Death
Of A Father
By Helen Williams
08 July 2004
Electronic Iraq
Baghdad
25 June 2004 -- Bad things happen in Iraq all the time. The tragic
events that happen as a daily occurance, although deeply upsetting and
horrible, happen to people that are 'anonymous' to me. This is not a
report, like I usually make, but it is the story of the heinous murder
of a beloved father by American soldiers occupying this country
the father of a friend, Shafaq which makes it all the harder
to bear. Shafaq has been so brave telling me what happened to her father,
although it was clearly difficult for her to do so. Please take the
time to read the following account in memory of my friend's father.
When Kevin and I
travelled to Iraq as Human Shields on the Red Buses in February 2003,
there was an Iraqi lady who lived in Norway, who was also travelling
with us as a Human Shield. Her name was Nama'a, and although she had
left Iraq because of Saddam Hussein, she still knew that the impending
war would be wrong, and felt strong enough about this to return to her
homeland at great risk to her personal safety. During the journey to
Iraq and our time spent here as Shields, we became firm friends with
Nama'a and when we returned to the country in November 2003 we were
overjoyed to find Nama'a here visiting her family. We met her lovely
family and were lucky enough to be invited to the wedding of her neice,
Ishraq, 29, which took place on 27 November 2003.
I first met Shafaq,
sister of the bride, at the Hennah (the party for the female members
of the bride and groom's families), the night before the wedding. I
also met Shafaq's and Ishraq's other 4 sisters Nawr, 27, Shahad,
18, Mays, 14, and Hala, just 10 years old. All 6 sisters were beautiful
girls friendly, welcoming and outgoing. I remember how some had
them had made their own dresses for the Hennah and wedding fantastic
creations and far better than any clothes anyone could buy in a shop
anywhere.
It is Shafaq who
I have kept in touch with and who has told me about the murder of her
father at the hands of hateful American soldiers.
Shafaq Ahssan, 25,
lives in Adhimaya, Bagdad with her sisters and mother. She is a pretty
woman confident, bubbly, chatty, kind hearted and intelligent
with excellent English. she is studying computer science in University
and is in the second year of a four year course she will move
on to the third year in September, if she passes her exams, recently
taken.
Her father was Ahssan
Abdul Azziz, 49 years old. He was divorced from her mother, but the
sisters regularly saw their father who they loved he lived near
them in Adhimaya. Shafaq was particulary close to her father, calling
him 'not just a father, but a friend'. She used to see him all the time
and talk to him about everything. She described a sort of telepathy
between them even if she was not with her dad, they knew what
each other was doing and he always knew if she was unwell, even if she
had not told him so. She said that she had so many fond memories of
him, saying that when she was sick, he would just hug her and she would
feel well again. She talked movingly of her father saying how gentle
and intelligent he was a friend to all, especially to his daughters
and his neighbours he was a very special man. His death had clearly
left this strong woman sad and destroyed in her heart she loved
him so much.
Then she told me
how her father loved to write things, like poetry and he was good at
it. He used to draw beautiful things and he was a good cook, creating
delicious food. He was also like a professional at car repairs and was
even skilful at sewing clothes.
Before the war he
had been an import merchant, but after the war he had no job
things became so hard for him. Just 2 weeks before he was killed he
had found a new job as a customs official. He was looking forward to
starting this new job so much, beginning a new life, perhaps with his
daughters going back to him he had been full of hope.
Shafaq told me how
her father's life had been full of suffering. He had been a soldier
in the Iraqi Army, though not through choice men in Iraq do not
have the right to choose not to fight. He had been in the Army all through
the Iran/Iraq War and had been injured twice, once in the leg. During
the Iran/Iraq War he had seen all of his closest friends die in front
of his eyes. Then during the Gulf War, he had witnessed the deaths of
yet more of his friends. He did not fight in the last 'war'(I mean the
illegal invasion and slaughter of this country) in March 2003
he was too old to fight.
Even during the
occupation Ahssan Abdul Azziz suffered. One day, while walking along
a street in Adhimaya, with some of Shafaq's cousins, he was stopped
by American troops. They accused him of being a Ba'athist and of being
in the Resistance. They arrested him and took him to the notorious Abu
Gharib Prison, 20 kilometres from Bagdad and scene of the gross violations
of human rights and torture by American soldiers on the Iraqi detainees.
