Not everyone managed to escape. Naseem’s young niece and his father, Hamed Khan, remained trapped in the house, taking cover beneath a staircase. Amid the ongoing shelling, one of Naseem’s brothers braved the danger and rushed back to rescue them, only to find both unconscious. Hamed had sustained injuries to his back and leg, while the little girl was discovered under the rubble, suffering from a concussion. “When one of the shells hit the side of the house, the wall collapsed inward and knocked her out,” Naseem explained.Around 7am, when the shelling finally ceased, an ambulance arrived to transport the injured to the hospital. Concerned neighbours had called for help after witnessing shells strike the Khan residence. The entire family left with the ambulance. The family lives in Ramgai village which is 15 km away from the Indo-Pak border. The 80-120mm artillery shells fired from the other side of the border cover a range of 30-40 km. Hence, Naseem’s village along with many other villages in the bordering district of Baramulla bore the brunt of the retaliation.A week later, Naseem and his brother returned to assess the damage. The sight of their shattered home moved them to tears. “I don’t want to live here anymore. There’s fear everywhere,” he said. “When you grow up in a house from childhood, it carries all your dreams. Now, it’s all gone.”For the past week, the Khan family has been living with friends and relatives in Baramulla town. Naseem’s father and niece are still in the hospital but their condition is stable now. When asked why they did not go to the camps set up by the government, he said, “Children won’t be able to stay. At home, there are 30 people together. But there, it would be in the hundreds.” The shelling left the children traumatised. “If we shut the door or the window, or there is strong wind blowing, they would start screaming. If there is any noise outside, they will start screaming. One of the kids had to be taken to the hospital that very morning for his trauma. He was non-responsive, frozen with an expression of horror on his face. Even we (adults) are scared. Still we are thankful that we are alive, that’s the big thing,” he said.
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