Eyewitness: Mass burial in Lebanon
Eight days ago, the Lebanese Army buried 87
bodies in a mass grave in the city of Tyre. Today, they are laying another 34 in
the ground.
Eight days ago, the Lebanese Army buried 87 bodies in a mass grave in the city of Tyre. Today, they are laying another 34 in the ground.
Everyone is covering their face to keep out the stench as Lebanese soldiers remove dozens of bodies from the back of a truck. The first body is a day-old baby — killed in an Israeli airstrike, according to the Lebanese Army. On her coffin a marking shows she had no name.
All have numbers. Coffin No. 104 has three names on it - Ali, Mohammed and Talib - all children. Nearby, Fatawi Horani is screaming and crying. Her granddaughter Marim, 15, was killed, she says, while trying to flee the fighting.
A Shiite sheik arrives and begins talking to members of the media. I pull him aside and ask him one question: “What message would you send to the people of America?” “Israel?” he asks. “No,” I reply. “America.”
“I love the people of America. It’s the government I hate. Tell the American people that we received their gift. The missile that they gave to Israel - we have received it, and this is the result,” he says, motioning to the coffins.
Even a news junkie like me wants to turn off the TV when events like this are covered. But, we have to watch. Most folks really want to know more than the press releases handed out by the White House or Gaza Street.
Posted: Mon - July 31, 2006 at 07:03 AM