He was held there for 5 months and, during his 'disappearance', his
family, beside themselves with worry and anxiety, asked about him and
searched for him.
After 3 to 4 months
he managed to get a message out of the prison with a friend, saying
that he was in Abu Gharib Prison and could someone help to get him out.
Even though the family knew where he was then, they were still not allowed
to visit him. After 5 months the Americans released him with no charge
he had done nothing wrong, he was innocent. Shafaq said that
she did not know whether or not her father had been abused or mistreated
in the prison. She said he came out a quiet man he said nothing
about his capture or his time in detention he was hurting inside
and could not talk.
During the evening
of Thursday 10 June 2004, Asshan Abdul Azziz experienced chest pains
and, worrying about his heart, he set off for the hospital in Medical
City for tests at midnight. He was accompanied by 2 of Shafaq's cousins:
Mohanned, 22 years of age, a Biology student in his 3rd year and studying
at the same University as Shafaq he was driving the car with
Shafaq's father in the passenger seat next to him; and 16 year old Shawqy,
still in high school he was sitting in the back seat of the car.
On the way to the hospital they passed the old Iraqi Army Officers'
Club on Al Magreb Street this is right next to the drama college
theatre where Yahya took us in March, which I have mentioned in a previous
report. On the way, Shafaq's father was telling stories of happy and
sad memories with Shafaq's mother. Right by the old Officers' Club was
a spot where he used to go and sit with his wife and children and this
is where he was murdered on this night.
Two soldiers, possibly
drunk or on drugs, shouted and indicated to the car to stop on the side
of the road. Mohanned did as he was told. The soldiers pointed rifles
at the car and left them sitting there for half an hour. Mohanned took
his shirt off and waved it out of the window like a white flag. He shouted
out of the car window "Don't shoot, we need to go, we want to speak
to you".
Shafaq's father
spoke English well so he tried to open the car door to ask if they could
continue to the hospital. This is when the American soldiers opened
fire and started shooting at them. Ahssan (Shafaq's father) pushed Mohanned
down and then tried to turn himself around in the car to push Shawqy,
his young nephew, down as well, so he would not get hit by a bullet
or get hurt. At the exact moment that he tried to push Shawqy down,
Ahssan was hit in the neck by a bullet. The bullet entered by the voice
box and travelled through the neck to the side of the neck. Another
bullet hit him in the chest. Mohanned shouted "Stop shooting, don't
shoot, we don't have any weapons, you're hurting my uncle, please help
us, show some mercy". The shooting continued for 10 15 minutes
there are 2 bullet holes on the car door on the driver's side
one above and one to the side of Mohanned. There are also many
other bullet holes in the car.
Mohanned's cries for help and mercy were futile to these murderers.
The soldiers pulled them roughly out of the car, including the injured
father, now bleeding to death and in urgent need of life saving medical
attention. They dropped Ahssan, Mohanned and Shawqy to the ground and
beat them with their hands and the backs of their guns and stamped on
their heads. Then the soldiers searched them and the car all
the while Ahssan lay there bleeding this continued for a full
2 hours. The soldiers then shot at another passing car, which, thankfully,
managed to speed off. During the 2 hours lying in the road, Mohanned
managed to get to Ahssan and wrap his shirt around his uncle's neck
in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Someone called an ambulance
Mohanned doesn't know if it was neighbours or a passing car. When the
ambulance arrived, the paramedics rushed to Ahssan to treat him and
take him to the ambulance. The soldiers then shot at the ambulance in
an attempt to make it impossible to drive the victims to hospital. They
even shot at the police car accompanying and guarding the ambulance.
Half an hour after
the father and cousins were able to leave for the hospital, the same
soldiers shot and killed 2 more people in another car. It is well known
here that many American soldiers brag about how many Iraqiis they have
killed and will kill often making bets on innocent people's lives.
