Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — A heartwarming video of the reunion of two brothers after a hiatus of 55 years at a Saudi airport went viral on social media. When Dr. Mudhi Al-Shehri, came out of the passport control section of the airport, his sibling Muhammad Al-Shehri and other relatives hugged him one after another tightly, shedding tears of joy, according to a report in Al-Arabiya.net.

Dr. Mudhi Al-Shehri, a Saudi citizen, returned to his country carrying intense nostalgic feelings within him, for a short visit to meet his brothers and loved ones with whom he had lost contact for over five decades. Dr. Mudhi Al-Shehri, who is currently working as a professor of physics at Kalamazoo University in the United States, left his hometown of Al-Namas in the southern Asir region about 55 years ago, after the death of his mother.

Initially, Mudhi Al-Shehri left for Riyadh to live with his maternal brother to pursue his secondary school studies there and then he left for the United States of America to continue his higher studies and remained there until his father died.

Muhammad Al-Shehri said that his family lost contact with him for about five decades, as he was busy completing his studies in America. “We were eager to see him, and years passed as he became busy in education. At present, he is an academic in the field of teaching physics and mathematics."

Going down memory lane, Al-Shehri said: “My brother left us while I was studying in the fourth grade of elementary school, and since then we could not meet each other.” Their long-awaited reunion happened after Dr. Shehri’s nephew sent an e-mail to him, expressing his family’s desire to see him, as well as a request to return to meet his family. However, the real meeting took place after a long time.

Muhammad Al-Amer, a close family friend, said: I visited Dr. Al-Shehri at his home in the United States and tried to convey his family’s warmest feelings towards him. Since then, he started communicating with them constantly through social media. Then, I also made him watch videos of his old house in their village in Al-Namas, which made him cry with nostalgic feelings, and motivated him to immediately return to the home country on a four-day visit. He returned to the US after giving his family promises that he would come back to the family in order to spend the summer vacation in his village.

Al-Amer and Dr. Shehri’s nephew played a remarkable role in bridging distances and intensifying contact with him for a long time that made the reunion possible. Several family members reached the airport to receive him. Dr. Al-Shehri returned to the United States after visiting Makkah and performing Umrah.