WORDS are not enough to describe the life of a departed loved one. We are at a loss for words whenever we are asked to call to mind the last days of someone close to us and it becomes more difficult if we do it in the memory of a long-time colleague. This is how it feels to remember Mohammad Zain Al-Eidrous, who in his last days, may have felt that his journey to the hereafter was fast approaching. His pen never rested for years until one night when his sleep turned out to be his eternal rest!

When he requested for the completion of his treatment in India, I had a feeling that time would not be on his side but I still approved his request. Perhaps, he heard the ‘bells of death’ ringing in his head and wanted to escape from its claws by going to a place where he thought he would be allowed to achieve his goal. However, the moment of death caught up with him hours before his supposed departure from Kuwait.

I am not mourning the death of Mohammad. I am simply remembering him as one of the five ‘warriors’ I chose to work in this newspaper. He witnessed the first stages of the ‘life’ of Al-Seyassah — starting from its first publication in 1965 as a weekly paper until it became a daily. Since then, he worked for the newspaper until his death.

Our colleague fought many years of pen and paper wars. He often emerged victorious because the “pen is mightier than the sword.” Nothing stopped him from closely monitoring the events around him. He used logic to come up with fair and correct analyses of these events. He always knew the direction of the wind, especially in following up news reports on GCC countries. He was a good listener and good researcher, digging into the whats and whys of every statement. For him, journalism was not a profession; it was his life.

Two years ago, another Al-Seyassah ‘warrior’ Qasem Afyouni passed away and today our comrade Mohammad Zain Al-Eidrous left us. They both embarked on their horses but their memories will linger in our hearts. May God have mercy on Mohammad, who went to his final destination, which will also be our abode whenever God desires.

Because we are not mourning him with these words but remembering him, I instructed the Service Department to leave his office as it was before he left a few days ago. I asked them to put his picture on his seat for a whole year. If life is lived and events are created through the living, then we should not forget the fact that death is imminent; it knocks on the door, gently enters without permission or sound, and most of the time without any introduction.

My sincere condolences to the family of our late friend, as well as his relatives in Yemen, Kuwait and Abu-Dhabi. Your son left this mortal life. God giveth and He taketh away.

Email: ahmed@aljarallah.com