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| 12 January 1998 | Monday | 13 Ramazan 1418 |
Life under Israeli captors
A resistance fighter, Nehme was released with 45 other Lebanese in an exchange of prisoners of war between Lebanon and Israel. Nehme spent nine years in a two by two metre unlit prison cell with four other convicts.
"Living among cockroaches and rats and the smell of excrement in a plastic bucket which was only cleaned out twice a week, was not as unbearable as the mental and physical trauma our captors subjected us to," said Nehme.
"Men of the South Lebanese Army (SLA) would ruthlessly go on a rampage in our rooms, threatening to shoot us. We were beaten, tortured and ridiculed but were never given the one bullet that would free our souls." Nehme added that an Israeli soldier told them they were purposely left "to die slowly".
Nehme spent much of his time with fellow prisoners trying to make their lives a little bit more bearable. They would roll their toilet paper into a long, thin filament that remained ignited all day long if one end was dipped in the "bucket" because of the methane given off by the excrement. "The guards would light our cigarettes only twice a day," said Nehme." We had to devise this method so we could smoke at any time, unnoticed of course."
They learned to shape a spoon out of old plastic wire, creating the essentials they were not provided, or made rosaries out of olive seeds. Nehme wanted to paint and was often punished for drawing on prison walls with a piece of lead. "I did find ways to enjoy myself," Nehme says. "But the one heavenly feeling I experienced in prison was the sight of the moon." Every two weeks he would be able to spot the moon from the corridor window which he and his friends could see from the little ventilation hole in their room.
"Everyone would summon their neighbours while I would light the leftover, one-third of my cigarette, lie back and drift into a dream."
Every once in a while he would hear the high-pitched voice of a female soldier passing by "so uncommon and sweet as if an angel was singing".
He said the prisoners would sometimes ease their boredom by exercising, doing push-ups, sit-ups and climbing on top of each other's back to do pull-ups from the ceiling bars. The prisoners built strong friendships over the years and would spend much of their time engrossed in deep conversation.
"To keep our minds functioning, and to save ourselves from insanity and deep depression, we told each other all we had learned about life and about ourselves."
The prisoners were never properly informed about what was happening in the outside world. After he was released, Nehme was shocked at how much the world had changed in the nine years that he had been locked up.
"I had only heard of cellular phones in prison. I was amazed by the drastic technological advancement of cars, telephones and even machine guns." Many things had changed in Nehme's village, Haboush, Nabatieh. "New buildings had been constructed and some relatives and close friends had married or died.
"Yet the biggest shock of all was when I found out that the Soviet Union had dissolved."
On his release, Nehme wanted to go back and join the resistance fighters in South Lebanon but they said it was "best for him to take some time off and relax".
He felt he had to make up for the time lost by just "letting go" making the most of his new found freedom and exploring life.
The first thing he did was go to the beach.
"The minute we arrived, I ran towards the sea, jumping and rolling on hot sand, before plunging into the water. I was splashing water all over my face and shouting with joy while my friends looked on in awe".
Nehme remembered how, when he was locked up, he would "imagine the taste of salt water" in his mouth, wondering if he would ever swim again. Nehme went on a two-week vacation to Iran, two months after being freed which was a "major stress relief".
He had a great time in the first eight months of freedom, but then things started changing.
"I started questioning myself and wanted to start a new life. He felt he had regressed as a person and become very depressed and lonely." I felt secluded from the entire outside world. It was hard for me to relate to the changed lifestyles."
He was eager to get married and ended up "knocking on several doors" until he realized he was pushing it too far. But Nehme finally found the right person and is now married to Mona Makki.
Nehme is currently working as a construction superviser in the south. "It was hard cooperating with people, especially when I was trying to learn the business from scratch."
He wants to enjoy his independence, maintain his job and have a family. However, he "will always contribute towards the struggle for retrieving the occupied land."
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