First Sergeant Major Hussein bashir
Fathi, Hussein’s brother: “Me and Hussein look very much alike. There is only a difference of ten months between us and people always confused us. We served at the same time in the same unit and they were only able to identify us by our ranks: I was a commanding officer and he was a non-commissioned officer. We grew up together and we had a close relationship. Our family, the Alhayab family, is among the oldest in the country. After 1948 the family decided to stay here and tied her fate to the country. Hussein stood out amongst the brothers and we called him Parpur- one who always induces good energy.”
“Hussein got married in 1990 and he had four children. We lived close to one another and we would talk about everything and consult with one another. Even on the day of the tragedy. I met him at four o’clock in the afternoon more or less. He told me that he was going up to take the place of a friend whose father had become ill. At 19:00 when I heard about the tragedy, I was in shock from the power and heaviness [of it all]. I didn’t know how I would tell my parents and the family. In the end, I waited for the city commander to come and tell them and that’s how it was early in the morning. Since the tragedy, it is hard for my parents to be happy. They also became more worried. During the Second Lebanon War, there were three of us brothers in the war and that worried them very much. After something like this happens to you, you are always afraid of the second blow.”
“Hussein got married in 1990 and he had four children. We lived close to one another and we would talk about everything and consult with one another. Even on the day of the tragedy. I met him at four o’clock in the afternoon more or less. He told me that he was going up to take the place of a friend whose father had become ill. At 19:00 when I heard about the tragedy, I was in shock from the power and heaviness [of it all]. I didn’t know how I would tell my parents and the family. In the end, I waited for the city commander to come and tell them and that’s how it was early in the morning. Since the tragedy, it is hard for my parents to be happy. They also became more worried. During the Second Lebanon War, there were three of us brothers in the war and that worried them very much. After something like this happens to you, you are always afraid of the second blow.”