So the Ambulance
managed to get Ahssan to hospital. In the hospital, like in all hospitals
here, the hospital staff were frightened to treat him as he was a victim
of the American troops. They did treat him, but not that well
just First Aid in the emergency room, basic life saving treatment. This
was in Al Karkh Hospital. Ahssan had been in the road for 2 hours and
in the ambulance for 15 minutes travelling to the hospital. His blood
was everywhere on the road, in the ambulance, in the hospital
everywhere. After a few hours, he was transferred to another hosptial
a specialist hospital for this sort of wound in Medical City,
Bagdad.
Mohanned and another
cousin came to Shafaq's house early the next morning to inform the family
of the horrific events during the night. The family left immediately
for the hospital. Shafaq told me how the treatment was so bad in the
hospital the wards are dirty, they do not have the correct equipment
and the staff are terrified to treat anyone wounded by coalition forces.
The doctors were careless and not good in their treatment of the father
and arrogant in their attitudes and would not answer the family's questions
The doctors would not even say if Ahssan had a chance of life or not,
but Shafaq said that when she saw her father, she just knew that he
was not going to live.
Ahssan spent 4 long
days in a coma. During this time, there was always someone from the
family in the hospital with him. Shafaq told me how she held his hand
all the time and talked to him constantly hoping that he would
hear his beloved daughter's voice and wake up. He tried to squeeze her
hand even though he was in a coma. She said that when she held his hand
she felt that he was trying to say something to her. When she released
his hand she saw tears in his eyes he was trying to say something,
but couldn't.
Ahssan died at 5
am on 14 June 2004. Shafaq was just leaving the hospital after a hard
night when he passed away.
Shafaq said she
feels so sad and so angry 'They destroyed his hope, destroyed
him, they killed him. I feel so hurt, so broken inside. When the whole
world gets hard you need someone to turn to now I feel I have
no one to turn to".
The funeral took
place over 7 days. Shafaq's last exam had been on 10 June, the day of
the shooting in the night, so she had (luckily!) finished her exams.
But 3 of her sisters still had exams to do including her younger sister,
Mays, 14, who still had 2 to do. This brave young lady still tried to
do them even though it was so hard for her to do so. This meant she
had to leave the funeral on 2 of the days and it meant that she had
no chance to study for these last 2 exams.
Because of this
tragic event Shafaq has lost her job. She was a hard worker as a researcher
on the internet, looking for contracts. The problem is that there is
so much work to be done that the employers need the workers there all
of the time, with no days off. They need her work and they need her
reports daily. So they had to let her go and employ someone else to
do her work they could not be down one member of staff for one
day and Shafaq could not work for 2 weeks. When I suggested that she
needed a break, some time to mourn and come to terms with what happened
she agreed, but said how she badly needed another job as she is a student.
Shafaq's aunt is
trying to make a complaint and claim compensation, which will prove
extremely difficult, if not impossible. Shafaq does not want money,
saying that money cannot bring her father back. she just wants justice.
This will also be impossible they do not know who the soldiers
are and they dare not make inquiries for fear of arrest and detention.
Two days later,
Shafaq took us to the home of her aunt and her cousins, Mohanned and
Shawqy. We met these 2 young men and I felt so sad for them, so upset
about what they had been through as I shook their hands. The car they
had been in on this dreadful night was parked outside and I was invited
to take photographs of it. It was the first time Shafaq had seen her
father's car since his death and she became so upset. There were bullet
holes all over in the bonnet, in the radiator, in the doors,
in the door frames and one in the windscreen. This was the hole
from the bullet which had entered Ahssan's neck and killed him. It was
a horrilbe sight. Even though her aunt had washed the car thoroughly,
we could still see small spots of blood in the door frame and the seats
of the car were still badly stained I will be emailing the photographs
home,of the car, as well as a family photograph of Ahssan a loving
father and tragically another unmentioned victim of this carnage.
Imagine this happening
to you. You live through wars, Saddam's regime, sanctions and the last
war and you loose your dear father in this terrible way. A father who
also suffered through his whole life, but who was still brave enough
to have hope in his heart for the future. Imagine how do you
carry on after all this. This is the suffering of the Iraqi people and
it goes on and on and on.
Helen Williams is currently based in Kerrada, Bagdad, and lives in Newport,
South Wales.