A nervous shock following the "Abu Ali" flood disaster robs him of his hearing and speech Psychological treatment restores them... and the boy loses his memory!!

"The Woman's Voice" publishes it in installments

Thirteen months have passed since the flooding of the "Abu Ali" river in Tripoli, and ever since then we have kept hearing much about the frightful tragedies caused by this painful disaster. Perhaps the strangest of these stories, and the most far-reaching in its effect, is the story of the boy Ahmad Shawqi Abi Zayd, which I first heard on Friday evening, January 11...

I was in the studio of Radio Lebanon, preparing to read the eight-o'clock bulletin, when

among the local news items was one whose text ran thus:

"During the flooding of the 'Abu Ali' river, a boy of thirteen was found suffering, from fright, a mental shock that made him lose his memory completely, so that he no longer knows his name, his family, his birthplace, his place of residence, or any-thing connected with his past. Thanks to the medical treatment he received, he has regained his normal condition, but his memory of everything before the date of the calamity is still entirely lost.

The boy is today employed at the Haifa Hotel — Beirut — Martyrs' Square — and is known by a fictitious name he gave himself, Ahmad Shawqi.

Among his descriptions: he is of medium height, dark-com-plexioned, black-eyed, and wears a khaki suit. Perhaps the broadcasting of this item may guide his family to him at the place mentioned, the Haifa Hotel, Beirut."

xxxx

While reading the news I happened to glance toward the sound engineer, and there beside him was a dark boy of medium build, wearing a khaki suit. That very instant something told me that this was the boy himself — especially since I had heard from colleagues that "Ahmad" had come in person during the day and told his story, and that the director's office had given the case its due importance; so

it was not unlikely that the boy had come back a second time to make sure that a news item about him would in fact be broadcast...

...And what I had imagined was true indeed; I almost stammered in reading the item and the news that followed it. God! How those two black eyes captivated me, gazing in fear and anxiety... The feeling of motherhood stirred in me — no, it stormed through me — and I could hardly believe it when I came out of the studio to meet Ahmad and shake his hand, trying to smile and to encourage him. He, however, did not return my smile; he only asked me politely to help him if I would, and handed me a paper that throws