Tower and Town, May 2017

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Tears In Heaven

At around 5pm on 31 October 2010 six Islamic terrorists entered Sayedat Al-Najat Church, Our Lady of Salvation Church, in Baghdad during the Sunday evening mass in order to exterminate the Nasara, (Arabic for People of Nazareth), by carrying out periodic killings. According to eye witness accounts although the Iraqi army and police circled the church it took over two hours for a special unit to arrive and storm the church. The two hour carnage left 58 dead and nearly 80 injured or maimed. A listing of the dead was subsequently released, and it came to the attention of Raik, here in Marlborough, during 2015. A wrenching pain was felt when the list revealed the name of Mazen Fadheel Mahrouk, once a Boy Scout and childhood friend (see article on page 16).

Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same
If I saw you in heaven?

Ban Zaki who witnessed the horrific killing of her husband, and nearly died herself, survived and was later taken with her children to Germany where she underwent numerous abdominal operations. A picture of her slain husband now adorns a wall in her apartment in Hanover where, in spite of severe psychological and abdominal pains, she is salvaging what is left of her shattered life.

This morning the sun did rise Crimson in the north sky 
The ice was the colour of blood and the winds they did sigh 
I rose for to take a breath it was my last one 
From a gun came the roar of death and now I am done

The children of Ban Zaki,
witnesses to the 2010 massacre at Sayedat Al-Najat Church in Baghdad

Rail Jarjis