The Convoy
That day was one of the thirty four days that the southern Lebanese lived their worst moments. In July 2006, the south of Lebanon was the main victim of a war that destroyed all means of peace and prosperity. Bombs were falling over Marjeyoun and the nearby villages like rain. The situation was intolerable.
The most memorable about that day was my dad’s decision to leave Marjeyoun after our lives were exposed to danger. Moments before we left, I stared at our house and hundreds of childhood memories started to flashback. What was going on my mind let me feel like breaking apart from home for the first time.

There was a lack of food and supplies. In addition to that, the protection by the army was missing after the Israeli commando forces came to Marjeyoun on the evening of 9 August and began an operation to take control. The decision that all people made was leaving Marjeyoun. Our insistence to stay started to vanish.

As the world of “convoy” was heard and spread, hundreds of vehicles gathered from Marjeyoun and all villages around. The departure time was set at 4 pm on the eleventh of august.
We joined the convoy where all cars were civilian and holding white flags as a sign of peace. Our aim was to head north, knowing that all connecting bridges were bombarded by the Israeli aircraft.

All I could hear were the voices and the weeping of women and children. All I could see was the great grief in the eyes of loyal southerners.
The situation looked harder and harder with every meter we passed. My mom was crying, my sister was hugging me and my dad was just thinking about what was going to happen. We were leaving and the fear of not coming back filled our hearts.

We spent hours to reach the Bekaa’ valley and that delay was due to the endless row of cars ahead and the shortcuts we had to take because of the bombarded bridges. After a long drive, we decided to step out of our cars and take some, but what happened was beyond our expectation.
The Israeli aircraft started a raid on the convoy. The first missile aimed at the colonel’s car at the front of the convoy.
We were in a complete empty village. All I saw was green fields with no nearby houses. Within few seconds, a second missile dropped few meters away and caused us many wounds due to the shrapnel that scattered around. No one knew what was happening. All I remember was that I heard people shouting, “Turn off your lights, they attacked us, run for your lives.”