RASHA ZAYOUN
16 years old from MarakeRasha is a 16 year-old girl who lost her leg
as a consequence of a cluster bomblet accident at her house in Marake,
South Lebanon. There are two versions that explain what happened on
January 1, 2007, almost five moths after the ceasefire. The family’s
explanation is that Rasha and her mother were taking fruits out of a
basket her father brought from the orchard and there was a cluster
bomblet that had fallen into the basket from a tree. The other
version that is told by Rasha’s neighbors is that her father found a
cluster bomblet in the field and brought it home without knowing the
risks. He placed the device was on top of the family’s old TV. In her
mother’s presence, Rasha took the bomblet and manipulated it without
knowing what it was. The bomb went off and shrapnel hit both mother
and daughter sending them to hospital. Rasha’s mother had to be
hospitalized for 20 days .Rasha was less lucky: her whole body was
burned, one hand was broken and she got deep shrapnel all over her
body. Doctors could do nothing to save her left leg.Rasha Zayoun in
the place were she involuntarily detonated a cluster bomblet that
destroyed her leg and almost killed her.
Photo: Kike Arnal
