Beirut - September 17, 1982, is a day Sobhiyeh Harb will always remember.
On that day, her 18-year-old son, Imad Arzouni, disappeared. Harb, in her late 60s, recalls vividly that he left the house in west Beirut and crossed into Achrafiyeh in east Beirut to get bread. That was the last time his family ever saw him.
"When he didn't come home, we began asking around if anyone had seen him," Harb told Al Jazeera. "The people at the bakery were too afraid to speak.
"He was so sweet, such a good person. He took care of us, made sure we were okay," Harb said, as tears filled her eyes.
As Lebanon commemorates the anniversary of the start of its civil war (April 1975 to October 1990), families of around 17,000 Lebanese who either disappeared or were kidnapped during the war, are once again asking the government to help them find answers.
"You know, it's much harder today [to deal with the situation]. At least back then I had hope. Now after decades have passed, there is no hope at all," Harb said.