By Ramin Bajoghli

Bam, one year later, closely resembles the Bam of one year ago. Walking through the streets of Bam is like walking in a war zone. Mountains and mountains of rubble occupy the landscape, choking the beautiful scenery.

Despite the short length of our visit in Bam, we were able to establish strong relationships with the children. Arezoo, a beautiful ten year old girl, lost her brother, mother, and father on that terrible morning. At first glance she did not resemble a girl who has witnessed the death of her immediate family, but behind her gorgeous eyes the void left by her loss was evident. As we walked through the cemetery searching for her family’s grave, her little face was covered by tears. The never-ending stream of tears began to subside when she, surrounded by her friends, gently placed a bouquet of flowers on her family’s grave and paid her respects. Placing the flowers on the remains of her family eased her pain; she was able to breathe a sigh of calmness.

Later that day, she recited the moments leading up to the earthquake. She was awake a little after five in the morning because her mother was getting ready for her morning prayer. It was around this time that the ground began to shake a little. Nature was warming up for her knock-out punch. Arezoo’s mother warned her of an upcoming earthquake and told her to stand in the doorframe if the ground began to shake again. Around 5:30 in the morning the city of Bam began to fall. Arezoo ran to the doorframe. Her mother followed suit but as she was making her way to Arezoo the TV and the cabinet fell on top of her, killing her instantly. Her father and brother were not able to make it out safely either. Arezoo, along with her older sister, were the lone survivors.

Zahra, also a ten-year-old girl, lost her brother in the earthquake. Zahra used her wit to quickly charm Mani, Ramin, and myself. She called me Amoo Ramin-e Moo Kootah (“Uncle Short Hair Ramin”), the other Ramin Amoo Moo Fer-feri (“Uncle Curly Hair”), and Mani Amoo Toopolely (“Uncle Chubby”). The three of us, the two Ramin’s and Mani, are about the same age as her lost brother. In us, she saw resemblances of him. She did not leave our sides throughout our stay in Bam; she was either holding our hands or climbing on our backs. She detested us when we spoke in English, “Ma’geh ma to Amrika hastim? One, two, three.” She would be mad at us if we did not listen to her. She would protect us from the other children when they would jump all over us. In short, Zahra was our self-appointed guardian angel while we visited her broken city.

On the ride back from the cemetery, Zahra sat on Mani’s lap. She looked out the window of the moving vehicle and, with a cold stare and monotone voice, pointed out the different locations she had come to know growing up, “Een khaneh-ye man bood…een madraseh-am bood…een park bood….” Each location was a pile of crushed bricks—this, a full year after the horrific earthquake.

Stories like Arezoo’s and Zahra’s are not unique in Bam. There are occasions where as many as thirteen family members in one household have perished. And there are cases where as few as one family member was killed. Remarkably, a man who lost a devastating eighteen family members donated the land to SIB on which they built their school.

Wherever you look in Bam you are witnessing tragedy after tragedy after tragedy. Generations of families have been uprooted. It is during these times that we must unite as a community, to extend our helping hands in an effort to restore order. The children of Bam, like Arezoo (which means hope or wish in English) and Zahra, deserve the right to put behind them the horrific scenes that have been implanted in their memories and to start anew. But this all-important right may be impossible if we, as Iranians living abroad, forget our duty to lend a helping hand – not once, but consistently, to support the reconstruction of Bam.

Nature has a tragic way of reminding us of her presence and her strength. Exactly one year after the devastation of Bam, an earthquake in the Indian Ocean erupted sending monstrous waves to surrounding shores that destroyed 10 countries and killed over two-hundred thousand (and counting) innocent human begins. In two years, two destructive earthquakes rocked the world. The outpouring of support must not stop in Iran or Southeast Asia. Many non-governmental organizations exist inside and outside of Iran that could use our support. As the famous saying goes, “service is the rent we pay to live on this earth.”

To view a slideshow of IAAB's recent visit to Bam, please click here.