By Lidia Qattan

At the death of his father family circumstances made Abdulrahman proud of doing his part in family responsibilities, hence, instead of spending his time plying with the children of his neighborhood he was trying to help around in any way he could.

He began helping elderly men walking through the tortuous streets of town, in which there were many pot-holes, particularly dangerous to the elderly and the blinds. Blindness caused by untreated trachoma was common then.

The famous blind poet, Saker Shebeeb, broke his leg falling in one of those of the pot-holes. Alike misfortune befell the poetess Leila Mohammed Saleh when she was a little girl, playing with other children running in the street. In falling she broke her leg and because she received no medical treatment, she was maimed for life.

Abdulrahman’s kind consideration for the elderly was often rewarded with a coin or two. This made him feel both proud and more eager to help; hence he grew up with a strong consideration for those in need.

In his adult life, whenever visiting a sick friend in hospital, he was passing-by other patients in the ward to cheer them up with his jokes, encouraging them to look at life on the brighter side.

Whenever one of his friends or anyone he knew died, he always paid his last respect by attending the funeral in any weather condition.

Abdulrahman began his schooling with Mullah, Mohammed Bin Sharaf, a traditional teacher of the old day, who held class in his own house, teaching the rudimentary of reading and writing and memorizing the Holy Quran. He then continued his education in government schools.

Incidentally as soon as he could read and write, Abdulrahman formed the habit of reading anything that came under his hand, especially literature. In school he loved to take part in extra-curriculum activities; that enhanced his predilection for the fine arts, and expanded his mental horizon with new interests and new ideas.