Oral History

Mary, 50

I interviewed my mom just two days after her 50th birthday. She was born in Kamishly, Syria, but left shortly thereafter with her mother to Beirut, Lebanon. Her sister and two brothers stayed in Syria, but would rejoin them later in Lebanon. However, in an unexpected turn of events, the family had to move back to Syria after a civil war started in Lebanon in 1973 (one of my mom’s brothers actually stayed in Beirut because he was married, settled in, and did not want to leave). In 1985, my mom and her sister left for America to join their mother and brother who had arrived there earlier. My mom returned to Syria in 1989, where she met and married my father. During that same visit, she also returned to Beirut to see what had become of the city. After that last visit to Beirut, my parents stayed in Australia for a year before eventually returning to this country.

Mommy, why did you leave Kamishly for Beirut?

It was really because your grandma had found a job in Beirut. Not that it was the best job, but it was one that provided us with enough to just barely make it. But, it was just the two of us – your aunt and uncles stayed in Kamishly because they were studying at the time, and your grandma didn’t want them to leave their studies.

How old were you then? Were you against leaving Syria?

I was only around six or seven years old, so I don’t really remember quite well. But, it was hard because my aunts, you know, your grandma’s sisters were there, and we were leaving for another country (but remember that the two countries are not far from one another).

How was your life in Beirut?

Oh, Beirut was beautiful. It was really nice; everything was good. The weather was amazing, and the city itself was wonderful. And I, as a child, enjoyed it even more because your grandma worked as a nanny for these very friendly people who also had high statuses back then. So, I got to play with the children, and I remember they had such a nice house with all these great toys and playground sets. And I was amazed by it because I never really had what they did.

Why then did your family decide to leave?

I don’t know if we would have left if the war didn’t start. I remember I was only 13 years old. The war really happened out of the ordinary. We were living our lives normally, and then all of a sudden, we see fighting. I think it was a civil war between the Palestinians and the Lebanese, but I am not sure. Maybe between Muslims and Christians. I don’t know. All I remember was that there were bombings going on everywhere. We had to stay in our basement. We stopped doing everything. We stopped working and going to school. You would see bodies on the ground. Innocent people were dying. It was so devastating. So your grandma decided it was better to leave and go back to Syria. You see, we still had a home there from before. So we just left everything, everything, and we fled.

What did you miss the most?

You know as a child, you remember the simple things. I really have never forgotten our white cat Jeanie. She was such a good cat. She would leave through the window and gently scratch against the door when she wanted to come back inside. She was really well-behaved. I missed her a lot.

When revisiting Beirut after the war had finished, did you consider living there again?

I really don’t think I would. Mostly because I love it here, and the US is such an amazing country. But the truth is, it is not the same Beirut either. When I went back, it was not pretty. The houses were all torn and ruined. The war had really hurt it. It was so different. Peoples’ lives were different. It was so sad what had happened to the beautiful city it once was.