I thought they would be safe. That same night some army men came in. They crashed down the doors, they started shouting, and one told my mother to get on the bed.
She begged them, she pleaded, she tried everything. My kids saw everything. Finally a Muslim militant came in and she appealed to him as a Muslim woman. He gave her the signal to slip away with my kids from the house.
We are not even safe in our own homes. Our children are not safe in their grandmother’s house even. There are weeks where they cannot go to school because of the rioting, the protesting, the violence. I tell them to sit at home, sleep the day off. Better they sleep than hear what is going on outside. They miss their education, but at least they stay alive. I have dreams for them too. I have dreams that they get a good job in a good position. I had dreams for myself once.”
(Kashmir, India-Pakistan border)
Photostory by Mushamir Mustafa
Do you have a story? Let us know here: https://forms.gle/ht4HsvbxgSgcKS5h8
(This post was first published on August 13th 2016)