Diwaniyah: A motorcycle accident, filmed and widely circulated on social media, resulted in the return of a well-known madman in Diwaniyah Governorate to his family in Karbala after 35 years.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, for many years, a man dubbed “the madman” lived on the streets of Diwaniyah. He had no known family or address, and his features appeared tired. His eyes held a story too heavy to be told. But this “madness” was merely a cover for a burned memory, a face worn down by prisons, books, and exile.

Activist and journalist Aqeel Al-Mansouri, who took up his case and supervised his treatment, told the National Iraqi News Agency (NINA) that “this man, whom many thought had lost his mind, was in fact a bookseller in Karbala, specifically from the eastern Abbasiya district.”

After thirty-five years of forced absence, his family recognized him. Although most of his features had been altered by time and suffering, the glimmer of hope the video carried was enough to reunite a family torn apart by the regime’s repression.