On the massacre of an innocent

My mother grabbed me and took me to a barn to hide. I heard men screaming and shouting. I heard people crying, especially women. I looked outside the window. I was peeking sometimes, but I was afraid they would see me . Then across the street I saw my friend Shafiq, 13 years old, outside, standing alone. An armed man in military uniform grabbed him and put him at the corner of a house. He took his own weapon and shot him in the head.

A 10-year-old boy’s account of the Houla massacre in Syria, as recorded by Human Rights Watch.