Hours before the world learned that a US missile had hit Shajareh Tayyebeh school, parents were already searching the rubble for their sons and daughters. In this exclusive report, four families describe the events of 28 February
When Marzieh heard the first bang, an almighty crash that rattled the room, her first thought went to her youngest son, Mohammad. He must have got out on to the balcony and discovered a new game, she thought: using all of his small might to smash its sliding doors closed. Marzieh stood up from where she was working at her sewing machine, and shouted for him to stop.
“Mum, it wasn’t me,” he called back.
Then, the second crash sounded, the force of it making the entire house tremble. Could it be the neighbours, she wondered – construction work, renovations? But even as the thought occurred, she knew it wasn’t right: their nextdoor neighbours had all left for work that morning, and only she and Mohammad were at home.
Just a few minutes earlier, at 11.17am, Marzieh had received an abrupt phone call from Mrs Mohammadian, her eight-year-old daughter Zahra’s teacher. The primary school, a few blocks away, was closing early, she said – could the family pick Zahra up? But Mrs Mohammadian hadn’t said why, swiftly concluding the message to call the next parent on her list. Marzieh rang her husband at work, who sent his brother to pick up the girls – Zahra and her cousin were in the same class.
