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Another Eleven Afghan Children Have Been Wiped
Out :
U.S.
cannot
Understand that Money can't Pay for
Children's Deaths
Understanding the Failure of America in
Afghanistan
[Published with specific permission of the
author.]
Apr 24, 2003
By Yvonne Ridley
[Ridley made international headlines in 2001 when
she entered Afghanistan and
was held captive by the Taliban. She was
eventually released and became a
Muslim as the result of her experience.]
Eleven Afghan children have been wiped out in an
air strike on their home by
blundering Americans looking for Osama bin Laden.
One grieving mother, who
has lost all of her nine children, has been given
less than 10,000 dollars in
blood and hush money and an apology from the US.
Sawara and Mawes Khan had put their nine children
to bed after evening
prayers in the family home they shared with Mawes
brother Sardar, his wife
and their seven children . . . hours later their
lives changed forever when a
laser-guided missile demolished the house.
American Special Forces operating
in the Paktika district of southern Afghanistan
were convinced they had hit a
Taliban stronghold.
The US soldiers were on the scene within minutes
and beat back would be
Afghan rescuers saying there were Taliban inside.
But by day break, as the
corpses of 11 children lay in a neat row in the
demolished courtyard, the
Americans began to realise the full extent of
their mistake.
After removing twisted chunks of metal from the
missile, the soldiers
apologised to the villagers of Bermil and took
away evidence of the bomb to
their base three miles away, near the
Pakistan
border at Shkin.
Sawara said: "Some say I am a lucky to be alive
but I am not a survivor. I
can't count myself blessed. I am also a dead
person now. "I am dead inside.
All my children have gone. My two-year-old boy
Hazrat was crushed to death as
he lay in my arms. "It is like hell has visited
our home. I heard a jet
flying low and thought there was too much noise,
and then there was nothing.
"The next thing I knew I was buried in wood, soil
and stone. My nephew was
shouting at me and digging around me. Then the
Americans arrived. "They
pulled everyone away until sunrise then they
removed what was left of their
missile, said sorry and left. On Tuesday I had a
family and by Wednesday I
had nothing."
Swara, a stunning-looking woman with high cheek
bones and emerald eyes,
pulled her red cloak over her braided head to
cover her face. She said she
hadn't cried yet, but it was obvious her pain and
grief are ready to erupt.
Her anger at America forces is understandable.
"I heard cries from my
daughter Irana and if the rescuers had been let
in may be she could have been
saved. I will never know. "The pain I have will
never go away."
Local Afghans in Bermil are outraged by the
blunder and as news of it spread
through the Paktika region, a senior delegation
from the Afghan Interim
Government arrived by helicopter with US
military.
After landing at the US base in Shkin, a
15-vehicle convoy including 50 armed
guards rolled up to Bermil with the delegation
including the Governor of
Paktika Mohammed Ali Jalali and Shahzada Masoon,
the personal adviser to
Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's interim leader. The
officials asked to see the
Khan brothers who had lost 11 children between
them. Mawes and Sardar Ali
were then given an apology and 500,000 Afghanis
worth around 10,000 US
dollars. Four of the injured received the
equivalent of 250 US dollars each
before the delegation departed with a promise to
rebuild the Khan Brothers'
home.
"The Americans said 'we did a wrong and we
mis-targetted'. What good are
their words? I have lost everything. My nine
children, my home and my
animals," said Mawes, aged 45. He added:
"Nothing will ever be able to
compensate me for the loss of my family. How can
you put a price on a human
body? Please tell the world what has happened
here. We can do nothing for
ourselves; we are very poor, simple people. "All
I know is that the Americans
make mistakes and then apologise. But they can
not buy our silence. An Afghan
life is worth just the same as an American life,
the same as any life," said
Mawes. He was working through the night at a
nearby hostel when he heard an
explosion. He had no idea that it was the sound
of his home taking a direct
hit. "There has been a lot of fighting around
here between the Taliban and
the Americans. They are searching for Osama bin
Laden but everyone knows he
is not here. "When I heard the bomb drop I had no
idea my home had been hit
until I arrived in the morning and it was gone.
