First Post 7th of April

This is my first Post "on this Blog" the occasion is simply the 7th of April, a new beginning for me, see.. Three years ago I was nearly killed with all my family when we were shelled on this same day in 2003 but that's a different story altogether, you can call me Zappy!, I live in Baghdad, Iraq. And this is where I express myself...

My wife just came and encouraged me to tell this days story.

On the 7th of April 2003 we had our cousin M. Staying with us he was just about to leave with his mother and pregnant wife when my wife called him to drink some Turkish coffee and watch what Mr. Mohammed Said Al Sahaf daily press brief on the Abu Dhabi satellite Channel, you may know him as Baghdad Bob the world greatest liar on Earth, oh by the way a lot of Iraqis had satellite dishes but they were cleverly hidden if you were caught with one in your house you'll get a god fine or a jail sentence.

Anyway me my Father mother Sister and cousin M. Were gathering and joking about Mr Sahaf and as soon as the press brief began the Shells began flying in the children were sleeping downstairs in the guest room I Grabbed little M my youngest daughter and cousin M grabbed D from her legs and pulled her violently my father yelled to gather in a hurdle and put a blanket on our heads, for the next 20 minutes I was thinking of nothing but of when the next shell will hit us and God places his mercy on us and finish everything all we heard was the shattering of the Glass windows, the thick wooden door with the thick crossbar being blown of its hinges into the guest room the smell of Kerosene and Gas from the blown up Kerosene tank and the smell of gunpowder and the smell and sound of death, the neighbor's children crying over the wall and calling my father Amo! Amo! Please help us Amo! Help us over the wall let us in your home. My father told them to stay put and not move duck! Under ! Don't move ! I cant help you!

after the deadly twenty minutes I heard my friend and naghbour yelling my name are you alive! Are you alive in there! We ran through the what used to be our trusty door and saw a horrific sight the car was turned into a sieve the shrapnel was everywhere fuel kerosene and Gas was everywhere shrapnel hat hit the car so bad there was practically no car at all, the main gate which is a 5mm thick steel paneled gate was full of holes and right in front of your house was a torso of a human.

his name was H. He was the father of two children he was visiting a neighbor when the shelling began he left his car and began running a 210mm shell hit him point blank, we found parts of his scalp on the house roof.

we were never O.K. after that.

for four days we did not move from the living room, we did not know that the war was over,

we did not eat for four days, until my uncle worried because he was not able to contact us all phone lines were cut so was the electric cable, (we were to scared to run the small generator) came looking for us and saw what happened and told us the story of the fall of Baghdad.

We survived...I Think...