Nick Kousaie

From Laraine: My father went to study in Damascus, Syria at a young age to learn how to chant at the Patriarchate. In the seventh paragraph of that article (profile of Mariam Kousaie in Family documents) it says that my father was selected by the members of his church in 1921 to study under the illustrious Mitri-Al-Murr and well known Byzantine Chanter in Damascus, Syria under the late Patriarch, Gregorious Haddad IV but in the third year of studies he had to forsake his studies.His brother Mike then must have tutored him to the point that they both became professionals at chanting. My uncle Mike did not come from Kfarmishky, the article says that they were born and lived in Rashya-El Wadi. My uncle Mike was working as a teacher in Kfarmishky, Lebanon.

From Laraine: Also in the article about my grandmother mentioned about wars with the Druz people in Lebanon during the 1920's. As the story was handed down: bad people (the Druz) came to my father's home in Raychaya looking to steal and kill and my grandmother Mariam gave them supper to pacify them so they would not hurt them. My father who used to go out on his donkey to neighboring towns to try to earn money for the family because after his father died he was responsible for the support of the family (he was only a teenager) came home and found them. My father got a gun and left to escape on the road to Zahle but these people caught him and took away my father's gun and made him remove all of his clothing. Then they gave him back his clothing and my father wanted to leave Lebanon after this.