"The Americans were removing
their missile bits and said sorry, then they
left."
When he walked in to the demolished courtyard
Mawes saw the corpses of nine
of his children lying next to two of their dead
cousins. His daughters Irana,
6, Fatima, 7, Hassana, 10, Bakhmala, 15, Marama,
20, and Bibi 25, were buried
last Thursday with their brothers Hazrat, aged
two, Noor Wali, five and Sheer
Wali, aged 11. Their cousins Syed, two, and
20-year-old Marama, children of
Sardar Ali and Zarbakhta Khan were buried in the
same service at Bermil
village cemetery.
Huge sobs and wails could be heard from many of
the 2000 men who arrived for
the Muslim service as the 11 bodies, covered in
white shrouds were placed in
separate graves.
The areas police commander Gul Mohammed, said he
and his men helped the
family dig the graves because there were so many.
Policing in his district
has become increasingly difficult in recent weeks
because of the American
Special Forces presence, and this bombing has
increased the tension.
The Khan's nephew also called Gul Mohammed, stood
at the graves and said:
"They are all
Shahids (martyrs),
every one of
them. They are all innocents,
victims of US bombs. "Before they were buried I
looked at their faces and
they seemed so normal. Their bodies were intact
and they looked as though
they were sleeping. "The bodies of my cousins are
now lying here and I still
can not believe it."
In Bermil Village, which is less than a stone's
throw from the Pakistan
border, many of the families are suffering from
shell shock and side effects
of the bombing. Neighbouring homes have also been
structurally damaged.
Orphan Rahim Ullah, 14, who was taken in by the
Khan's five years ago, nursed
a badly injured amr which was still bleeding when
we arrived on Thursday. His
cousin, Izatullah, 12, had suffered a head
injury. Both were still numb and
dazed by the air strike. The injuries of other
victims, including pensioners
Mohammed Amir Khan and Khan Zaman are less
obvious. Both men are now deaf and
blind from the blast. "They have received
nothing, not even an apology," said
Mawes who, despite his own loss, took time to
comfort the two elders who were
sitting hunched, sobbing and shaking. Scores of
others are clearly
traumatised by the bombing but the nearest
hospital is in the neighbouring
province of Gazny, a 12 hour drive away. Any
practical medical help and
long-term counselling is unlikely. Few aid
agencies work in the area which is
regarded as extremely dangerous and the UN
recently suspended all operations
because of "deteriorating security" following the
murder of an International
Red cross delegate in nearby Oruzgan last month.
Westerners are thought to be particularly
vulnerable as pockets of Taliban
fighters and Al Qaeda cells are still active.
So-called 'night letters' have
been distributed offering $100,000 US dollars for
the death of a Westerner.
Death threats have also been issued to any
Afghans helping foreigners in the
region. A pirate radio station called Radio
Resistance, also issues similar
threats during illegal broadcasts in the southern
part of Afghanistan.
The presence of American Special Forces in the
district is clearly unwelcome.
One villager said: "They come and go and ignore
us as though we are animals
underneath their feet. "If they left so would the
fighters who only come here
because they want to kill Americans. The
Americans say they want to get Bin
Laden but instead they kill us. "The Americans
have made too many mistakes.
They are not welcome. "Tell the world what they
are doing here. They are
trying to keep us silent and keep their mistakes
quiet so no one will find
out. Please let someone knows."
Another villager, who also asked to remain
anonymous, added: "Everyone is
afraid of the Americans. We just wish they would
go. They have done nothing
to improve our lives. They openly cause us pain
and sadness. "We need Peace
Keepers here, not
Americans
who pay more for
their bombs than they do their
mistakes."
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2003-05-03 Sat 08:47ct