Haunting Fear
Today
is the 13th of November 2006, and the sixth day after the Beit Hanoun
massacre. I arranged my thoughts and papers, took my camera and got
into the Islamic Relief car to head out there.
We were
going to check on some of the 144 sponsored orphans in Beit Hanoun who
are part of our Orphans Welfare Programme. These children had already
lost their fathers and now some have lost their mothers too. We also
have the painful task of identifying newly orphaned children whose
parents died in the artillery strike last week, which claimed 18 lives.
From the very first moment a terrible feeling of fear
haunts me. Although I have not visited Beit Hanoun for a while there is
no mistaking it when you reach your destination.
Welcome to Beit Hanoun
The
scenes of destruction and devastation which greet us at the entrance of
the town and on both sides of the road are clear signposts. The sight
shakes us to the bone. Farms have been destroyed, cars crushed and
seemingly all signs of life have been erased.
My
heart freezes when I see the heaps of ruins where homes had stood.
Above each pile I imagine the memories of the departed, painted with
the fear of children and the stench of death as the laments of women
echo around me.
At the entrance of the square where the
Al Athamnah extended family used to live, the destruction steals our
breath away. It is as if an earthquake has struck, and the smell of
blood hangs heavy in the air.
Five Orphans
The
first home we visit is that of Basem Kasem. He was killed on his
doorstep as he stood shouting for an ambulance for the injured. Basem
was the father of five little girls, and his 23-year-old wife is due to
give birth this month. His youngest daughter, Manar is only 20 months
old. We register all of the girls onto the Orphans Programme, which
will help to support the family.
Angel
As we walk slowly down the street, each step brings us to another
story. The house next door belonged to Mrs. Ne'ma Al Athamnah, who was
killed along with her daughter Sana'. Both were widows and the only
guardians of their orphans. Mrs. Ne’ma’s daughter, 13-year-old Asma is
one of our sponsored orphans. Orphan Welfare staff had visited the
family just eight days before the attack.
Mrs. Ne'ma’s
18-year-old daughter, Umayh had to have her leg amputated. Her other
leg and an arm were broken and she is still in hospital in Egypt.
Umayh’s husband was killed. He left behind their lovely 2-year-old girl
called Malak, meaning ‘angel’. This young angel was wounded by
fragments on the day her father was killed, leaving scars on her face
and shards in her eye.
Muhammed’s Tragedy
Mrs.
Ne’ma’s widowed daughter Sana’ was raising her four children alone. Her
2-year-old son Muhammed Sami has faced a great deal of tragedy in his
short life. His father died of cancer last year and his mother was
killed in this attack. Muhammed himself is in hospital unable to walk
due to his injured legs and fragment wounds. His sisters, aged 5 and 8,
were also wounded. His older sister, aged 13, was already sponsored.
All of the children have now been registered onto the programme.
Horror
A
group of women gathered around us, each of them trying to tell her
piece of the horrific story which tore their lives to pieces. They
throw it all at us, to bring it together.
Nisreen,
Nem'a's daughter said, "My mother, Manal, and Fatima Masoud - the three
of them turned to piles of burnt and torn flesh. We recognized them
from pieces of their clothes which were stuck to their flesh."
A
sandy path separates the houses of the brothers Sa'd and Masoud Al
Athamnah from that of their cousin. Nine shells fell on their house.
The
victims of the first shell were the grandmother, Fatima Al Athamnah,
78, her son Masoud, 52, his wife Sabah, 40, his children, Samir Masoud,
23, and Fatima, 18. Masoud left behind his 17-year-old daughter,
Intifada, who is partially paralysed and in a wheelchair.
This
short list of names cannot convey the tragic impact of their deaths or
the horror of their last moments of life. They died screaming and
calling for help.
Brothers
The
sound of the first explosion brought all of the family’s thirty members
hurrying up the path between the houses. This is when the second shell
hit. It killed three teenage brothers - Mohammed, 16, Mahdi, 17, and
Arafat,18, the sons of Sa'd and Hayat Al Athamnah.
Mrs
Hayat stood firm as a rock as she told us how her children died. "I saw
Mahdi. I called him but there was no answer, so I said, ‘May Allah rest
your soul’. I then saw my son Mohammed. His body was burned and I
called him, but there was only silence, so I said, ‘May Allah rest your
soul’.
"I ran to a nearby alley to escape
the shelling, there I found Arafat.” He was severely injured. “I said
‘Arafat, my baby, go with your brothers, they have all left.’” He
pulled up his head and looked down at his wounds. “He was alive and
looking at me. He passed away in the hospital.”
Another
shell killed her grandson, Mahmoud Al Athamnah, aged 12, and his cousin
Ahmed, 10, as they lay sleeping in their room on the fourth floor.
Five More
At
the home of Mohammed Al Athamnah, the cousin of Sa'd and Mas'oud, we
heard more of the tragedy. Mohammed was killed as he rushed out to call
for an ambulance – he left five children orphaned.
Mrs
Hayat found the severed hand of her grandson, Mohammed, lying on the
sandy path - "I recognised it by the watch wrapped around his wrist.”
His brother, Mohanned, another sponsored orphan, received fragment
injuries all over his body. His sister and mother were also injured.
Twenty-Two
In
total, we counted another twenty-two orphans in Beit Hanoun who will
need financial help and support as they grow up without the security of
their father’s care.
We took leave of them all, and of
Beit Hanoun. But the orphans remain in that tragic town, with traumatic
memories of a day in November which changed their lives forever.
Extracts from diary of Maysara Al Shaer, Orphans Welfare Officer
Additional information from Nisreen Al-Lamadany, Beit Hanoun Social Worker
All
twenty-two orphans in this article have been successfully sponsored by
Islamic Relief donors through the Orphans Welfare Programme. Plans are
underway to provide psychological support for all of the traumatized
children of Beit Hanoun.