Seen death with your own eyes’
to get us out of there. Do something. But he wasn’t moving. Everyone started to shout at him. I was shouting at him. For those six or seven minutes, there was no police.
‘‘Then the police appeared, and the way the special forces stormed the mosque, we just lost it. We went numb. My whole body went cold. More injured and bloodied people started to come out of the mosque.
‘‘That was the time we couldn’t control ourselves. We started screaming, ‘let us go!’ Some said, ‘what if they shoot us when we get out?’ Someone else said, ‘we are in danger if we are stuck in the bus’. I also felt that we would have a chance to escape if we got out of the bus. We become a big target in the bus. Where will we go? Both doors are closed.
‘‘Right at that point, for some reason, the driver took the bus 10 metres ahead. We were at breaking point at that point. Everyone lost it. We started to bang the middle door. We were kicking and punching that door. He opened the door.’’
Once out of the bus, the team were wanting to run through Hagley Park, though someone suggested that may make them easier targets, so a brisk walk was a better option.
‘‘By that time I saw you three there [Isam and fellow journalists Utpal Shuvro and Mazhar Uddin]. I didn’t realise it then but last night, I realised how big a risk you three took.
‘‘There will be very few people on earth who will take that risk. I don’t think many close people would have turned up in that situation, like you came. I actually got relieved when I saw you guys. Then we all started to walk. By the time we had gone a fair distance, everyone started to run towards the ground.’’
Tamim said after gathering in the dressing room, the players returned to the team hotel and went straight to Mahmudullah’s room and started to watch the shooter’s video, with many beginning to weep.
‘‘You know, you had seen death with your own eyes. Your body goes cold. It was something we will never forget. And it is such a thing, it is getting worse with every hour we pass. I have spoken to a lot of my team-mates, and everyone is talking about it. The good thing is that everyone still has a little smile on their face. But trust me, inside, everyone is shattered.
‘‘One thing for sure, it will take a long time to get over. I hope the families help us. We might need counselling. I close my eyes, and I am seeing those scenes. Last night most of the cricketers slept in groups.
‘‘On our way to the airport, we were telling each other that if things had gone wrong by even a little bit, it would have been our dead bodies, not us, going home. It was just a matter of 30 seconds.’’