Once Upon a Time…There Was a Martyr

Tanks and military vehicles were all over the roads, and the soldiers watched the entire place. It was a crossing point where people waited for days to get “assent” to reach their towns or the capital (Beirut).

He got off his car and walked steadily to the investigation chamber. His eyes glowed with fury. The “Israeli” investigator examined his face and the photograph posted onto his identity card. In an ineptly accented language, the investigator asked him whether he had been in Saudi Arabia. “Yes,” he briefly answered. That was enough to exclude his name from the list of “terrorists'”. Having clinched his fist, he could hardly avoid punching the investigator in the face. He walked back to his car as soon as he was allowed to leave.

The driver he sat beside didn’t bother to stop speaking about politics, the current security situation, the high living cost, and anything that would eventually blame him for coming back to his homeland. How could one enjoying this golden chance waste it by returning to a country manipulated by war? But he kept quiet all the way, staring at the roads, most of which had been turned into mounds and checkpoints… Hardly could he breathe in any air… Even the tree leaves of the orchards along the seashore of Sour city (Tyr) resembled captives beyond bars…

Could that be the South?! Was it the beautiful city of Sour any longer?! Then why did shell smoke mask away sunlight?! Where were the little yellow flowers sprouting all over the town?! And what about the wild flowers with the scent of earth which inspired souls?! Besides, where were the kids sneaking to the roads to play ball?! Behind which curtained window had freedom hidden?!

It was hard for the car to cross all of those roads. The situation was too throbbing; agony grew wilder every time he reached a new town…

He reached his town, where he walked with his heavy suitcase in hand. While his family eagerly waited for him, he was anticipating the moment he would meet his father… For a while, he anticipated his father’s eyes blaming him for returning home… He had been enjoying a productive job in Saudi Arabia, and his family did need such an income, especially in that harsh time of war. Actually, that war left no room for good but rooted poverty wherever the “Israeli” tanks went…

“I could not stay there,” he said to his father in a soft voice, “It is hard to be away from home when occupation forces strike… Imagine that I needed “assent” to get home… But I promise you, dad, I promise I’m going to send those soldiers to hell…” His father patted his shoulder and held his arm tight, “I’ve been waiting for you…”

The smell of the bread his mother was baking at dawn woke him up. He prayed and went out to sit near her. He began to fuel the saj (traditional bread oven) fire with short wood sticks. The low crackle of fire pleased him, and the smell was so lively…

When he met his friends, they said they were headed by His Eminence Sheikh Ragheb Harb at every Friday prayers. His friends added the Sheikh’s sermons overwhelmed the Zionists…

As his friends retold some of Sheikh Ragheb Harb’s statements, he was impassioned… He adored the Sheikh even before seeing him… Wouldn’t that be the case sometimes?

Hardly could he wait for Friday… He got ready early and started the pickup, transporting fresh vegetables he would sell at his father’s shop, just like every day. Two friends sat in the front, while the others sat at the back…

Fast he set off to Jibshit… But wait a minute! He slowed down and got off his pickup truck, getting closer to a sign reading Hebrew letters… He looked at his friends, “What the heck is this?!”

“It’s the town’s name,” one of them said, “The enemy has replaced the Arab signs with Hebrew ones so that the soldiers would find their way…”

Hearing so, he grabbed the sign pole and shook it forcefully until he uprooted it. Then he placed it in his pickup. Breathing out loud, he told his friend, “Well, we do not want the “Israeli” soldiers to find their way…”

All along the way, he kept getting off his pickup, uprooting signs, and placing them in the pickup trunk. Now the trunk was full of signs!

Having reached Jibshit, he met Sheikh Ragheb Harb… It was one of the happiest moments of that dark-skinned young man’s life. He heard the Sheikh saying, “Martyrs’ blood is received by Allah, and whatever Allah receives grows plenty.” Now all he could see were daisies spread above martyrs’ bodies…

Every morning his pickup truck transported vegetables, under which were firearms that the Resistance fighters would be expecting to get… As he drove through “the Bus region”, he could neither accept having to wait at the “Israeli” checkpoint nor seeing the headquarters of the “Israeli” military “governor”… Just like he uprooted the signs, he uprooted that headquarters… And his blood wrote the name of the southern towns, “Welcome to Deir Qanoun an-Nahr…”

This story “Keep in Mind, I’m an Arab” is dedicated to the Self-Sacrifice Martyrs’ Prince Ahmad Jaafar Qasir.

*Written by Nisreen Idriss on behalf of the martyrs association–obtained and translated by moqawama.org

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Ahmad Kassir’s Final Moments

Samir Alemeh

He came up with an idea and fulfilled his joy by defeating the Zionists.

What did Ahmad do before executing the operation and what were the circumstances that accompanied it?

“Machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades will not destroy this building. It needs something that would completely destroy it.”

Martyr Ahmad Kassir confided these words to one of his friends while they passed by the Azmi building in the Jal al-Bahr area in Tyre. The building housed the headquarters of the “Israeli” military governor. It was just an idea he had since the Zionist enemy occupied southern Lebanon in June 1982. That idea then grew into a proposal that he presented to officials from Hezbollah. It entailed him blowing himself up in the Azmi Building. By doing so, he became the prince of the self-sacrificing martyrs.

Whenever he saw the enemy’s aircraft violating the airspace in southern Lebanon, he would say, “Your turn will come soon, God willing.”

Thus, Ahmad began preparing to defeat the Jews. He was rushing things fearing that he might miss his opportunity. Yet, he did so without any changes in his behavior that would indicate that he is on a path to martyrdom.

People close to him described him as cheerful and happy. No one could have imagined that this young man had the spirit of martyrdom in him. At the same time, he continued with the acts of worship, especially reading the Quran and performing Salat al-Layl [Night Prayer].

Those who knew him spoke about his patience. Some said that prior to the execution of the operation, he stayed alone in one of the houses for two weeks. Due to security concerns, he was unable to use the heating or even the lights. Yet, he bore the cold and dark. He prayed to God to bestow him with victory and martyrdom.

He spent his nights, all the way to the last one, in worship. As dawn approached, he performed Ghusl al-Shahada [bath of martyrdom]. Due to the necessities of the execution, he performed the Morning Prayers in the car, which was driven towards the target with his determination and faith.

God has men who will what he wills. The large number of dead and wounded among the ranks of the Zionists was, first and foremost, the result of divine care. The operation was postponed for two days due to several reasons. On the night of the execution, it rained heavily and forced “Israeli” soldiers housed in tents to take cover in the Azmi building. They remained in the building all night and left the second day as stiff corpses and torn body parts.

One of the coincidences that came under the auspices of God Almighty is that days before the operation, the Zionists transferred the Lebanese detainees to the roof of the building after placing barbwire around it. Instead of using one of the floors below, the rooftop was transformed into a prison. When the explosion struck, the building was flattened and the roof was reduced to the same level as the ground below. Most of the Lebanese detainees were safe and sound. They were able to escape. Those who found themselves in the interrogation rooms at the time of the blast were martyred.

Ahmad Kassir drove his car slowly with a great deal of courage and trust. Moments before his arrival, one of the Zionist soldiers moved a vehicle blocking the main entrance. The martyr was meant to enter through that entrance. Another soldier lifted the shutters of the door. Thus, Ahmad’s way to martyrdom was cleared of any obstacles. He was able to defeat the Jews at a time when they were perceived as invincible.

And so Ahmad got his wish that always used to utter, “my greatest joy is that, God willing, I will inflict losses on those Jews the way they harmed our dignity and our people.”

Source: Al-Ahed News