March 30, 2011 Wednesday
It was past 10:00 AM when I woke up. Dr. Naj was not in the house anymore. I learned that he went to the farm early (hates tearful goodbyes, huh!). Everything seemed normal until about 1:30 when the family driver came and he wanted to bring me to the embassy right away. He was instructed to fetch me at 3:00PM so his early arrival irked me. He was hurrying me to go so I told Hashem (the elder boy) that I would just take a taxi. Eventually, we made a compromise that I would leave at 2:30 PM. Later when we were on the way to the embassy, I learned that he would use the van to meet a relative (which he didn't tell Dr. Naj).
There were many people at the OWWA office, repatriates like me. I learned that I wasn't included in the batch last Saturday because they prioritized those who have children. Teddy and Pines came to give the money I have to bring home for their relatives in the Philippines. They also brought some chocolate for me. After some time chatting, they had to say goodbye.All of us were misty-eyed when we were hugging each other.
The repatriates in my batch were mostly nurses from Mizda who were evacuated from their area this morning. Their stories filled my night. According to Greg, husband of one of the nurses and supervisor at Carrier (an airconditioner manufacturing company ), the nurses worked at a public hospital at Mizda and were also staying at the hospital compound. The place was about 50 kilometers from Gharyan. They led a peaceful life in their village and they had no intention to leave. But on March 26, NATO bombed a secret armory five miles from the hospital, separated from the town by a hill. When NATO bombed it , it caused a tremendous explosion the blast of which covered a radius of five miles away reaching the hospital. They saw scud missiles falling just a few meters from their flats. After experiencing it for two nights, they called up the embassy requesting for a diplomatic mission to fetch them.
It was a traumatic experience for all of them. Greg said that a Korean couple lived in the 3rd floor of their building (Greg's family was at the ground floor). On the first night of the bombing, tenants of the building went out to watch the missiles as they were launched. Smoke was all over the place. On the second night the Korean couple did not go out anymore for fear that they might be hit. Unfortunately, a scud missile fell on their flat, right on their bedroom. The husband who was a doctor lost a leg and had fractured arm; his nurse wife was in comatose, fragments of the missile entered her brain.
There were two babies in the group, one of them was celebrating his first birthday. When Labat Mustapha learned about it, he gave us a treat (grilled chicken...so yummy!). To us Filipinos, a birthday is a milestone in a person's life and is ought to be celebrated. We believe that God gave us life as a sign of His love , and not even a war could make us forget that LIFE IS A CELEBRATION!...
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