An Afghan man sits next to the covered bodies
of people who were killed in Kandahar province.
(Ahmad Nadeem/Reuters)
Think for a moment what the national conversation might be like if Staff Sgt. Robert Bales had camouflaged himself and gone out to kill
17 kids and adults near his home in Lake Tapps, Wash., instead of Kandahar Province.
You can be sure of two things: the media coverage would be far less sympathetic; and everybody would by now know the names of every single victim. None of them would likely be called Nazia or Faizullah or other names unfamiliar to most American ears. They would have names like Sandra, Latoya, Kenneth or Juan. We would know their life stories. Photos and videos of them would be circulating on social media. The focus on the children would be poignant, heart-rending. We would be saturated with 17 tragic stories, and their faces would peer out at us from special sections of Time and other publications. Relatives would express their grief on "The View."
Of the 17 Afghan dead, however, we know next to nothing. Their names have not gained wide circulation. Just like the names of other civilians killed in Afghanistan, the latest "collateral damage" in this endless, useless war would remain nameless in most of our media. But they all had names. And we should not be shy about saying them aloud:
• Akhtar Mohamed (son of Murrad Ali)
• Esmatullah, age 16 (son of Mohamed Wazir)
• Essa Mohamed (son of Mohamed Hussain)
• Faizullah, age 9 (son of Mohamed Wazir)
• Farida (daughter of Mohamed Wazir)
• Khudaydad (son of Mohamed Juma)
• Masooma (daughter of Mohamed Wazir)
• Mohamed Dawood (son of Abdullah)
• Nabia (daughter of Mohamed Wazir)
• Nazar Mohamed
• Nazia (daughter of Dost Mohamed)
• Palwasha (daughter of Mohamed Wazir)
• Payendo
• Robeena
• Shatarina (daughter of Sultan Mohamed)
• Zahra (daughter of Abdul Hamid)
Only Wednesday did the military add a 17th victim to the 16 previously reported. There has been no statement regarding why, and no name has been made available.
Whatever ultimately happens to Bales, whatever his rationale or irrationality were for going on his shooting spree, his name will not likely be forgotten in the years ahead. Sadly, those of the men, women and children whom he murdered will soon fade.
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Some of the names of other Afghan civilians killed in sanctioned U.S. actions can be seen here.