No compensation
September 5, 2011
Abdul Hanan had great plans for his sons. He wanted them to go to school and become engineers. His dreams were shattered by the bombs that killed his sons on September 4, 2009. "I think of them day and night," he says. "I see boys going to school and I wish my sons and nephew were with them."
His sons were in the third and fourth forms, whereas his nephew was in the fifth form. They were among the dozens killed when the German command in the northern province of Kunduz ordered an airstrike on two fuel tankers which had been hijacked by the Taliban.
Until then, the Germans in Kunduz had been considered less reckless than their colleagues in the coalition but this strike marked a distinct change and Colonel Georg Klein was heavily criticized. It is clear today that most of those killed in the strike were not Taliban fighters, as was first maintained by German military officials, but villagers who had hoped to siphon some oil. They were killed just as NATO had announced it would try to reduce civilian casualties.
'Why did they do it?'
Abdul Hanan cannot hide his anger today. "We can't do anything against those who dropped the bombs or those who ordered the strike," he says. "We don't have any tanks or fighter jets. We are poor people. If we could, we would burn their children the way they did ours. We want the courts and the government to interrogate these murderers and ask them why they did it."
Not everyone wants outright revenge but many think that Germany has not done enough to allay the pain. "I haven't heard one word of apology," says Haji Basir, who lost three sons. "They haven't even spoken to us."
The Bundeswehr estimates that 91 people were killed in the strike and 11 were gravely wounded. In June 2010, the German defense ministry said it would pay 5,000 US dollars to each family as an ex gratia payment, but without admitting liability.
Hanan, who received the money, says it is not right that only families that had lost at least two or three children got the support. Moreover, he is furious that Germany does not want to pay compensation. Haji Basir is also bitterly disappointed and says that 5,000 dollars is not enough for families that have lost a breadwinner. "What's 5,000 dollars when we're talking about a person's life?"
Author: Kai Küstner / act
Editor: Manasi Gopalakrishnan