To Isabelle, my much-loved sister

ACT I

Is this country truly the work of the same Creator? Was it endowed differently by nature? Should we believe that the Creator had a choice, a preference in his act of creation? Is this an injustice? Is it a relative division?

This country is mentioned several times in Scripture, the Bible, and history: Lebanon. Its white peaks, its feet in the Mediterranean, in less than half an hour, one can reach its snowy peaks, its magical coast. Here, the four seasons each have their charms and their duration. Sensational land of the gods! From North to South, from the four cardinal points, everywhere, a difficult choice is imposed on us. Can we choose between the sublime, the beautiful, the ideal, the divine? Its coast and its beaches, its forests where the Babylonians, the Assyrians came to hunt lions, its plains, its springs, its valleys, its peaks are envied by the celestials. From its vines, the first wines were fermented, its fruits, its olives, its vegetables are unique. The air one breathes is different, uneven. Here everything is marvelous, its inhabitants so hospitable and kind.

I am a Lebanese man committed to all humanity and to my Lebanon, a Middle Easterner with a Mediterranean culture. I belong to this Arab world through my language.

My family—father, mother, one brother, and five sisters—lived in Jounieh. This future large coastal city was still a small hamlet of a few houses that could be counted from the heights of Harissa to the coast. Several middle schools, seminaries, and convents were located there. Numerous Lebanese and foreign public and private schools, such as the Apostles, the Holy Hearts, the Marists, the French Holy Family, etc., were located there. Jounieh and its surrounding areas (Ghazir, Aintoura, Zouk) had become the largest educational center in the entire Middle East. Indeed, students flocked from everywhere: Aleppo, Damascus, Amman, Baghdad, and even Arabia; not to mention students from the Lebanese diaspora who came from African and Latin American countries. All schools had boarding facilities and since there were many students, some rented from local residents.

Jounieh was therefore a center of exchange, an openness, which required continual development, projects, and construction. A simple example is the book industry that flourished there: several printing houses were located between Jounieh and Harissa. Several European and Arab countries printed their books there.

Agriculture flourished; it was a golden period for the city. I describe the city a little to better understand the flourishing of a family, social life, and human relationships.

Jounieh, a circular bay, one of the most beautiful in the Mediterranean, surrounded by mountains that follow one another like waves and rise almost sheer in places to over 900 meters. Fishing was prosperous and hundreds of fishermen earned their living there, fresh fish being sold daily. Sales were made at auction directly in the port and a fish market attracts regular customers to this day. Frozen fish did not exist, as there was no electricity.

We did our homework by candlelight or an oil lamp, sitting around a table. I remember when the Fairy Electricity production and distribution company was founded in Zouk. Each house had one or two 50- to 80-watt lamps.

There was no running water in the old houses; water was pumped from wells located in the gardens of many houses.

My father and his sister helped their father in the family bakery; a wood-fired oven like those found in every neighborhood. They were a large family that needed to be fed.

The jobs were distributed: some in the oven, others in construction, agriculture… but love and compassion dominated and brought the family together. Almost no one was educated; they spent some time at the priest’s school. Toufic barely knew how to read and write, but he had common sense, courage, a spirit of adventure, and the ability to solve different problems and find suitable solutions. A researcher and curious mind, he ventured into any project, confident that he could solve all the problems. He knew that time is precious, that time is worth gold. Toufic never slept; his beginnings date back to a little before the First World War. Communications were not so easy, very few cars, the road network was basic, and travelling on foot, on donkeys, or by cart for short distances was the norm. The train that ran along the coast of Tripoli to the south was not built until much later, during World War II. In short, Toufic was able to become the greatest contractor in a very short time. Honest, fair, loved and respected by his acquaintances. Major institutions, schools, factories, and communities relied on him for construction projects, and they always delivered on time. For the nuns, he charged almost no fees. He would tell his wife, my mother, “They’re women, they don’t know anything about it, we have to help them.”

With this introduction, you can immerse yourself a little in the spirit of that era, their way of life and thinking…

ACT II

Toufic, still young, married a certain Isabelle, but the poor woman died in childbirth, and so did the baby. Toufic was deeply upset and devoted himself to work to forget. The Mother Superior of the Sisters of Charity advised him to remarry. She introduced him to one of her students: Eugénie, a beautiful, studious young woman, the only daughter of a well-to-do family in Zouk. The marriage took place at the Saint Elie Convent in Jeita (Mar Elias el Ras) in 1926-1927, where Eugénie’s aunt was a nun.

