A memory from 2nd May 1979

 

It was on April 23, 1979 when the governor’s office of Sancharak was taken by the people’s forces, who continued to be in control of it until May 1, 1979 when the government land forces entered Sancharak. Our village, Abkhor, was close to that city.

 

Early on May 2 war broke out; the Russians attacked the city from all sides with their jet bombers and helicopters, and the government forces fought back with tanks and artillery. Men, women and children, even animals, fled in a panic and with anxiety in all directions. The raid led to the death of 170 people and hundreds were wounded. There was no medical health centre to treat the wounded. Therefore we had to resort to traditional domestic methods to treat the wounded, many of whom died due to a lack of proper treatment and poor medical attendance.   

 

People took refuge in the mountains and valleys 10 km away from Abkhor village. I remember, my sister was pregnant and near delivery.  She had to give birth in nature, where we were taking shelter, the result of which was a dead baby.  The war took everything we had from us, in just 1 minute!

 

The shelling by government artillery, the cluster bombing by the Russian aircraft and their machine-gunning from their helicopters had created a hell of fires for the people. The ghastly scenes of the dead and the wounded and the destruction of everything in just a minute left behind horrible memories in the minds of women, children and the elderly; memories which will never be forgotten.  

 

Sarvar Ahmadi

Afghan refugee in Shiraz