A special event that was meant to be beautiful and magical turned tragic and devastating. This is the famous Iraq wedding that went viral on social media for catching fire moments after the bride and groom step into the floor to have their first dance. Unfortunately, the tragic event killed and injured hundreds of guest in the wedding. This will now be an event that will never be forgotten as many lost their family, children, and close friends in that fire.
The fire killed 107 individuals and injure another 150 guest. Those injured suffered internal and external wounds from burns, smoke inhalation, and being stepped on/crushed by other guest in the wedding who where rushing to exit the venue. The fire initiated in the ceiling where the mammoth chandelier was located and adorn with hundreds of prohibited and flammable decorations. After the fire started it quickly spread all through the venue. And after most of the guest had already evacuated the building, the building rapidly collapsed.
Additionally, fire officials stated the reception hall was also constructed with highly flammable materials. Meaning, the cheap flammable materials the building was constructed out of only allowed the fire to spread more quickly.
The Unbearable Grief of Losing a Loved One
Despite the fact that hundreds of gust survive the fire including the bride and groom this does not take away from the fact that countless of gust lost many if not all of their family members. The bride, for instance, lost her entire family her three brothers, all of her uncles and her young cousins. The groom also sadly lost his mother. Regardless of surviving the fire this will not be enough to cover the grief they are now experiencing.
Additionally, Steven Nabil also shared his story, he along side his fiancé were guest at the wedding. Nabil recalled that 10-minutes before the fire started, he stepped out of the venue for a small break. However, before leaving, he went up to his fiancé, Maryam Naeem, and shared a laugh with her. In addition, he took a ball to her younger brother before finally leaving the hall.
Subsequently, minutes later he received a called from Naeem saying, “I am going to die. Take care of yourself. I love you.” Naeem rushed back into the hall and tried to break to rescue his fiancé. However, his struggles where in vain, the fire was to strong, and there was to much smoke to rescue anyone. Naeem lost his beautiful fiancé in that fire. Like many others, Naeem was left behind to pick up the pieces and grief alone the lost of those many loved.
Searching For Peace
The probe regarding this incident was released last Sunday which stated that the fire was initiated because of unsafe fireworks. Other officials also faced “administrative measure” because of the negligence found in this hall. However, many family members are mad at this outcome and have express their dissatisfaction through different statements. One of this statements mentioned, “We reject the idea that the cause of the fire was an accident,” Sheeto a guest from the wedding said. Also stating, “We are confident that it was intentional and therefor we demand an international investigation.”
Today the Iraq population is estimated to be around150,000 compared to the 1.5 million who were reported in 2003. Now the total population in Iraq is of 40 million. Iraq’s is a population minority who have history of being attacked and targeted simply because they were view differently. For this reason people want the victims, the family of the victims and those who were hurt in the incident to receive the respect and justice they deserve.
Written By Nohemi Sanchez
Sources:
NDTV World: Video: Bride and Groom were dancing. Then hell broke loose at Iraq wedding
Middle East Eye: Iraq wedding fire: Man who lost fiancée remembers painful final call
FOX NEWS: Christian leaders in northern Iraq call for international probe into fatal wedding fire
Featured Image Courtesy of Nenad Stojkovic Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of liz west Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
