Diary Entries - Day 4

I hate this world! I hate those freakish men, who don't deserve to live in this world! They are just sex hungry bastards, who should be tortured and castrated!

Today, we were woken right before dawn. Another bus with 4 men had come. We were all made to stand in a line. At first, I was too sleepy to think about what was happening. The 4 men examined all of us. And started picking out the little kids; 8 girls and 6 boys around the ages of 7-12. Then, I realized what was happening. A jolt of pain pierced my heart, my eyes filled with tears; I stood frozen with fear and hatred. The children cried and their mothers shouted in anguish as their children were snatched from them! The fathers tried to negotiate something but were pointed at with guns, and they could do nothing but watch in despair. The rest of us just stood there helpless, as the children were forced into the bus and driven away.

I spent the whole day crying. My parents tried to calm me down. Everyone, shocked and scared, spent the day in silence. No one had expected such a turn of events. Now, we all awaited our disappointing fate as all hope of surviving the war was crushed!
 

I learnt that the real world is a dark, dirty place; it's just that we are lucky enough to keep ourselves away from it.

Diary Entries - Day 3

We were all put up in the half burnt houses in the village. We were strictly told not to wonder off anywhere, and we wouldn’t be hurt. The men in black treated us well. They were nice, fun people. They spoke to us in English but conversed with each other in Arabic, so we didn’t really know what they planned. The rest of the people, or hostages I could say, were all expatriates like us. We were 40 hostages and 8 men in blacks.

If it weren’t for the occasional, distant bangs, planes flying above and us having to hide, I would say it was much like a picnic. Yesterday, we spent the day exploring the village and settling in. We were given sufficient food and water. And at night we were given sleeping bags to sleep in. No one had been beaten up, tortured or shot – thankfully!

The men in black didn’t tell us much about who they were or what they wanted from us. And after sometime we just ignored the fact that we were hostages because they were so friendly. And it gave me such a strong feeling of hope; that they were trying to help us out and that secretly we were going to escape and be safe and most importantly – live!

Dairy Entries - Day 2

Finally, after nearly 6, long hours, the bus stopped. I assumed it was still morning, but there was no way to tell, in this dark, black, thickly tinted bus. I had slept throughout most of the journey. I woke up dazed and confused, till I remembered what was happening and once again fear and anxiety enveloped me. I looked around to see where the rest of my family was, and to my great relief, everyone was safe and sound!

When we got out, the sun shone upon us, giving me a feeling of hope; everything was going to be alright. I scanned the surroundings; we were in a small, village-like place in the outskirts of UAE. It had been a victim of the war and was left burnt and abandoned. The village must have been a beautiful, developing place. There was a stream flowing past most of the tiny houses showing a great water system. There must have been a great deal of vegetation as dead plants surrounded the whole village. What a shame!

This was going to be our new home (or our torture chamber but I’d rather look on the bright-side). No one knew for how long. Maybe days, maybe months, maybe till we survive!

Dairy Entries - Day 1

Today - the 1^st of December - what a nightmare of a way to start the month. 3 in the morning we were all woken up by loud sirens coming from police cars. We were forced to evacuate the house. I had no idea what was happening and for the first 10 minutes; I thought I was dreaming.

Then, suddenly in the distance we heard a loud bang, followed by 3 more and then the sky lit up. And realization hit me; the rumors were true - UAE was now part of the Middle East war. My heart started pounding as I looked at the men that made us evacuate. Who were they? Where were they taking us? I looked at mom, dad and my brother, all of them white with fear, just doing whatever they were told. I was struggling to hold my tears back; I might never see them again, this could be the last moments I have with them, the last moments I have to live! I looked around at everyone, all their faces identical - filled with fear and thoughts of never seeing their loved ones again or never seeing this world again.

And now, we’re all sitting in huge, black buses, to God knows where. We’re not allowed to talk, just sit in silence…