Toufic and Eugénie lived in Jounié, in one of the two houses built by Toufic himself, located between the Marist Brothers’ School and the School of the Sisters of the Holy Hearts. The house was surrounded by a garden where he had planted orange trees, mulberry trees, banana trees, a few olive trees… he had also dug a well until he reached a freshwater spring. There was therefore plenty of water for the house and the garden.

The people of Jounieh and the surrounding region loved this couple very much and showed it clearly.

The First World War was over, and the French army and the Allies were in Lebanon. The firstborn child was a girl whom they named Mary, Queen of Heaven. They called her Mimi. A year later, another girl was born, named Wadad. In the third year, another girl was born, whom Toufic named Isabelle, the name of his first wife.

In the East, a family is only complete with the arrival of a male child to ensure continuity in the home, but Providence plays its part… After the third daughter, Eugénie gave birth to a male child who died during childbirth. The atmosphere was sad and gloomy about this unfortunate twist of fate… It was then decided to follow tradition and ask for the help of a saint to counter the “evil eye” and ward off this bad luck that was preventing the arrival of a little boy. It was necessary to bless the last-born child to drive evil spirits from his soul. To do this, a vow was made to Saint Elijah and a somewhat “magical” ritual was performed, which was practiced at the place called Bâtié, a few hundred meters from the house. There, at the foot of a cliff overlooking the sea, stands a small church dedicated to Saint George (also called Khoder by the Muslim communities who also venerate him). Beneath the church is a cave where the waters of a spring and those of the sea mix. The ceremony consists of immersing the youngest of the sisterhood in the water of this well. The child is carried by an adult, they both descend by a staircase carved in the stone wall of the cave, the little one is immersed in the water with of course the whole family who sing and pray, asking God for the grace of a healthy male child and when the ceremony is finished, he is brought out with the help of a rope and a pulley through a large hole that connects the cave to the church above.

Isabelle was the heroine of this exorcism ceremony, and the following year saw the birth of the long-awaited boy. They decided to name him Antoine, or Tony, for the family. He was well-endowed by everyone.

After Tony, Eugénie gave birth to a little girl named Hilda. The following year saw my birth. The second boy, who was called Joseph and Zouzou by his friends. I was active and energetic from a very young age. I remember my mother always telling me: “You are the leader of the family; you will always help your brother and sisters…” I grew up, studied a lot, took a few years off for my university studies, travelled extensively for exhibitions around the world, and I am the last surviving member of this beautiful family.

After Joseph, came Nouhad, the youngest of the siblings. She was two days old when my father, Toufic, still young, died suddenly from poorly treated pneumonia… Yet the doctor and pharmacist who treated him were his best friends…

I was one year old and never knew my father. Eugenie had to take care of this large family alone from now on. Marie, the eldest, was nine years old, while I was one. Facing life and its difficulties with seven children during World War II was not easy. My mother was an only child, and my uncles were unable to take over. They liquidated everything—the construction sites, the ongoing projects—everything was settled amicably: my mother had to continue taking care of the children, the buildings, and the gardens that belonged to us. I was growing up and was always by my mother’s side to help her. I guessed how much my mother had loved my father and how much he was loved by the people of Jounieh and his clients.

ACT III

The children loved each other very much, sharing everything, even a piece of fruit. The five girls, including Isabelle, were studying with the Sisters of the Holy Hearts, while the two boys were studying with the Marist Brothers. As a tribute to my father, who had rendered many services to these two schools, our education was free. In addition, the nuns and brothers gave my mother sewing jobs, which earned her money and helped provide for our needs. Indeed, there were over 300 boarders, and we had to take care of their wardrobes and linens. My mother’s sewing machine was our livelihood.

My mother, Eugénie, who was widowed at a young age, had several suitors but always refused to remarry. She always loved Toufic and remained faithful to him throughout her life. She always dressed in black, prayed and fasted a lot: Mondays for All Saints, Tuesdays for Saint Anthony, Wednesdays for Saint Joseph, and Saturdays for the Blessed Virgin, Thursdays for the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and Fridays for Christ Crucified.

She attended Mass every day, either with the Marist Brothers or with the nuns of the Holy Hearts. She was hospitalised several times because she had a heart condition. My doctor friends cared for her.

Both schools, the brothers’ and the nuns’, were a one- or two-minute walk from our house, and classes ran from morning until evening, with a one-and-a-half-hour break at noon. The day began at 6:00 a.m. and lasted until 7:00 p.m. for boarders and until 4:30 p.m. for the others.

