Mazhar Hussein, 11, vividly recalls the morning the earthquake struck. He was in school in his village of Bugarmong:
"My teacher was so scared. He cried out to all of us, 'Rush out of the classroom.'" "I am a back bencher," he says, meaning that he sits at the back of the class. "I dove under my desk and debris landed on top." "I thought we would be no more. There was a sharp pain in my stomach," he says, describing his fear. "I felt I was to be no more. I was so scared." When the shaking stopped, Mazhar was trapped under piles of concrete with five of his classmates. They were all dead. Because the quake happened on a school day, an estimated 32,000 children were killed when their classrooms collapsed around them. The United Nations estimates that 8,000 schools were destroyed. "I was praying for myself and for my parents because they look after me, care for me so well." "I cried out that I was there and my teacher came and pulled me out. It took a lot of time to get me out. I felt my shoes stepping on my classmates. They were crushed under my feet as I climbed out." Right now, Mazhar is showing few signs of his ordeal. He is relaxed with visitors and readily answers their questions. He has a quick smile and he seems to engage well with the 16 other members of his extended family as they live in tents at the edge of their property. They are afraid to go back into their houses, as there are continual aftershocks. Five days after the earthquake, Mazhar's grandfather, Ulam, died of a heart attack. The family believes it was brought on by stress. World Vision delivered warm quilts to the family. Mazhar believes his local school will not be rebuilt. Its damage is too overwhelming to his young mind. He thinks he can travel to Mansehra but that is 35 kilometres one way. "I'm not very intelligent but I want to do higher studies and become a driver."
There is one thing he will do for sure: "I will become a more pious person and pray five times a day."
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