The Story of M. Musa (father)

Victims’ Names: Mohammad Sadiq and Saima

Date of Incident: April 21, 2015

Place of Incident: Darulaman Road, Kabul

I was at home when the explosion occurred. Mohammad Sadiq was swinging when his sister asked him to get her children from school. As they were walking on the pavement, Sadiq noticed a truck carrying six big gas containers getting closer. After the truck had passed them by a few meters, it turned towards the old parliament building and exploded. The explosives attached to the gas canisters killed and injured dozens of people. Saima’s hand and leg were cut off and we couldn’t find her leg. The shrapnel had pierced her younger brother’s abdomen, extruding his intestines and kidney. Mohammad Sadiq had pushed his nephew in the street gutter to save his life. He then managed to walk to a blacksmith and asked him take his nephew out of the gutter. Though Sadiq lost his life due to major burns, he saved his nephew’s life that day.

I took them to Istiqlal Hospital. My son, Sadiq, was transferred to the burn injuries section and my grandson was in my arms as I held his kidney and intestines in my hand. First, the doctors refused to admit him but when he opened his eyes and started moaning, they realised he was alive. They took him to the emergency section for surgery which took three days to complete. When we took my son and nephew to the hospital, we discovered that Saima was missing. Everyone started looking for her until we found her body in the Forensic Medicine Department. It was difficult to identify her because her entire body had been burned and injured by shrapnel. One of her legs had been cut off which we never found.

My son was alive for five days but had difficulty breathing because of major burns. When we were at the mosque for Saima’s funeral, Sadiq passed away in the hospital. We buried Sadiq on the 5th of Ramadan, just a few days after Saima. He was only 27-years-old when he was killed. He was our only breadwinner and was working as a freelance tailor. He used to buy fabrics to sew clothes and distribute in the market. He was married and left behind a daughter and a young wife who are now living with us. I gave his belongings to charity but left a few objects which I have decided to add to the Memory Box to keep his memories alive.