From 7:00 to 7:30 a.m., there was Mass, which was mandatory every day. Then, breakfast was served in the courtyard or under the covered playground. At 8:00 a.m., classes began until noon. The bell rang, the boarders went to the refectory, and the day students went home for those from the neighborhood, and to the courtyard for the others. Classes resumed at 1:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. Then, they walked home; it was only later that a bus service was established. At 5:00 p.m., it was study time for the boarders. At 7:00 p.m., it was dinner, a short break, television or radio, and then everyone went to bed in the dormitory. Even on Sundays, mass was mandatory, not to mention the outings and outdoor activities organized by the school.

We came home making noise and a bit of anarchy. We sat down at a low table, lit two or three candles, and started our homework. We sometimes lit oil lamps. When electricity was distributed, things improved a lot. The electric current changed the situation for the better. All questions were put to Isabelle, the most cultured among us at the time, the bravest. She was our regular teacher.

At school, discipline was sacred and it extended even beyond its walls. I remember one day during vacation, when we were playing near the railway tracks that ran near the house: one of the children screamed, the nuns, not far away, rushed towards us to see what was happening. In the blink of an eye, all the girls disappeared from the scene and went to hide in our house and the boys who remained there was total silence. In the past, in schools, there was discipline, severity, and punishments for any break-ins, which is no longer the case now. It was like a dictatorship, like in military barracks.

Discipline was strictly enforced. Another time, in the complementary class, I had just sat down in my seat in the large study hall. Near me, my friend N. Salem opened his desk to show me a box of cigarettes he had bought. As soon as I turned my head, the supervising brother shouted, “Matar! Salem! Your books!” I appeared before him with a book that I always kept with me and that I knew by heart. Every time there was a punishment, I presented it. My punishment was on the stake at the corner of the classroom until I had memorized the 50 lines by heart. About 10 minutes later, I went to the supervising officer to tell him that I had memorized the 50 lines. I recited them. He said to me, “Is it possible to memorize 50 lines in such a short time?” In short, I was forgiven, and my poor friend spent the whole day reading and rereading these texts.

I thank the Lord for having had as educators these strict, serious, hardworking brothers, who trained us so well and instilled values. We were able to acquire culture and a great deal of knowledge. In the past, schools trained men, citizens who loved their homeland. We respected and obeyed the brother. Discipline, studies, all of this was taken very seriously, not like now where I see all these “ill-mannered” youth.

ACT IV

Marie, the eldest, who was called Mimi, married very young. There was a parish priest in the Syriac Catholic church who had become a matchmaker; he had a list of all the single young women and their addresses and didn’t hesitate to introduce them to “good matches.” He was responsible for about a hundred marriages in the region.

One day, he arrived at our house with a certain Georges, from Alepin, who was looking to marry a Lebanese woman. Marriages were arranged and discussed as a business deal, not a love affair! To finalize the marriage, even though Mimi was beautiful and young and Georges was ugly and old, he asked what Mimi would inherit from her late father… He didn’t speak of love, understanding, culture, ideas, or feelings. If the case arose now, I would have chased him away like a boor… During the wedding ceremony, he only said his yes after having 4,000 Lebanese pounds in his pocket, a fortune at the time. She got married, and it did nothing to advance the evolution of humanity. Georges was polite and respected around him, but he was a special person. Mimi, who was very generous by nature, suffered a lot with him. I don’t think she ever knew love or happiness. She raised a large family, and all her children succeeded in their careers.

My only brother Tony turned out to be a very intelligent boy, handyman and with the mind of an engineer. He knew how to do everything at the Marist Brothers school where he attended. One of his childhood friends told me that he made them all laugh with his caricatures that he made at school… I always remember the crystal radio set that he made all by himself: all the students in his class came to listen to their favorite radio programs in his workshop. With his advanced electromechanical mind, he made them scooters, small objects that his friends ordered from him… When the electricity production plant was built in Zouk, some engineers were unable to execute certain assemblies of the plant. They called on him to help them with the task. When he married Marie, he lived on the ground floor of the maternal house. They had two boys and a girl. Tony honored his parents by naming the eldest Toufic and his daughter Eugénie; Michel was chosen for the youngest. Tony was a ‘bon vivant’, and above all he had an extremely sharp sense of humor, very sociable, a joker, friendly, and close to people. He always had a joke or a funny story to tell… His son Toufic, is the worthy heir of his father in every way. As for Michel, a musician, he had the Christian revelation and vocation late in his life. Currently, he is a very active Pastor, and he is at the head of a ‘large flock’.

