A psychological shock following the catastrophe of the "Abu Ali" flood robs him of his hearing and speech

Psychological treatment restores them... and the boy loses his memory!!

Published serially by "The Woman's Voice"

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At the home of Renée Arman: Miss Renée Arman's car carried me to her home, where she was in her study gathering her papers and the notes she had kept and written about "Ahmad" — and everyone in her house showed visible nervousness and concern. No wonder: months ago the boy had been a guest in this house — an honored, cherished, and pampered guest for twenty days! — during which he managed to win an eminent place in all their hearts.

I saw before Miss Arman the file on "Ahmad," full of the reports and correspondence surrounding his case, with Renée perplexed, not knowing where to begin telling the story... But a knot arose between the two of us, and we managed to untie it only after a long argument in which the victory was mine!! Renée clung to the condition that her name not be mentioned at all, pressing the point and insisting... and I clung to the position that the interview would be meaningless without mentioning her name... Finally I went on recording the events and the information, presenting her with the accomplished fact, while she came back, every other moment, with renewed energy to set forth her point of view — which got her nowhere with me! At last she began her account thus:

The first thread... My first

acquaintance with Ahmad came when the campaign of the ladies of the Red Cross returned from visiting the victims of the "Abu Ali" flood in Tripoli — a campaign led by the First Lady of Lebanon, Mrs. Chamoun. That day they told us, with much feeling, a number of painful stories, the most striking of which was the story of Ahmad. They had seen him during the visit to the "Islamic Charitable Hospital," the object of the care and love of all the doctors and nurses... above all the nurse Nihad Ghantous, who grew devoted to him and followed his steps after his coming to Beirut, never once hesitating to serve him and to work for his help...

He neither speaks nor hears: In the Islamic Hospital Ahmad was mute, dumb, and deaf — he neither spoke nor heard... Many attempts were made by those responsible at the hospital to induce him to speak... and all of them ended in failure. But they discovered that the boy had the ability to write... and from there some of the obscure points were cleared up, and the truth of his identity and of his situation became known. They would write questions for him and leave in his hands a pen and a small notebook, and he would sit and write... In those circumstances he wrote his story...

Ahmad's story in his own hand:

"On the night of the disaster we were all sitting at the supper table, and after we finished eating we heard screaming and a great clamor, so my father went out to see what had happened, and there was a man crying out in the water, so I went out after him, and he had jumped into the river to save the man, so I began calling my

mother and saying that my father had gone into the river with the man, and after a short while the water had broken into the house, so we wanted to flee when we saw the river had come close to the house while we were inside, and the waters poured in and began to come in through the house, and after that they swept us all away, and when I reached a place full of orchards I clung to the edge of a tree until I was able to reach the top of the tree, and I was saved by means of the tree, and a little later a man came and brought me down from the tree, and after that I did not know where I had turned until I was at the Najjadeh Party in Beirut, and I did not know who had carried me to Beirut, and afterward they brought me to the College of Education and Instruction, and after that I came to the Islamic Hospital."

His age and