After the death of his father, two brothers and mother, Yahya Sarrani, a 58-year-old Saudi national, has no home to live in but a 1980 Toyota Cressida. He married a Somali woman without abiding by regulations and was blessed with three children, but life's hardships caused the woman to demand divorce, which he granted her. Due to his violation of regulations, Sarrani was investigated, imprisoned and after he was released from prison, he was fired from his job. Sarrani narrates his life of misery, sadness and loneliness with nobody to share his feelings and memories. His heart is full of so many stories. He recalls the day his father died in the hospital. Several days later his eldest brother was run over on Old Makkah Road. Then his second brother died in his sleep, followed by his mother who died in the same way. Since that day, Sarrani has been living a lonely life. He pushed his agonies aside and tried to return to normal life through work. He found a job in Ibn Sina Hospital in serving leprosy patients. The old man did not find a home to shelter him except his car, which he converted into a home after its engine broke down. Sarrani, who was born and grew up in Samta, in the southern part of the Kingdom, came to know a Somali girl during his work in the hospital. He married her and they were blessed with three children – Amal, 11, Muhammad, 10, and Nawal, 9. Now the children are living with their mother in Bahrah. Sarrani said with his heart wrenching with agony and woes, “I came with my father, mother, and two bothers to Hadda when I was 15 years old. When all my family members were not working, philanthropists used to pay the rent on our behalf and bring us food.” “I married the Somali woman without taking the regulations into consideration. I brought two witnesses, wrote a paper and married her. When I went to King Abdul Aziz Hospital to get a birth report for my son, I was referred to the police and they investigated me, as I married in an illegal way. Also, due to the non-existence of a marriage contract, birth report or a family card, I was imprisoned for violating the regulations. When I was released from prison, I was fired from my job,” Sarrani said with sadness. After he was dismissed from his job, differences with his wife escalated until they got a divorce. He said, “I took my children and they lived with me in the car. However, they couldn't bear the scorching heat and hunger so I requested their mother to take them so that they could live in the house I had rented in Bahra.” Sarrani, who has experienced a harsh and bitter life, dreams of having a small house that would shelter his children, that he can see them every day and that they will be officially registered.
