Ten days later we were on board of a small Greek ship. We were in first grade. But the smallness of the ship caused us much sickness. We could hardly use any water or the bathrooms. We complained when we reached Beirut and the captain was obliged to pay a fine. We reached Beirut when it was late at night. The captain did not want to dock in order not to pay for the night. We spent the night on board looking at the shore and trying to guess which light was emanating from what region. In the morning, while we had not yet set foot on Lebanese soil, I saw a lot of people looking at us from the deck. A lady with a bouquet of flowers was there apparently for me. I was not thinking about the people. All I thought at the moment was where the leader is and if he is in good hands. Elisar dropped one of her shoes into the sea. A worker rescued it and gave it back to her.
We came down. Party members welcomed us with the usual party salute. Now I could see their faces and start to recognize them. I saw Fayiz Sayigh, George Abd al Masih, Marcel Nassar, and Najla Ajami. Fayiz took us by the hand and we left the deck.
After resting for some hours in Beirut we took the cars and climbed the mountain road. There were motorcycles in front and behind us. I knew that this was an official affair. We reached Duhur al Shuwayr where the leader was heavily guarded.
When we reached the house I could not keep any official stance. I left everything in the car and ran to meet my husband and to see myself how he was doing in such circumstances. I ran to hold him and tell him not to leave me alone anymore. I ran to him as if knowing what his enemies, the enemies of our people, thought about this history making person. I ran to tell him that I was with him to the end. My embracing him was my certificate of loyalty to him. He was very pleased at meeting us. This you could see from the way he embraced the kids. He said he wanted us to be here in the summer. He was sorry that we were late. We entered the house that was his headquarters. I think it belonged to Jamil Yaaqub Muja'es.
After bringing everything in and settling down many people started to visit us from all corners of the country. People came in busses raising the party banners and singing its anthems. I saw all this and my heart was full with joy. I understood what Saadeh's mission had done with the people's thinking and understanding. Life was hard when all your moves are watched by guards. I did not have enough time with my husband alone. We would take some nightly trips while the guards were watching us from afar
Some political figures used to visit us from time to time. I don't remember their names now. The deliberations were always regarding the arrest warrant and how to annul it. The leader would tell me that the government was ready to do that, depending on what kind of actions he [Saadeh] would take. The government wanted my husband to visit all security offices and to talk with the officials regarding his case, while the leader with say that the protocol was that he, as a political figure, should not do what he was asked to do and that the government should initiate some sort of reconciliation between itself and the party. One day a governmental minister came and told my husband that the government was ready to talk with him regarding the arrest warrant and its annulment. The leader went to Beirut and came to an agreement with the government. Several days later we returned to Beirut. Our friends had already rented an apartment for us in Ras Beirut, neat the American University. It was on Jeanne d'Arc Street, next to Dr. Mustafa al Khalidi's office in the Shuqayr building.
CHAPTER EIGHT
We settled in Beirut late in October. On November 2, the leader published a statement regarding the Balfour Agreement and urged the people to demonstrate against it. The Government was opposed to the demonstration and banned it. This was happening at the time that the issue of Fayiz Sayigh was being discussed within the party. The leader was intolerant regarding the latter's mistakes. Moreover, some of the graduates of the American University of Beirut [AUB] were already coming up with new ideas that the leader considered as unorthodox to the initial principles and the ideology of the party.
It must be stated here that when Saadeh reached Cairo on his return from Argentina, a hot debate had ensued between him and Naameh Tabit and Ma'mun Elias about the articles that Tabit used to sign as the general secretary of the SSNP during Saadeh's exile. Saadeh gad made it clear to both of them that Tibet's writings were against the principles and the ideology of the party. He told them that he had read those articles and those that Sayigh had written while he was in Tukoman and was very angry and despaired.
