Before the War I Had Toys
Before the War I Had Toys
Children of Grozny
Ema (11 years old) and David Naumkin (10 years old)
Used to live in: Oktyabrskiy rayon, Grozny
Ema: ”Today, we live in a boarding house. A bomb destroyed our house. I do not know who did it. Probably the war, I guess. The soldiers were fighting and shooting …and one missile hit our house. The war is over, but they are still shooting. They shoot from the check-posts.
I don’t have many dolls today. I used to have lots of them. But they got lost. I love my grandma a lot. I would love my mum too, but they killed her. Well, I do not know who did. It happened a long time ago - in November 1999.
When I grow up I’m going to be a singer. I would like to live in a boarding house, I like that place a lot. All my friends live there, we sing and dance every evening. My biggest wish is to have a beautiful, white dress.”
David is Ema’s cousin. He speaks very little and when he does he often slurs his words. David’s mother is a heavy drug user and no one knows where his father is.
Ema’s mother is dead - the death certificate says she died of shotgun wounds to the skull and multiple pieces of shrapnel deep inside her chest.
Ema’s grandma, who looks after the children, says that Ema’s father was never around even before the war.
She is trying very hard to take care of the kids, but she drinks. Sometimes, she doesn’t have the strength to look after them properly.
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