by David Zenian
Jirair Abrousian lost nearly 60 pounds in an Iraqi prisoner of war camp, but the slim six foot athlete says the weight loss made him a better and faster basketball player.
"I also grew a beard because the Iraqis would not give us razor blades," the AGBU's ace player said in an interview.
Relaxing after a victorious game against another Armenian team, Jirair, or "Jiro" as his fans call him, said his 26-month ordeal as a POW was not as bad as the three days preceding his return home.
"I was stationed with an Iranian army unit at Sare-pol-e-Zahab when I was captured by the Iraqis ... The ironic part is that I had already served 23 months in the army and had only one month before being discharged when I was taken prisoner," Jiro said with a smile.
"There were more than 2,000 Iranian prisoners in the desert POW camp. Each 150 of us were placed in a large room with no water or other facilities. We washed or showered once every six months ... once a month, we were each given 20 liters of water ... we could wash our clothes once every three months," he said.
Soon after his capture, the Iranian authorities reported Jiro and the other members of his military unit as missing in action.
"Maybe the army knew that we were taken prisoner, but they told my mother that I was missing ... and for two years and two months, I was listed as MIA," Jiro said.
Then one day last year Jiro and the other prisoners were told the the war was over and they were free men.
"The joy of freedom was great, but the fear of facing my mother and brothers was overwhelming. It took me three days to work out a way to let my mother know that I was alive," he said while fighting his tears.
"The homecoming turned out to be more like a wedding ... Hundreds of friends and relatives were out on the streets ... the only problem was that I was to weak to dance . . " he said.
Jiro has since recuperated and gained some of his weight back.
He is also back on the basketball field thrilling the crowds.
