Saudi Gazette One cannot express in words the joy of reuniting with family after three decades. A 55-year-old Saudi man was more than delighted to reunite with his two nephews whom he dearly loved, after 35 years. Jabran Al-Ghazwani tells his tale of loss, restlessness, longing and the hope of meeting his loved ones. Four decades ago, Jabran's sister married a decent man, Faleh Al-Subei, and they were blessed with two healthy sons. The couple resided on the outskirts of Riyadh and lived a blissful life together before their happiness came to an abrupt and tragic halt. Five years after their marriage, Jabran's sister fell from an elevated height in an unfortunate incident, while she was doing household chores. She was rushed to the hospital immediately but she suffered total paralysis. Jabran, who was working as a security guard in Makkah, rushed to his sister as soon as he heard of the tragic incident. Unfortunately, she died shortly afterwards and left behind two sons in the custody of her husband in Riyadh. Her husband remained loyal to her even after her death and did not remarry. Jabran explained that due to lack of communication technology at the time and the fact that his sister's husband herded camels and moved frequently, he lost contact with his beloved nephews. Several years passed by and Jabran's concern and love for his sister's sons grew with each passing year. Jabran was transferred to the Eastern Province and he started living in a small town near Dammam. “I really missed my nephews and wondered how they were doing. I had no way of getting in touch with them. I frequently visited the villages outside Riyadh but I did not find them. I inquired about their father, asked neighbors where he moved to, and stopped at almost every residential area, but all my efforts were futile. However, I never lost hope and I was confident that one day Allah would lead me to them,” narrated Jibran. For a mystifying reason, Jabran decided to drive out to Riyadh this Eid to look for his nephews one last time. He asked about the boys and their father but nobody knew about them. Refusing to give up, Jabran randomly stopped at a house, knocked on the door and called out, “Does anyone know Faleh Al-Subei?” To Jabran's amazement, someone opened the door for him, invited him inside to rest, and said to he didn't know who he is but he knows that he lives in Dammam with his two sons. “I could not believe what I was hearing! The kind man made some phone calls for me and we were shocked to learn that I had been searching for my nephews for 35 years when all they while they had been living in Dammam, only 20 kilometers away from me! I am grateful to Allah for helping me find them,” said a delightful Jabran. Jabran's nephews and their father were just as surprised and happy to be reunited with him. Jabran hosted a festive party and invited friends, relatives, and family to celebrate Eid and his reunion with his sister's little sons, who have now grown up to be young men. __
