Issam Faytarouni

My name is Issam.

I loved working with my hands, and the highlight of my day would be helping my mother to take care of her garden. I was known as the person who would go out of his way to help others. This trait of mine, was what led to my disappearance.

It was 1982, during the Israeli invasion, my best friend’s son became ill and needed immediate medical care. Despite all the warnings, I still offered to give them a ride to the doctor’s office in Souk El Ghareb. I dropped him off with his wife and son, and was on my way back to Aley. On the way, I was stopped at a random checkpoint. That was the last time that anyone ever heard about me.

What I did know at the time, is that there was a shooting at a birthday party, thirty minutes earlier. This had led to the installment of the random checkpoint. It was mere chance that I would cross it. When I failed to get back home by 6 pm, my family began to worry, and started looking for me. People from our village informed them that they had seen me sitting in the back seat of my own car with four strange men, and one of them was driving my car extremely fast. I was never to be seen again. My mother kept all my clothes the way I had left them in my wardrobe, hoping that one day I will come back home.

My name is Issam Faytarouni. Do not let my story end here.