The Tale of Zarina, age 15

"My father was killed by one of the masked men that came into the neighborhood. He was shot and killed on the street. The rest of my family had to escape to Uzbekistan when the fighting started and he told us he would stay behind to protect our house. We didn't know then that it would have been better for all of us to just leave Osh because the fighting would continue for four horrible days.

It was my uncle who found my father's body. He had to search through rows and rows of bodies before he could locate my father. My uncle called us and told us the news and said that my father looked
peaceful -- his body hadn't been bloated or bruised and he looked as though he had been sleeping. The whiskers on his chin had grown soft and white even after he had died. I didn't get to see my father buried and I couldn't say goodbye.

Since the fighting in June, many Uzbek girls my age are being married off quickly. Families fear that Kyrgyz men will come and kidnap us and rape us. My mother is worried for me because there is no man in our household to protect us anymore. There is a 26 year old man who is talking to my mother about marrying me. I am not ready to be married, but I do not want to be a burden to my mother either.

I try to believe that there are good Kyrgyz but each time I see a Kyrgyz my heart beats so fast and I am filled with fear and anger. I don't know if like can ever return back to normal again."