Bereaved Mother ‘Feeding the Doves is Not a Crime’

Translated by: Saed Bannoura 

‘There is nothing more difficult for the parents than loosing a child, yet how would it feel to lose two at the same time… by a spiteful sniper in a devious moment’

The mother of the of Ahmad and Asma tells the story of her

two children’s death.

“Fetching dry clothes hanged over the roof, or feeding the doves are not crimes that one pays his /her life for. However, this is what happened in Rafah, at a time where every moving object became a target to the snipers waiting for the prey”

The life of two children, in the spring of their age, ended short by hateful bullets.

Despite the misery and the grief in her heart…the mother, Sariyya Al-Mogheir, 42 years old, tells her painful story…

“God, the great…will punish everyone those who see our miseries and are able to help us but don not’ Say the mother.

Sariyya describes the moment of the death of her children, as a fast nightmare… ”everything happened fast, we were having breakfast … as soon as we finished, Ahmad said, “I want to feed the doves on the roof…”he was fond of doves, his father bought him a cage and put it on the roof”

The mother continued,”when Ahmad was on his way up, his sister Amsa’ said. “I will come with you; I want to collect the dry laundry from the roof”

Only one minute passed…or maybe less, then shooting was heard, “we felt it, as if it was hitting our house… or inside it, I rushed up to the roof…to find them both laying on the ground, soaked with their blood..’

The mother paused for a while, apologized and said with teary eyes: “God is the Almighty…they are martyrs living in heavens, their lives on earth ended at this point”

Meanwhile, the 45-year-old father, Mohammad Al-Moghir, who managed to hold his breath, said his daughter, Amsa’, was 15 years old, a tenth grade smart student at Al-Qadisiyya School for girls, and added ‘she always had high grades.’

While Ahmad, the father added, was in his seventh grade at Al-Ameriyya School, “he was fond of doves and loved to raise them, “is feeding the pigeons a crime these days to lose your life for..?! There can be no more injustice than what he faced!”

“Under what law, what constitution this could happen, my children are dead now, and I can’t even burry them” the father added.

The father, filled with sadness continued, “I wish that anybody, any country or organization can interfere and allow the medical teams to take their bodies in order to be buried, there are many children here…while the bodies of my children are in one room, am afraid that the will start to decompose and smell, since its hot in here.”

(The two bodies stayed in the house for a long time before any ambulance managed to reach them because of the continuous Israeli shooting at the area)

Ali, the oldest brother, said, “I was shocked to see my sister and brother on the floor, soaked with blood, we could not do anything to save them, and the army didn’t allow anybody to enter our home and help us…”why is our blood and live so cheap to them, why do they kill us with this ugly cold-blooded way, why does the whole world condemn and attack us when a Jewish child dies, while no body cares when hundreds of Palestinian children are killed..!”

The uncle, Ali Al-Moghir, added, “the situation at the house is very difficult, it is not easy to lose two children at the same time, I loved them so much, everybody did, they were so lovely and lively, active, helpful and bright…”

“Everything here became meaningless, I hope God will help my brother and his wife, give them patience and condole them, “how can a person be sitting among his family, and in one second, loses them, all because of a hateful solider…?” the uncle added.