Twelve years ago, on April 18, 1996, two of my children were killed in the shelling of a United Nations compound in Qana, Lebanon, during a trip to visit their grandmother.

The compound was supposed to be a place of refuge. More than 100 innocent people, almost half of them children, were killed in the attack, and even more were seriously injured. My mother lost her arm.

My country, the United States, has never called for justice or pressed for an official inquiry. Dust gathers on the deaths of my two boys and all the others at Qana that day.

My boys left our home in Dearborn, Michigan, to visit my mother in the village where I grew up: Qana. She wanted to see her grandchildren, Abdul-Mohsen, who was 9, and Hadi, who was 8. She missed watching them grow up, playing outside, riding their bikes.

Abdul-Mohsen dreamed of being a doctor. Hadi hoped to be an engineer.

The last time I spoke to my sons, they told me they had to flee with their grandmother from her home because the Israeli army had announced it was going to bomb the area. My mother was old and could not drive, so the closest place to seek safety was the U.N. compound. Like so many other civilians, they sought refuge there. I assured them they would be safe.

I was listening to the radio at work when I heard that the Israel Defense Forces had attacked the compound in Qana. I rushed home and frantically called Lebanon. My brother told me the unbearable news: My boys were dead.

A U.N. investigation concluded that it was unlikely the strike on the compound was a mistake, as the Israel Defense Forces had claimed. The U.N. General Assembly condemned the attack as a violation of international humanitarian law and determined that Israel should compensate Lebanon for the destruction. These resolutions have gone unheeded.

Since that day twelve years ago, I -- along with survivors of the Qana attack -- have sought justice for the young and old, the children and grandmothers who died that day.

We have pleaded for those responsible to account for their actions.

We went to the United Nations but got only words.

The U.S. government turned its back on us.

We even sought justice in the U.S. courts – unsuccessfully. A judge found that the Israeli general we were suing was shielded by Israel’s immunity.

So where do we turn for justice?

This Friday, like every April 18th since 1996, my family will commemorate the anniversary of the attack along with other families from Qana who now live in Dearborn, Michigan, Qana’s sister city.

We will remember our children, our parents, our loved ones.

We will call for justice and for those responsible for their deaths to be held accountable.

We will call for Israel to compensate the Qana survivors, in particular the children who lost their parents and need help and support.

We would like for everyone to come together to promote peace and call for an end to the killing of children.

Please join us in our call. Twelve years is too long.

Haidar Bitar of Dearborn, Michigan, is the father of Abdul-Mohsen and Hadi, who were killed in the 1996 Qana massacre.