Survivor's Account of a Tragic Incident

It was dark, and we sat there watching, watching, watching now.

Because we were beside each other, and it fell— the shrapnel fell, and it fell.

It was dark. I said, “That’s it, we’re finished now.”

You see, I swear, I was even saying the Shahada out loud

loudly

so everyone could hear.

It was, it was dark, and it was

shouting and screaming, people crying out, “Please, please!”

I found a woman by the perfume shop.

She was screaming, saying, “Please, please, don’t leave me. Please!”

“Please, I need someone to help me,” holding out her hand like this.

I left my friend and went to her.

I wanted to save her. I wanted to carry her like this, she was, everything

was torn apart, everything was broken. I wanted to carry her, I wanted to carry her.

I wanted to lift her off the ground, but I didn’t know how.

Everyone was screaming, everything was hazy, glass everywhere, everything.

Then I came back, by God’s grace, I came back, but I let her move.

Then I came back, I came back, by God’s grace. I went out through the door,

and found someone

showing us the way. He said, “Please, please, at—

I’m by this perfume shop, please carry her,

“Please, I’ll come to you now, please.” I held my friend, he kept falling and getting up.

My friend was like a corpse, I don’t know, his whole body was covered in blood.

When I got out,

I put him down on,

on the seats outside the airport.

I went down and ran inside.

I looked for the woman, but I couldn’t find her. I only found where her blood was.

My friend Al-Huwaidi, his name was Khuwayli, his name was Huwaidi.

“Where are they?” he said, “We didn’t see them.” “You didn’t see them?” He said, “We didn’t see them.”

And I went back inside.

I swear, I was walking through glass, glass. I kept walking, walking.

I said, “Now, now I’ll find the scene,”

a scene I didn’t know how I’d find. But God willing, I’d find him alive

so I could prompt him to say the Shahada.

I,

at that moment, noticed myself.

I put my hand inside my thobe like this,

pulled my thobe like this, and my lung came out.

I looked a little, I swear, my lung was out, and there was shrapnel inside

from the rockets.

I held this, I don’t know what this was from me, I swear, or how.

As I put my thobe like this, my thobe was torn.

I wrapped it like this and pressed it down like this.

I swear, within moments, all you could see were ambulances arriving.

When I saw the ambulances,

I knew I was going to live.

It really filled the whole street with ambulances.

Then, I swear, I felt alive.

Twice, I was bleeding and getting dizzy. I prostrated myself.

I'd get up and everything was dark, everything seemed like a dream,

Like I was prostrating myself.

A soldier came and carried me,

lifted me up and pushed me inside.

I said, "Lord, I just want to see the door shut."

I wanted to see the ambulance door shut.

We're, we're Muslim brothers. Of course, I don't, I don't wish a thing like that

on any human being, first of all, especially if he's Muslim.

I swear to God, I'd carry him, or we'd die together.

We're Muslims together, or we'll die together.

The road was long and crowded, but may God honor their country,

may He honor it.