JEDDAH, 9 December 2004 — Buck Organ, a 14-year-old 9th grader at the Tamer International School, had the fright of his life when the US Consulate near his school was stormed here on Monday by terrorists in a blaze of gunfire.
Here is a first person account of what he went through when the terrorist drama unfolded:
“When I was attending Chemistry class at Thamer International School next to the US Consulate there was a student who came over to our class at 11:45 a.m. and told everyone that they should pack up our bags and call our parents immediately. And then one of the teachers came and told us that all the students who go by bus must leave immediately. So everyone in our class packed up and went to the basketball court, which is the middle section of the school. We were told to stay in a certain area and call our parents.
“While we were waiting we heard gunfire coming from the US Consulate. Everybody was scared and teachers were telling us that everything will be alright. I asked one of the teachers if I could go to the girls’ section to meet one of the teachers who was responsible for me and so I did. I was instructed to try and find her son and daughter, after that, she told me to watch her children and some others to stay where we were at and to stay together so that she would know where we are. The teachers moved all the students out of the girls’ section into the boys’ section because it was too close to the US Consulate and was afraid that the bullets might enter the school.
“After a while when the student numbers decreased I helped to move the smaller children into the administration building and to stay there until their parents picked them up. While we were there we had to wait for the kindergarten teacher because she had to make sure that all her students have safely left the school with their parents. After that was done we left the school but had to walk for quite a distance because the roads were blocked. When we left the school I was feeling frightened because I was scared that maybe we will bump into the terrorist and get shot or taken hostage.
“While we were walking to the car we saw two helicopters circling the US Consulate. There was heavy traffic near the consulate and it took us about 30 to 45 minutes to get home. When I got home I told my parents what had happened and they were so glad that I was safe.
“This was something that I am never going to forget because it was like life threatening. I was surprised at what had happened because I was born in Jeddah and in my opinion it is always a peaceful place to live in.”
