(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) They say some scars never heal. Especially those carved deep by horrific incidents like the Peshawar Army Public School massacre by Pakistani Taliban last year. But the mind does heal with the right help. And Oman has done its bit to help some young minds become carefree again embrace life and its beauty.
Twenty students of the Peshawar school who saw their mates fall to bullets received gunshot wounds themselves and survived arrived in Oman on May 23 on a government invite to seek change and overcome the tragedy and the shock. They were accompanied by four teachers 18 guardians and a contingent commander.
And by their own account the visit did make a difference. 'I am really enjoying the trip; Oman is a beautiful country. I was told it might be boring but I love the people here. They are so hospitable. The culture the architecture...everything in Oman is so interesting.' Welcome words from a 16 year old tenth grader Abdullah Jamal who saw classmates die whom terrorists shot in the legs and who has somewhat overcome the horror.
'I was seated in the auditorium that day when these strange looking huge men broke in and started firing randomly. I saw my classmates falling and I was shot in the legs and fell. I pretended to be dead and escaped to another part of the building after they left.'
The terrorists had taken several students hostage. Munib Ullahshah head boy of the school was there too but was lucky to escape. 'I hid myself in one of the bathrooms.'
For him the incident has underscored the need for peace. 'We are peace loving people and want to fight extremists with the pen not swords. We would like to thank everyone who have shared so much love with us since the incident.'
Munib took in the sights and sounds of Oman and was all praise for its disciplined traffic. Fourteen year old ninth grader Zakriya Imran too was in awe. 'People in Oman are so disciplined the laws are enforced strictly and we could walk around freely. We visited the beaches museums parks and the mountains. I like everything about Oman except the heat' he said. Bakher a 15 year old in the group lost his mother a teacher in the school in the massacre.
Col Akbar Khan the contingent commander said the attack took place mainly in the auditorium where 500 students were present. 'They opened fire and we lost most of the lives there.'
The challenge for security forces during the operation said Col Khan was ensuring that students were not hit by their bullets. 'The terrorists were inside the building and panicked students were either coming out or running inside. The scary thing was that we could have killed our own students if we didn't tread carefully. This is why it took longer to fight. There were sections (of the school) where hostages were killed too as terrorists blew themselves up. We lost 23 staff members and 150 students.'
Col Khan who is looking after the school's reconstruction said that great care has been taken with the redesigning in a bid to erase dark memories. 'We have changed the entire facade and shape of the school. The auditorium area now houses a cafeteria a sports complex and a library. We are building a new exam hall as taking a test in the place of a tragedy can be quite traumatic. We have consulted several international psychiatrists and consultants for the school's reconstruction. The children undergo sessions with experts.'
Sulaiman Khan who teaches the seventh grade said 'This branch is only for boys. Our boys are strong confident and more determined to study and work hard. We want to tell the extremists that we will defeat them with education.'
Capt Issa al Balushi the Omani government representative said 'We are glad to have hosted them. They are brave children who have showed immense courage and strength. We are delighted that they loved the country and enjoyed the trip.' Col Khan said 'More than 1200 students have been affected. The next group will visit Turkey.'
The group of 20 students left Muscat on Monday night.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.