Blog #2 Al Qaeda

Al Qaeda, Kidnapers
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3 sisters, Hostages

            It was a travel day like so many others.  My two sisters and I were getting ready to the board the plane, going from Miami to Los Angeles.  It was a summer vacation we would never forget. I was very excited to go on a trip with my two sisters Daniella and Natalia. After an hour on the plane I decided to take a nap, it was a long trip and it was just beginning.

            When I was dozing off, a bearded man with a scar across his face took out a gun and told everybody to be quiet. I looked around and the only thing I could see was fear in everybody’s faces. He was a member of the Al Qaeda terrorist group.  One other man came out of the captain’s cabin and told everybody to buckle up and stay in their seats or else they were going to be killed. The two men started talking in Arabic, while everybody else was quiet and very afraid. I started counting the men who were watching the passengers. From what I could see, there were 11 of them including the first two. Natalia, who knew Arabic over heard their conversation. She then, quietly translated to my other sister and I what the two men were saying.

2 Men Speaking in Arabic

“We are going to land in the Dominican Republic. It is the closest airport to the Guantanamo Bay. There, we can call the United States and negotiate the freedom of our members who are imprisoned”.  “ The United states agreed to never negotiate with terrorists, you know that Mohammed”. “ They will negotiate with us. We have a plane full of American citizens held for ransom. We will tell them that if they do not let go of our Al Qaeda members who are imprisoned we will kill and torture all of them.  Hussein is going to be very proud of us”.

          After two hours of pure silence we landed in the Dominican Republic. We were split into five groups, and each group was taken off the plane quietly, who ever talked was killed. I was in the last group with my two sisters. It was pitch black outside, the only thing I could see were five big trucks that were waiting for everyone. We drove for about a half hour. When we got there we were split into two groups, I was separated from my older sister whom I never saw again.  We were put into a big warehouse with nothing in it. We were told to lie face down on the ground, not to move, or speak.

We were kept there for 8 days. Every morning at 8 we were given a small peace of bread and a cup of water.  If we needed to go to the bathroom we had to stand up and stay in the same place until they would take you. It was very dangerous to go to the bathroom, some people would never come back and others especially women were raped.

          On the seventh day my sister and I were taken into a small room. We were both pale, skinny and without a single drop of hope.  A tall guy, with two vests came into the room and made us wear the vests that were loaded with bombs.  In that moment I saw my whole life flash back. I finally saw how easy life was before and how so many of my other problems were meaningless. Any minute I could blow up an entire house full of people and children.  For an entire day my sister and I were kept in the room locked up. Suddenly a  member of the Al Qaeda took us into the big ware house. My sister over heard them saying that the U.S did not want to negotiate, so they were going to blow us up. My sister and I hugged each other tightly waiting for our lives to end. I was suddenly hit in the head with something and knocked out completely.

          Two days later I woke up in a hospital bed with my two sisters and family besides me. Everything was going to be all right. My sister told me that the FBI knew about the entire operation and that’s was how we got saved. I was then told that a member of the Al Qaeda was the one who hit me with his gun and knocked me out.

            Those entire eight days made me realize how fortunate and lucky I was. I saw how blessed I was by god that I returned safely to my family. I learned that one should never loose hope, because everything has a solution and there will always be someone there to help.