Translated by: Saed Bannoua-IMEMC
Wisam Abdul-Kareem, 14 years old, from the village of Kafr Al-Deek, in the north west of Salfit, in the West Bank, tells his story of military violence which broke his leg.
In a room at Sheikh Zayed Hospital, in Ramallah, the family of Suleiman was pleased with the doctor’s decisions to discharge their son after three days of suffering.
“I will never forget what happened; I was walking with three of my friends when we decided to head back to our homes before it gets dark, but at that moment we were attacked by four soldiers who were hiding behind the trees, we were so scared, the soldiers were under-covered carrying automatic guns, what we could only think off is to run and save our livesâ€Â
The soldiers chased the youths and managed to catch one of them, but the later managed to escape again, meanwhile, Wisam just stood still in his place without moving one step forwards.
“Four soldiers caught me, clubbed me, bunched me and kicked me, I could not move, they even threatened to shot me to my head if I don’t leave the area in less than five minutesâ€Â, Wisam said.
At that moment, Wisam was too bruised and in sever pain to move and leave the area, but he tried and walked slowly until he managed to move away from the soldiers.
A medical source at Sheikh Zayed Hospital, in Ramallah said that Wisam sustained fractions to bones in his legs, and several bruises to skin sores to several parts of his body.
Wisam did not manage to move any step forward, therefore he decided to cover himself with leafs and branches in order not to be seen by the soldiers, while soldiers returned to the scene and started searching the area using flashlights but they could not find him.
Wisam with a pale face and sad looks and trembling body continued the story of a horrific night,
“It was a frightful night, filled with cries and tears, I had to hide under the Carob leafs for a whole night, I even had to urinate in my clothes because I was too scared to move.
New and rumors spread in the village about the destiny of Wisam after his friends returned without him, some people said that he was shot dead, other said that they saw soldier handcuffing and arresting him, while his mother only had her tears, and started calling his relative to go and search for him.
“The relatives of the three children who were with Wisam came to me, and told me what happened in details which only increase my fears and worries… he is my child, my life and I even do not know ere he is or what happened to himâ€Â, the mother said.
On the next day, during early morning hours, Wisam decided to leave him humble hideout hoping that any worker of resident will find me and send me home,
“I tried to scream and shout, they heard me…but they were afraid that these sounds are made by the under-covered forces, who usually conduct such tricks, therefore, I tried to crawl since I couldn’t walk, I crawled and walked for a distance until a resident managed to see me when he was looking through the window of his home after hearing my voiceâ€Â
The resident rushed to him after calling his family, and transferred him, with the help of other residents who rushed to the scene, to the Medical center, and then he was transferred to Sheikh Zayed Hospital.
“After arriving to the Hospital, filled with pain and bruises, I finally realized that the worst night I have ever had is finally over, but it will remain a night I will never forget for the rest of my life.
