Posts Tagged ‘drone victims to testify’
Do you live in a remote Pakistani area? Scared to Go Outside and be harvested by a drone?
Posted by: adonis49 on: November 7, 2013
Are you a Pakistani, still living in a remote area?
Scared to Go Outside and be harvested by a drone?
One year ago, a 67-year-old Pakistani woman was killed by an alleged U.S. drone while picking vegetables in a field with her grandchildren on October 24, 2012.
The United States has never acknowledged killing her or any other drone strike victims in Pakistan, always claiming that it is militants locked in the cross-hairs.
“Too Scared to Go Outside”: Family of Pakistani Grandmother Killed in U.S. Drone Strike Speaks Out
This week, her son and two of her grandchildren traveled to Washington, D.C., to become the first drone victims to testify before members of Congress — even though only 5 Democrats appeared at the hearing.
Live in studio, we speak to Rafiq Rehman and his two children, 9-year-old Nabila and 13-year-old Zubair, both of whom were injured in the strike. “I don’t understand why this happened to me. I have done nothing wrong,” Zubair says. “What I would like to say to the American people is: Please tell your government to end these drones, because it is disrupting our lives.”
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: As we continue our special on U.S. drone strikes, we turn now to the killing of a 67-year-old Pakistani grandmother last year. In a moment, we’ll be joined by her son and two grandchildren, nine-year-old Nabila and 13-year-old Zubair. But first, another clip from Unmanned: America’s Drone Wars.
RAFIQ UR REHMAN: [translated] My name is Rafiq ur Rehman. I am a primary school teacher. I’ve been teaching for 10 years. We strive to eradicate illiteracy so our children can be educated and have a bright future. This is my daughter Nabila. This is my daughter Asma. Zubair ur Rehman is my son. We have our own land and grow our own food.
ZUBAIR UR REHMAN: People enjoyed life before the attacks.
RAFIQ UR REHMAN: It was 2:45 p.m. on October 24th of 2012. After school finished, I went into town to buy school supplies.
ZUBAIR UR REHMAN: I was in the fields tying up bundles.
RAFIQ UR REHMAN: I got back in the car and bought sweets for the children.
KALIM UR REHMAN: When I got home, I was drinking tea. After the first sip, the drone hit. The house shook.
ZUBAIR UR REHMAN: The dust flew.
ATIQ UR REHMAN: The roof shook, and the ground trembled.
ASMA UR REHMAN: I ran. and I got hit.
KALIM UR REHMAN: I ran out, and there was all this dust and smoke.
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