Not all wounds are destined to heal

Peshawar and its inhabitants know how it is to be in the middle of a terror attack and losing your loved ones


Dr Mohammad Hafizullah October 10, 2017
People run from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after apparent gun fire was heard on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. PHOTO: AFP

“It was most shocking: it was incredible that it was happening and more so that it was happening to us. I was attending a country music festival on a pleasant Sunday night with my girlfriend and we became the target of showers of bullets from the sky. There was no place to run and none to hide!” said Brian Claypool, a Los Vegas carnage survivor, overwhelmed by emotions with tears frankly rolling down his cheeks.

Another survivor Judie said, “We were fortunate to escape, but I am feeling extremely guilty of being alive as I lost many friends in it.”

Recent Las Vegas attack was the worst in the living memory of the United States. A 64-year-old retiree sprayed countless bullets on a joyful huge crowd gathered to enjoy a concert from the windows of a room on the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay hotel. The death toll was heavy, claiming 58 lives and injuring over 500. Among them were young men and women in the prime of their age, mothers and fathers, sorrowfully leaving behind orphans and destitute.

Las Vegas carnage: A rude awakening for the US

The next day hundreds of people lit candles, laid bouquets of flowers at the spot and carried multiple posters upholding peace and denouncing terrorism. This incidence inflicted deep wounds, which will never heal. Besides the individual loss, it shook the world, purloined it of ephemeral peace and fuelled winds of insecurity. It was a colossal loss of human lives and humans are after humans.

People run from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after apparent gun fire was heard on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. PHOTO: AFP People run from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after an apparent gunfire was heard on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. PHOTO: AFP

Las Vegas always boasted to be a unique place in the world, where people came to enjoy and were never disappointed. But now the resort city is wounded and mourning its dead.

It was in this setting that vivid heart rendering memories of Barcelona and Peshawar flashed back when the cities showed off their deep wounds, with much grief, sadness and regret.

I was in Barcelona recently. The street of Las Ramblas invites people to download their worries and enjoy humans and ‘humanity’ at its best. That time Las Ramblas was in tears! Terror attacks in Spain during August this year left 14 people dead. The Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attacks in Barcelona and the coastal town of Cambrils. There were heaps of flower bouquets spread over a large area at the entry, memorialising the loss of innocent lives in the recent deplorable incident.

Several dead, over 100 hurt in two Spanish seaside city attacks

The entire Las Ramblas appeared bruised and battered. People were furious. Some displayed posters condemning intolerance; others advocated peace and asserted steadfastness promising never to forget them. Some were carrying touching personal messages addressing the departed souls. As I went along the road, there was a bigger crowd. This spot smelled differently with a scent of flowers. Stuffed teddy bears, cats, dogs and Superman were scattered all over the place in the memory of their possessors who were no more. People were crying and quiet. Friends and relatives received backing by the supporters of peace. The assemblages of people and flowers were like bandages on an otherwise happy throbbing and pulsating street. It will take time for these scars to heal and for those who lost their near and dear ones these scars shall never heal, only to become more painful as springs give way to autumns and so on.

Spanish policemen accompany clients of a store outside a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, killing 13 persons and injuring over 80 on the Rambla in Barcelona on August 17, 2017. PHOTO: AFP Spanish policemen accompany clients of a store outside a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, killing 13 persons and injuring over 80 on the Rambla in Barcelona on August 17, 2017. PHOTO: AFP

While I share the profound grief of the mourners in Las Vegas and Las Ramblas, my mind drifts to my hometown Peshawar.

If we had to show our deep scars and if we had to display only one road, the main artery – the Las Vegas of Peshawar, would be Khyber Road. Our first stop starting from the provincial assembly would be Pearl Continental hotel, the only five-star facility in the city.

A powerful blast in June 2009 ripped the bodies of hundreds and the city instantly was deprived of the only international standard hotel for more than a year. The business activities remained slim there.

Our next stop would be only a few yards away from the hotel. The target of terrorists was the entry gate of lower courts thronged by all and sundry.

FC major, soldier killed during separate blasts in Peshawar

A blast at the judicial complex lower courts in 2013 claimed several lives. One of my own relative, who happened to be there at the time when the unfortunate incident happened, was also among the dead. It jolted the city since it was a public place visited by all, instigating an unprecedented scare and unleashing a new wave of insecurity. I could imagine hundreds of people standing around heaps of flowers – all incredulous, shocked, and terrified. This shall require two large bandages on Khyber Road but will never be enough to cover the wounds.

PHOTO: AFP Soldiers guard after a terror incident. PHOTO: AFP

A mile down the road and just a stone’s throw from my residence was a new target this time. In 2009, it was the building of ISI headquarters in Peshawar under attack. The clock stopped at 6 on a Friday morning. The deafening sound still haunts me. The windows rattled, doors gave way and I remember staring at the roof as if it was about to crash down. There was no electricity and no TV. Guided by the wailing sirens of the ambulances, we could vaguely guess that the target was close. The Khyber Road was wounded again.

The Army Public School (APS) is less than a mile away from the previous target. The sky above Peshawar would have never seen such gruesome scenes. More than 100 young schoolchildren, teachers and army officers succumbed to a cowardly act of barbarity. My city shouldered several small coffins. That was when I wrote, “Peshawar, I salute, your gallant children, their chivalrous parents, courageous kith and kin, valiant teachers, and heroic army officers for creating new examples of valour, dedication and steadfastness. We salute all the hearts that ached for us and all the eyes that shed tears for us from all over the world.” And, someone aptly added: “I had always seen coffins adorned with flowers, but this is for the first time I saw coffins of flowers.”

The injuries APS had were painful perhaps difficult to be healed up without leaving a scar. Grief-stricken parents still look at the doors, anticipating their children clad in school uniform.

A group of four friends was reduced to just two friends after the APS attack. PHOTO: ONLINE A group of four friends was reduced to just two friends after the APS attack. PHOTO: ONLINE

There has been no major road or square in Peshawar that was spared by terrorism. Every person in my city has a personal anecdote to relate, losing a relative or a friend in an accident and missing blasts by a few minutes while lucky to be alive. At tragic times, humans get together and closer, regardless of any artificial barriers of geography, ethnicity and religion. We, the inhabitants of bruised and battered Peshawar, share the sorrow, anguish and sense of loss of dwellers of Las Vegas and Barcelona. We all bear wounds that are not destined to heal.

 

Dr Mohammad Hafizullah is the dean of faculty at College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan and the editor-in-chief of Pakistan Heart Journal. He has also worked as vice chancellor of Khyber Medical University, chief executive and head cardiology department of Lady Reading Hospital.

COMMENTS (1)

Rahema | 6 years ago | Reply Beautifully written!
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