However, since nothing ever goes to plan, half way through the afternoon a phone call came from Debi telling us that she’d missed her connecting flight from Athens, and was now catching a later flight arriving at 22:00 hours instead. Initially we were disappointed. However, when you are in such high spirits nothing gets you down. Also, we realized that this made our plan more plausible.

Eventually the time came, we arrived at the airport to meet Debi. Rashid waited at the arrival gate for Debi to emerge. Sandra was poised with the video camcorder close to Rashid. Linda and I took positions in the background trying to keep out of sight, but maintaining eye contact with Rashid to point Debi out to him as she emerged.

Soon Debi came out, and after a brief period of uncertainty, both Linda and I agreed that it was definitely her, Rashid was signaled, and the plan was put into action. We watched as Rashid flagged Debi and gave her the note that Linda had written. We watched as Debi’s face showed signs of disappointment, yet she smiled at Rashid politely, and then followed him blindly as he took her trolley and started walking towards the exit... There was a moment when we thought the game was up when Debi looked at Sandra and appeared to become curious about this person pointing the video camera at her and videotaping the events as they unfolded. But Rashid, with sign language and persuasive gesturing, managed to steer Debi away and lead her out of the airport building.

Eventually, as we approached the location where the car was parked, Linda and I were getting progressively closer and closer to Debi and Rashid. Suddenly, Debi looked in our direction, and in a split second a flash of recognition crossed Debi’s features as she saw Linda. She let out an almighty scream that must have woken up the whole of Beirut (and it’s outlying districts.) And the two friends ran towards each other and fell into an embrace like long lost sisters that have not seen each other for a lifetime. The tears flowed as they hugged, they then stood back to look at each other faces, then went again into a long swaying embrace. As I witnessed this moment it was becoming crystal clear to me. Isn’t this what it’s all about? Isn’t this what the reunion means? Isn’t this the whole point of it? Friends reunited after such a long period of separation. The truth though is that this is more than just friendship. The bond we all shared was more than that. I realized then that what was unfolding was not going to be easy to describe. And there would be more to come.

I had a special embrace for Debi too… I had helped Debi with her work on the web site over the past few months and exchanged many email messages with her. We’d become close friends again. It was wonderful to see her after 25 years.

On the way up to Brummana, as we stopped at a set of traffic lights, (not very often this is done), Rashid spotted another soft drinks vendor and asked him if he’d heard that Debi had arrived. The dumbstruck vendor looked stupidly at Rashid as he asked him to spread the word around… “Deebi” has arrived…

On the way up to Brummana we drove through Jouret El Ballout, where Debi lived when she was in Lebanon… The trip back memory lane had started for Debi, and she’d not yet been in the country an hour. We stopped outside the house where she lived, and Debi looked at the apartment, and recognized it instantly… There was even a hint of recognition when an old cat sauntered across the pathway and looked at Debi as if to say “It’s so good to see you back.”

“For 25 years I’ve been waiting for this moment,” said Debi, “now that it’s here, it’s like being in a dream… I can’t believe I’m here, I can’t believe I’m back...”