Memories of a child – The Chechen War – part #1

I woke up early in the morning, a lot of my family members were sleeping in the same room. Apparently, they were waiting for the war to come, as a little kid I was not aware of the situation. I stared into the window in front of me, the sky was blue and it was dead silent, though the people were still alive. Suddenly I saw a rocket flying by and after few minutes another one in opposite direction. That was the moment when the panic started, I didn’t understand what was happening, I ran outside and saw my brother together with my nephew jumping and screaming from happiness. But little did they know what a war is all about. Maybe all those action movies from 90’s are to blame, but anyway it was not a moment of joy.

I remember my uncle running out to fight with an AK-47 and my grandma trying to stop him. You might wonder how he got the gun and why he had one. In Chechnya, we had no regular army, almost every man was born as a soldier, not that we chose to, but the history forced us to fight. Because of war against Russia that lasts for ages, the line between war and peace became vague. My aunt took me and other little kids and brought us to the basement. An insect on the floor made me forget the situation. I was not sure how to handle, but one thing I knew for sure, I was there to stay.

That day none of my family members got killed, by Gods bless. I remember a lot of cars outside the house, they were there to bring us to a safe place. My biggest disappointment was that I was not in the same car with my brother and nephew. Having an older brother is not easy, you always try to get on his level, but he is always a step ahead. The engines started and we left the place I once called home.

(to be continued)