Dr. Saad Youssef writes… The catastrophe

Episode 2

(Days of Steadfastness)

Before the (Black Day), steadfastness was more likely for me, as before that day I derived steadfastness from daily phone conversations with my friends: (Abu Araki) who lives with me in the neighborhood.. He would check on me and I would check on him and we would exchange news, and other conversations with my friend (Hashem Siddiq) whom I would ask about his health and the reality of the situation in (Banat) and listen to his conscious analyses of the events and his criticisms on the local and foreign channels broadcast. I would enjoy the phone calls of Mekki Sinada when the clashes in their inflamed area subsided. I would listens the appeals of Othman Al-Badawi and Adel Harbi and others for me to get out.. In fact, we would entertain ourselves by watching daily episodes of the series (Comedy of Strategic Experts).
During that period, I did not feel unemployed. My day was busy searching for flour to make bread and legumes to cook food. In between, I would receive the invaders outside the house when they were content with looting the empty houses. All of this did not distract me from working according to my specialty, as I continued writing some of the research that I had started before the war broke out. In fact, I had agreed with my brother (Al-Rashid Ahmed Issa) in our daily phone calls – before he left our neighborhood – and with Abu Araki to write a documentary theatrical performance that depicted the events taking place around us that we thought would not last long. Indeed, I started writing until I reached the last chapter. Then, until that day, some families were still with us. Men of all ages, women and children. We were able, through our solidarity and cooperation, to solve some of the problems of survival, such as water and food. For all these reasons, I was able to withstand in my home for nearly five months… And for all these reasons, I never thought of leaving my humble home even if they replaced it with a luxurious palace. My companion and I – may God have mercy on her – witnessed every brick in it, where it was placed and how we provided for it… Then she left our world after leaving her fingerprints on every brick in it. One of God’s blessings upon her was that He spared her from going through the grave events that we went through… After every difficult situation, I would remember her and say to myself (How could her broken heart have endured this situation if she were among us?) because I was certain that she would not have thought of leaving the house no matter how dark the circumstances were…
So the question here is: How did I allow myself to think, just think, about leaving?
As for the answer, it is: They are events and incidents that piled up on top of each other that pushed me to leave, or be displaced, or immigrate… I will tell you some of them in the upcoming episodes.
To be continued…