Real-life Cluster Bomb Victims stories

1. Zahra Hussein Soufan, 12, Southern Lebanon

Zahra:

“My sister found it and gave it to me. As I took it from her it fell on the ground and when I picked it up it blew up and hurt my hand. I fell down on the ground and my friends carried me home.

“My mum took me to the doctor and he said my hand had to be cut off. My mum started crying so they took me to the hospital and did an operation.

“It was very loud when it went off. It burst my ears. I couldn’t hear much afterwards. My sister was with me. She got shrapnel in her finger and she couldn’t hear.

“It hurts a lot and it always feels cold. I keep having to warm it up.

“I can’t play. I don’t go out. I used to have fun with my friends. But I can’t play with them anymore. They keep teasing me about my fingers and they tease me about my thumb – that it won’t grow back.

I just want my thumb to grow back and my hand to be ok. That’s all.”

Jwaia, Zahra’s mother:

“It was the middle of Ramadan and we were having our evening meal. My daughter was going out afterwards to a religious recital. Just after she left we heard a loud bang. Her sister had gone out to play and found something like a toy in the tangerine orchard.

Zahra said it was shaped like a colouring box with a kind of pyramid on top. As soon as she picked it up it exploded and blew her thumb off.

Our neighbour picked it Zahra’s thumb up in a handkerchief and brought it to us. We thought maybe it could be saved if they re-attached it straight away.” More