Trapped in Another Country’s War
Men search shattered Libyan city for unburied dead
May 5 2011, AP
MISRATA, Libya (AP) — Flies flickered through flashlight beams and a foul odor filled the air as the men tromped down the stairs to a basement. Their rubber boots splashed in ankle-deep putrid water as they scanned the darkness for the bodies they’d come to retrieve.
MISRATA, Libya (AP) — Flies flickered through flashlight beams and a foul odor filled the air as the men tromped down the stairs to a basement. Their rubber boots splashed in ankle-deep putrid water as they scanned the darkness for the bodies they’d come to retrieve.
“Here’s one,” someone said. Then another. And another. And another.
Theirs is a particularly morbid volunteer project: Combing the war-shattered streets for the unburied dead from two months of urban combat.
Since the uprising against Moammar Gadhafi began in mid-February, Libya’s third-largest city has endured some of the country’s most violent battles. Gadhafi’s troops have surrounded the coastal city from three sides and subjected it to daily shelling.
Residents-turned-rebels mobilized to fight back, pushing Gadhafi’s troops from the city center in late April. That battle and others have killed hundreds — many of whom were buried hastily or merely left where they fell.
The group has found well over 100 bodies, including 44 charred corpses in one house, said Dr. Faraj Ahmed, a veterinarian.
The group’s members are not trained to deal with the dead, and no one asked them to do it. Instead, the laborers, businessmen and university students organized themselves, driven by the desire to clean up their city and follow the Islamic obligation to respect the dead.
“In the end, we are all sons of Adam and need to be treated like sons of Adam,” said Bashir Ibrahim. “We all deserve a proper burial.”
The need for their job became obvious after rebels took the city center.
“When Gadhafi’s forces pulled out, we found that they had left lots of bodies — 10 here, 25 there — and the dogs and the cats were eating them,” Ibrahim said.
Since then, between 20 and 40 volunteers report for duty each day.
“It’s whoever shows up,” Ibrahim said. “It’s not easy work and it smells bad. Some people come one day and never come back.”
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