My Mother
Was the Victim of a U.S. Drone
July 26, 2016
Amnesty InternationalRafeequl Rehman's mother, Mamana Bibi, was
killed in a U.S. drone strike in the village of Ghundi Kala, North Waziristan,
Pakistan, on Oct. 24, 2012.
Rehman
is a teacher in Pakistan and the son of Mamana Bibi, who was killed in a U.S.
drone strike in 2012
My family deserves an apology–and justice
My
story isn’t much different from so many sons all over the world: I lost my
mother too soon. But unlike many sons, I am still waiting for an explanation for
why my mother was killed. Since the day that a U.S. drone struck and killed my mother as
she stood in our family’s fields, I have waited for an acknowledgement or
apology from the U.S. government. I’m still waiting to this day.
My
children—Mamana’s grandchildren—watched it happen. It was a sunny October
afternoon in 2012, and she was gathering okra in our family’s mostly
vacant fields in Ghundi Kala village, North Waziristan,intending to cook
it that evening. My children were home, standing about a hundred feet from
her. They watched as she was struck by two Hellfire missiles, blown to
bits before their eyes. My daughters and sons felt the explosion and were
covered with the smoke and dust. Some were struck by shrapnel. My
3-year-old son Safdar, who had been standing on the roof, fell 10 feet from the
blast’s shockwave, fracturing bones in his shoulders and chest.
Afterward
my daughter Nabeela, then 8-years-old, went to the place her grandmother had
been standing. She found her grandmother’s shoes. Our family gathered as many
of her body parts as we could find and wrapped them in a cloth.
A
year after her death, I traveled to the United States and told members of
Congress about the drone strike and how it had devastated us. I saw with my own
eyes how saddened they were. But no one in the U.S. government promised to
investigate what happened.
A.
Majeed—AFP/Getty ImagesSupporters of Defense of Pakistan Council (DPC),
a coalition of religious and political parties, protest against the US drone
strikes in the Pakistani tribal region, in Peshawar on Nov. 10, 2013.
President
Obama recently ordered the government to start disclosing the numbers of civilian
casualties to the public. We welcome that, but we are in the
same position we were in four years ago. No U.S. official has ever acknowledged
what happened to my mother, or apologized to us. We are still waiting for
justice. Without the help of organizations like Amnesty International, which
documented my mother’s death in a 2013 report on drones,
we might still be suffering in silence.
We
aren’t asking for money, just that all victims of violence be treated the same.
The same month my daughter Nabeela was injured in the drone strike
that took my mother’s life, Pakistani schoolgirl and education campaigner Malala Yousafzai narrowly survived the
Taliban’s attempt on her life. We are proud of Malala’s bravery, and the
actions of all those who stand up for human rights in our country.
But
there is a double standard here: While President Obama invited Malala to speak
at the White House and offered his support, there are no words of sympathy for
my daughter. I wonder if the president even knows my daughter’s name.
After
the strike, we fled our village in Waziristan. My children had suffered not
just from witnessing the death of their grandmother, but from losing their
friends and from the ongoing war. They lost years of education,
too. Because Safdar did not receive immediate specialist medical care
after the drone strike, he continues to suffer complications from his
injuries. When we go back to the village, the kids are still scared. It’s
not just the drone strikes; it’s the Taliban and bombardment by Pakistani
forces.
My
children still ache from missing their grandmother. We feel deeply that
the U.S. government has committed an injustice. We must have the truth about
why my mother, my children’s grandmother, was killed so brutally. We deserve an
apology and justice for what happened that October afternoon.
TIME Ideas hosts the world's leading voices,
providing commentary on events in news, society, and culture. We welcome
outside contributions. Opinions expressed
Donations can be sent
to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD
21218. Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives."
Eugene Victor Debs
No comments:
Post a Comment