Hana

“Some time ago, while my husband was still abducted, I took part in a peaceful demonstration in front of a courthouse in the capital city. The protestors read a statement demanding that the prisoners be released. In that protest, there were mothers, wives, and a group of children of the detained prisoners. One of them was 15 years old and had a picture of his father. I heard someone say, ‘This child is a terrorist and needs to be arrested.’ We tried to stay close to the child to make sure he wouldn’t get arrested and then tried to leave with him but were surrounded by the police. Another woman and I were physically protecting the child while the police were trying to kidnap him. They tore my clothes and we had scratches from falling on the ground. At some point, we managed to escape into a car that belonged to the child’s uncle.

Escape and Defeat 

“Eight of us were in the car: me, the kid, the other activists, two of my children, and two other women. The police were trying to open the car with force, and there was a lot of shouting. They came with guns, threatening to bomb and shoot the car. We were in the car for about two hours. At some point, I felt like we all might die. We would either have to give the child away or we all might die. And it had all started as a peaceful protest. Eventually, the child’s uncle came and he agreed to give the child to the police. I was very sad and broken from this whole experience. I wanted to go home, but I drove around for 3 hours; I was scared that I was being followed and didn’t want to give away where I lived.

“Ten days later, one of my kids who was with me in the car the day of the protest, became very sick. I took him to the doctor and was told he had a problem with his liver. The doctor asked if the child had suffered or witnessed something very frightening, because this can worsen symptoms. I will always remember this: one of my kids was with me in that traumatic incident, and then he got sick.”