Born Into Carnage, 18 Afghan Babies Face an Uncertain Fate- NYT

After the indiscriminate killings of mothers in a maternity ward in Afghanistan, 18 newborn babies have turned motherless. Their bodies covered in blood are now without the first people in their lives.

The NYT report said, “The oldest, born five days earlier, and the youngest, delivered in a safe room after the attack had begun, are lucky: Their mothers survived.” The babies barely completed a full 24 hours in this chaotic world and yet they faced carnage.

It was about time that a U.S. peace deal with Taliban would bring an end to this bloodshed. But the deal is stuck over a prisoner exchange. Insurgents have in consequence “ramped up attacks across the country, killing dozens by the day.”

Till now no group has claimed responsibility for the hospital attack. People across Afghanistan are fuming over Taliban’s refusal to agree to a cease-fire.

The babies have not yet been named. Reuniting them with their families is an arduous job in a place where, “men take offense at the mere mention of their wives’ names in public.” The community elder however, helped in calling out the names of the babies mothers to find their relatives and the men listened intently. Outside the hospital mothers names were called out, “The child of Suraya!, child of Gul Makai.”

Relatives of the babies were running door to door with national IDs to get the possession of the babies. Among others, dozens have gathered to adopt the babies. “By the end of the day, the identities of 11 were confirmed and handed to their families”, said the report.

Link to the original article-https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/13/world/asia/afghanistan-maternity-ward-attack.html