the journalist has seen, heard, and written. In the wise tradition of this land, the pen has always been watered with the blood of the heart, and the journalist is the trustee of this heritage.
What is less often recalled is that, in the days of trial for this ever-proud homeland, the journalist opened a front without firearms, yet was never unarmed. In the days of war, when the enemy charged and fire rained down, there were men and women who made a weapon of the pen and a shield of the word. Journalists opened another front against the enemy—a front on which they shattered the enemy’s falsehood with reality and neutralized the oppressor’s deceit with their truth-telling.
Therefore, on this honored day, while commemorating the martyrs of this field, from the depths of our hearts we bow in respect to all of you who have made the pen the banner and the pillar of the tent of dear Iran. May the lantern of your awareness always remain alight.
Seyed Mohammad Hashemi Kia
CEO and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, Petrofarhang Holding