Wadad, who was a great athlete and a swimming champion, learned to sew and was an excellent pastry chef. When we went to the beach to swim, I would hold her skirt and stay with her in the water for fear of drowning. Once, wanting to imitate teenagers diving into the water, I stayed there and if it hadn’t been for Wadad’s vigilance, who jumped like a tigress and pulled me out of the water I was swallowing, I would have drowned! It was a lesson for me that I have never forgotten. In a way, I owe my life to her… She married Edmond, who had a travel agency on Martyrs’ Square in Beirut and also had three children.

As for Isabelle, my favorite sister, she spent more than 12 years working after her diploma and supporting Mom and all the members of our family. Isabelle was a person of principle, she loved Fouad, who adored her. Fouad was self-taught, he read all the press, and politics fascinated him. He was a true Lebanese. Isabelle and Fouad’s love affair lasted more than 10 years, he came to our house almost every day, and was considered a member of the family, an advisor, he spent hours chatting with Isabelle. She who loved reading books, novels, newspapers… She and Fouad surely talked about love, happiness, heaven, saints, noble souls, human values, Lebanon, the free nation, human rights, the evolution of humanity, in short, Fouad was cultured and Isabelle was too. She was a woman of principle and honor, idealistic in her behavior, courageous and revolutionary, held to her words, her values, her honor. She had made it clear to Fouad, we will remain friends, all life, but I will not take you as my husband except on one condition: your mother must come to ask for my hand, from my mother, one of my uncles will be present, my brothers and sisters too. Fouad’s mother was proud and had decided to marry her son to a richer girl… Unfortunately, Fouad had no influence over his mother, he swore to Isabelle that he would not marry until she herself chose a husband.

Isabelle, the kind, sensitive, loving, and generous girl, worked at the Ministry of Public Works. There she met Charles, and they soon married. It later turned out that Charles was an inveterate card player. He had ruined his parents with his gambling debts. Isabelle had two boys and two girls. Charles squandered the family money, got into debt, and became increasingly unbearable. He even went so far as to assault Isabelle to extract her salary… It was too much! Isabelle obtained a separation from the Rota court. She left Beirut and returned with her four children, two girls and two boys, to settle near her mother in Jounieh. Isabelle was a courageous, modern, athletic, helpful, and cultured woman; she always had a book in her hand… Always ready to care for and help others, to give of herself body and soul. She was a great soul! She remained so until the end of her life. She died in early summer 2025 after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

We never saw Isabelle sad or melancholic, but always cheerful and religious, hoping for better days. Dear Isabelle, you rest next to your father, your mother, and your brother Tony, in front of this unique bay in Jounieh, beneath the monument to Our Lady of Lebanon, in the parish of Our Lady of the Rosary, the Miraculous Virgin. I will often visit you, pray, and lay flowers on your grave. Father of Marina, your goddaughter, Madonna, William, Jean-Pierre, husband of Andrée, these brilliant children you loved so much.

As for Hilda, she obtained her diploma and studied accounting. She found a position in one of the most renowned law firms in the capital. Later, she married Victor, an employee at Intra Bank. It was a true marriage of love. Her children went on to higher education. Unfortunately, she had a tragic end: during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, their beautiful villa in Monteverde was hit by an Israeli bomb that killed her instantly… Walid, Hilda’s youngest son, was my student: he did brilliant studies in architecture. His wife is a professor at the USJ and the Sorbonne, a dynamic and highly cultured person. To this day, Walid and his wife Jenny regularly come to see me.

Nouhad, the youngest, was beautiful and brave. Yet she left school early and married. Unfortunately, her life was quite chaotic and full of adventures. She left Lebanon and ended her life very young in the United States, where she died of an aggressive cancer…

ACT V

The descendants of Toufic and Eugénie’s family are now scattered across five continents, but despite this, we remain deeply attached and committed to our beloved Lebanese nation.

Lebanon is a great nation, like France, Spain, Greece, Japan… We Lebanese have contributed to culture, science, the fine arts, democracy, holiness, knowledge, and everything that has advanced humanity. We have sowed the seeds of the entire planet, just as good golden ears of corn serve humanity and the Savior. As the Holy Father said: “Lebanon is more than a country, it is a message.”

Joseph Matar
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Adapted from the French by …