He was sixteen years old when the war broke out. He was living in Burj Hammud and working at a car garage. During that time, he would not leave the house, nor go to school. During the bombardments, he would hide with his parents, at home, and when the situation got worse, he would go to the shelter where the boys would talk about the war and the battles. He would work until noon, most days, and then stay on in the afternoon if the situation was calm enough. He says that he was never afraid all this time, and believes that this was due to the fact that he simply got used to the very idea of the war. As for going from one place to another, he says that he would only do this during ceasefires, to buy basic necessities.

There were specific moments that were safe to cross checkpoints; otherwise, one’s fate would be determined by snipers. But even as such, anyone crossing from one side to the other would be gripped by terror, even if they were allowed to cross. He cites as an example the Barbara checkpoint (in North Lebanon), where they would have to wait long hours in order to be searched. One of the few checkpoints he did actually cross was the Barbir checkpoint when he went to West Beirut as he could no longer find gas to buy in his area.

Whenever anyone was injured, the neighborhood residents would take them to the hospitals since the Red Cross wasn’t present in their area. That would mean that they would have to risk the dangers of snipers and bombardments on the way to the hospital. He mentions what happened to one of his relatives, who lost both his legs after a shell fell next to him. He died afterwards as a result of gangrene.

They would be fearful of going to the cemetery because it was in a distant place. During ceasefires, they would go to Church, to celebrate special occasions, or at home when the bombardments were going on. He remembers once, they were attending an Easter mass at church, and were taken by surprise by a round of shelling; they fled and returned home. He says, the bombs were their holiday lot.

They would resort to the phone or the radio to get news of relatives who lived in other areas, and after a battle. And whenever the battles would stop, they would go to visit their relatives to check on them, but only spend a half hour at most.

During the periods of bombardments, canned food represented the main source of nutrition. Neighbors would agree on taking turns in fetching food for everyone, so that each person would get whatever they managed. He and his brothers would take turns in queuing for bread at the bakery.

Water was available in Burj Hammud so there was no problem at this level. But the price of gas, on the other hand, shot up to the point where they had no choice but to limit its use. As for electricity, he says the situation wasn’t so different from what it is today, with about five hours of power cuts per day; and people addressed this problem by buying generators. Since water wasn’t an issue, they never had to face any personal hygiene or household cleaning problems.

The war instilled in people a sense of carelessness, a sense that fate and destiny were their lot. And this is exactly what is meant when they say “no one dies before his time.” People would go from one place to another, without fear, and only relying on their good fortune.

The only impression he retains of the war is one of repulsiveness; he expresses the hope that it will never be repeated and advises people to calm down and focus on their private business.

Nowadays, he has no fear of going from one place to another, nor does he have any sectarian-based prejudice, as God is for all, he says. The war took up most of his life, and stopped him from evolving at various levels; but at the same time, he feels grateful to be alive.