The lady was waiting for us in front of the broom cupboard where she lived with her mother and two of her children. The woman was dressed in black from head to toe and she could have been between 30 and 60 years of age. Our translator had some difficulties understanding and therefore telling us what she was saying. As far as the interpreter could make out, this is what she recounted in a flat and expressionless voice.
That night we could hear the sound of gunfire which seemed to us to be far away. It was getting dark, and we were watching television. In the living room of my house, there was my mother and my father, my husband and our three children. A short while later, our neighbours knocked at the door and joined us.
We were now fourteen people in the room. My husband got up and switched the television off. My dad turned the light off and we should have been in complete darkness.
Instead, there was a glow in the room which was a reflection of the red and yellow light coming from outside. My dad said that there must be a fire in the village. The neighbours were just about to go home when our front door was smashed open. Three men came in with guns and shot at the ceiling. We were so scared that none of us moved.
So, he shouted again and this time, he pointed his gun at us. Slowly, we got up from our chairs and moved towards the door. One of the men told us to hurry and started pushing and shoving us forward.
