Abbas Was Martyred and Left Me Alone with Sorrows

Narrator: Zahra (mother)

Victim: Abbas Mohammadi

Date of the incident: 23 July 2016

Location of the incident: Dehmazang, Kabul City

Abbas always left for work early in the morning, but on the day of the demonstration, no matter how much I called him, he would not wake up. I attended to the house chores, but he still didn’t wake up. I called him again, but he told me he was tired and wanted to rest. When he woke up, he asked his wife for his white clothes, but his wife did not give him the clothes. He got angry and kicked her, saying, “Every day my mother ironed my clothes. Today she has washed clothes and is tired. ” I calmed him down. His wife ironed the clothes and gave them to him. Abbas called and said he wanted to wear the new slippers he had bought the day before. He called me and said, “Mother! If there is anything left from the Eid cookies, bring me some. I am very hungry for cookies.” I quickly brought him some cookies. When having tea, he said, “Mother, I don’t feel interested in work today.” I said it’s good for you to go to work. I gave him a new handkerchief as he was leaving the house. Around noon, we were sitting at the table and having lunch, and I told his sister in-law, “I feel very restless today. Please call Abbas.” When she called Abbas, he did not pick up the phone. A few minutes later, he called and said he was in Dehmazang waiting for the demonstration to come to an end.

We ate lunch and put away the tablecloth. At 1:24 pm, I got the news that there had been an explosion. I immediately called his number but he didn’t answer. I was beating myself and crying. His father wouldn’t let me leave the house because I could not control myself. I told him, “Let me go. My son has been martyred.” I kept crying and screaming until the next day, but it was pointless. The next morning, at 10:00 am, Abbas was taken to the mosque. I went there and saw Abbas. I passed out when I saw his body. When I regained consciousness, I asked everyone where Abbas was. They said they had taken him to the cemetery for burial. He has two children, a seven-year-old girl, and a two-year-old boy. His wife is also pregnant. Soon after Abbas was martyred, less than forty days after, his wife’s family came to find their daughter and took her away. I pleaded with her not to go. I said it is your house, and you are like my daughter, but she did not listen to me. She went and left her children behind. She said she would also bring us the new child after birth. She listened to her father, who wanted her to go to his house. We live in the same alley. Now, I feel hopeless for this innocent child crying at night and calling for his mother. I don’t know what my daughter in-law’s family told her to make her leave the children and go to her father’s house. Abbas was martyred and left me alone with such sorrows.