How Do We Become Traitors to the Nation?

TEHRAN (Iran News) He was born on September 12, 1943, in Colombo, Sri Lanka (formerly known as Ceylon). In 1954 he migrated to England, and then in 1962 moved to Canada, where he became a Canadian citizen. He began his career with poetry and published his first collection of poems in 1967. Gradually, he moved toward novel writing, though poetry has always remained present in his works. He is one of the main members of the group of writers known as the “Toronto School,” which had a major influence on postmodern Canadian literature.

His most famous work is the novel The English Patient, published in 1992, which in the same year won the prestigious Booker Prize. In 1996 it was adapted into a successful film by Anthony Minghella, which won 9 Academy Awards. This book has also been published in Iran under its true title, The English Patient.

The central themes of the novel revolve around four aspects: Love and loss, Identity and national belonging, The impact of war on human beings, and Memories of the past.

The psychological dimensions of the characters in this book are adapted by the author to their environmental circumstances, and the causes of their inclination toward betrayal of their fellow human beings are explained. This same type of psychological–behavioral tendency had always been the basis of MI6 operations in Iran even before the victory of the Islamic Revolution.

It should be mentioned that the “manufacturing of traitors” by this intelligence service began throughout the region with Britain’s control of the East India Company — and it has continued for almost 200 years.

After World War I, Britain’s looting and colonialism across the world became increasingly troubling for the newly rising power of the United States. Perhaps the most sensitive president of the U.S. in this regard was Thomas Woodrow Wilson (Democrat). His sensitivity led to interference in the political affairs of other countries by inciting people to form organizations against British interests, namely “the National Front.”

In response, Britain resorted to deception. As Mahmoud Mahmoud points out in The History of Iran–Britain Relations, in order to maintain its influence in various countries, Britain established neocolonialism — replacing the presence of its own blue-eyed officials with locally trained and subservient individuals. This was done solely to deprive the rising United States of any pretext to accuse Britain of colonialism.

Those who join Britain’s circle of alliance generally have a few characteristics:

Religious Weakness: Either they have no religious beliefs at all, or they show weakness in this domain.

Lack of National Identity and Patriotism: They do not feel true loyalty to their homeland.

Moral/sexual vulnerability: They are weak in sexual matters and, as the saying goes, provide “leverage” (Leverage or ammo) for the enemy.

Economic Insecurity: They lack financial self-confidence, so either they depend on foreigners and become paid agents, or they fall into corruption — and this corruption becomes another source of leverage for the enemy.

In The English Patient, such individuals are always searching for a “sugar daddy” or some kind of external figure to rely on.

To avoid prolonging this article, let me summarize: The root of treachery lies within the individuals themselves, but foreign intelligence services manage to exploit these weaknesses and successfully turn them into traitors against the interests of their own nation.