A bomb killed my mother and sister

The story of 12-year-old Ala al Isa from Damascus is shockingly sad, but there are no other stories. For a long time, no one tells these children stories, they tell them themselves.

"How old are you, my boy, and where exactly are you from?"
- I am 12 years old and I am from Syria, from Damascus. We lived in the suburbs of Damascus in the Guta Sharaya district.

"Tell me your story, what happened?"
- Nothing special ... We were sitting at home, as usual - me, my sister and my mother, playing on the computer in my room, my mother called me for something to help her in the other room. Suddenly, as we sat, a rocket fell right in the room! So, suddenly everything exploded, the projectile fell right in the middle of our house. I jumped back, rather threw me somewhere. When I realized, I saw that I was alive, but badly wounded in the leg, I did not feel it, I realized that there was something on my face, but I had not yet seen what I look like ...

"When he recovered, what did he see?"
- I saw dimly, I had something in my eyes. But what I was able to see and feel was that absolutely everything was destroyed. I had not yet noticed that my mother's body was headless because I had dust in my eyes. She and my sister lay on the floor, buried in the rubble. I was very scared, I went out to the neighbors to see what was happening there, but I realized that I could not go. Then I started crawling on the ground, I managed to get out. The house next door was unaffected and I knocked on their door. I could feel the blood all over me. Neighbors called an ambulance and took me to the hospital. Now I no longer have a mother, and my sister was only 9 years old ...

"Is this your father next to you?"
"Yes, I'm here with my father, let him tell you more."

- Where were you during the explosion?
- Yes, by chance I was not home. I'm always with them, but I had to go to Jordan to make some money. There is no more work in Syria ... I intended to return the next day. I found out what had happened and came back, but ... I had a wonderful family, two children - him and his sister. Look at how beautiful she was (she cries and shows the photo of her late daughter and her 38-year-old wife). Look what a letter she wrote me, I always carry it with me (she shows a letter in children's handwriting "to my dear daddy ..."). Now my son is disabled, look at his face, he will obviously need surgery. His leg is also bad ... We are already here, but the conditions are not good at all. We are in a room with 65 people. This child was put with older men in a room where we suffocate. The conditions inside are more than miserable!

"How are you now, my boy?" How do you feel, do your wounds hurt?
"I'm better now, of course." I lay in the hospital completely naked for more than a week because of the wounds, they couldn't put anything on me. And for a long time I still couldn't see. They operated on my legs without anesthesia! I don't want to remember this nightmare. And I could feel the current on my face. I was shaking with pain. I suffered a lot, now I have a broken nerve in my leg, I can't move it and squeeze it. I also had eye surgery. And my head hurts all the time ... I am 12 years old, I want to be healthy and live normally. I have a dream - to stop the war!