One of the gravediggers at Peshawar, Pakistan's largest graveyard talks about the emotional toll of

(20 Dec 2014) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBERS: 2038445, 2037816

VOICEOVER:
ONE OF THE GRAVEDIGGERS AT PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN'S LARGEST GRAVEYARD HAS A RULE THAT HE NEVER CRIES WHEN BURYING THE DEAD.
BUT AS THE BODIES FROM A SCHOOL MASSACRE THIS WEEK THAT KILLED 148 PEOPLE - ALMOST ALL CHILDREN - STARTED COMING IN, TAJ MUHAMMED STRUGGLED TO STOP HIMSELF FROM SHEDDING A TEAR.
"I HAVE BURIED BODIES OF THE DECEASED OF DIFFERENT AGES, SIZES, AND WEIGHTS," HE TOLD THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ON SATURDAY. "BUT YOU CAN'T IMAGINE THAT THOSE SMALL BODIES I HAVE BEEN BURYING SINCE YESTERDAY FELT MUCH HEAVIER THAN THOSE BIG ONES I BURIED PREVIOUSLY."
TUESDAY'S TERRORIST ATTACK WAS THE WORST IN YEARS - BUT HARDLY THE FIRST IN PESHAWAR, A CITY NEAR THE TRIBAL AREAS ALONG THE BORDER WITH AFGHANISTAN WHERE MILITANTS HAVE THEIR STRONGHOLDS.
MUHAMMED SAYS HE USUALLY COLLECTS ABOUT 20 TO 50 DOLLARS TO DIG A GRAVE. IT'S MONEY HE NEEDS. BUSINESS HAD BEEN SLOW - A SIGN OF A LULL IN THE VIOLENCE.
BUT THE FATHER OF EIGHT SAYS HE DIDN'T CHARGE ANYONE TO BURY THE VICTIMS OF TUESDAY'S ATTACK... SAYING IT WAS LIKE BURYING HIS OWN CHILDREN.
HANNAH BUCHDAHL, ASSOCIATED PRESS

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