Copyright 2001 Yediot Aharanot
Yediot Aharanot
February 1, 2001
HEADLINE: The Twin Brother of the Kidnapped Soldier: "Be strong and don't break down even if you are being beaten"
BYLINE: Joel Benno
Amar Souad asked to relay a public message to his brother Omar - "I see him in a dark room screaming and crying, but I feel that we will see him soon," he says.
"Be strong, and don't break down, even if you are being beaten. We haven't forgotten you, and won't rest until you get home. That is the message that yesterday Amar Souad (28), twin brother of the kidnapped soldier Omar Souad, asked to be relayed to his brother who is being held by Hizballah.
"I feel like half a person," said the twin brother yesterday to Yediot Aharonot. They took not only a part of my body, they took my brain. Why are they still waiting? For what do they need all their captives? They should exchange the three kidnapped soldiers for whomever the Hizballah requests before we receive corpses in return."
Amar, a past armored forces soldier, was born only two minutes after his brother Omar, identical twins, who can be distinguished only by a beauty mark on Omar's cheek, that was always a source of confusion. These days, when Amar travels around public places he feels how people stare at him and are astounded by his looks, identical to those of his kidnapped brother, whose face has become famous.
The twins' lives were always intertwined. "We passed our driving test on the same day," related Amar, "and got married on the same day to two sisters." As children they always had stomachaches or headaches at the same time. As then, so today Amar feels that his brother is suffering. "Perhaps not physically, but mentally. He yearns for his family, and the separation hurts. I see him sitting in a dark room, screaming and crying."
"Since the time when my brother was kidnapped I hardly eat or sleep. On the other hand, as the oldest son now, I have to support our parents and the rest of my brothers and sisters, and of course Omar's wife and children, ages three and five, who don't stop looking for their father. If I break down everyone will break down."
But despite it all, Amar hopes for the best. As a twin brother he has a good feeling that very soon Omar and his comrades will be set free. He said, "I hope that soon we will see a sign of life from them."
Amar remembers the black day in his life when he learned that his brother was kidnapped. "Starting in the morning that day I was in a bad mood. I had a bad feeling for no apparent reason. I went to see a soccer game in Safed and on the way back I hear about the three soldiers that were kidnapped. I didn't grasp that they were talking about my brother. I arrived home and there we received the bitter news. Since then I constantly think only about Omar. I dream that Omar arrives home and we prepare a haflah like no one has ever seen. I'll kiss him for 24 hours straight."