Tag Archives: Zahle

24 Year Old Sara Sleiman Was Killed In Zahle By Kassem Al Masri, And Her Wish To Donate Her Organs To Save Others Will Be Fulfilled

Over the weekend, a tragedy took place in Zahle that took the life of 24 year old Sara Sleiman whose only fault, like many before her, was being at the wrong place at the wrong time in a country that allows pests and disgusting abominations like her killer prosper unchecked.

Outside the local pub “Blue Bar,” a car accident took place that prompted Kassem El Masri to deal with the situation the only way his primordial brain knew how: fire a few rounds from his gun, one of which hit Sara and took her life soon after.

This is Sara’s killer. He’s the kind of brainless Lebanese men whose entire existence can be summarized with how they can express their manliness better, which is why you see him pose with guns and bazookas, because he can.

Kassem El Masri is also known as Tah El Masri (in Arabic: طه المصري). He’s a known drug dealer and criminal in the area. Despite his infamous status, authorities never bothered to apprehend him before, even though the aforementioned pictures were entities during which he boasted of the kind of arsenal he possessed.

Authorities have issued arrest warrants for the Kassem El Masri, but haven’t apprehended him yet. It’s not far-fetched to presume that such a man, who has been a criminal for such a long time without repercussions, to be protected by one of the many politicians that make sure our country remains a lawless land.

I hope that whoever is protecting Kassem El Masri today gives him up so he’d get what he truly deserves: justice for all his previous crimes and for what he did to Sara Sleiman, whose life was brought to a premature halt on what should have been a fun evening out for her and her friends.

Today, though, one of Sara Sleiman’s wishes is coming true. A few years back, in a Facebook message to one of her friends, Sara expressed how, through the words of another, when she would pass away, she wanted to be as helpful as possible to those who were still alive by donating her organs:

The message translates to:

“There will come a day when my body is laying on a carefully made bed in a hospital whose smell is that of life and death. At some moment, the doctor will announce I’m brain dead and that my life has ended. When that happens, don’t try to pump artificial life into my veins and use machines on me. Let my death bed be one of life so that others may have it better.

Give my eyes to who’s never seen a sunrise or the face of a child or the love in a woman’s eyes.

Give my heart to those whose hearts have only received pain.

Give my blood to a teenager who was pulled out of his car wreck, so he’d see his grandchildren grow up one day.

Give my kidney to that who needs a machine to keep him going from one day to the next.

Take my bones and every muscle and tissue and find a way to help a paralyzed child walk.

Take every cell of my brain and let them help a mute boy to shout, a deaf girl to hear the sound of the rain against her windowsill.

Burn what’s left of me, and if there’s anything you need to bury, bury away my sins and weaknesses. Bury my hate and give my soul to God.

And if you ever needed to remember me, do so with kindness onto others.

If you do all of this, I live on forever.”

Sara’s family will be doing just that, so she can live in others for years to come. Her family will be donating her corneas, kidneys, liver and heart to help the people that Sara wanted to help. (Link).

In death, Sara Sleiman therefore becomes a source of life for others who wouldn’t have had this chance if it weren’t for the person that she is, and the generosity of her family and the will for life that she has, even in death.

Organ donation in Lebanon is still a topic that many would rather brush aside and not talk about. Our laws are very restrictive in this regard and religion plays a detrimental role in trying to propagate the practice further. Sara Sleiman, therefore, becomes a rebel – in death – in a country that saw her die before her time, as she gives life to others after her.

Sara Sleiman, may you rest in peace as your heart beats in the body of another forevermore.

You too can sign up to become an organ donor. Click on this link. 

Stories of Lebanese on the Titanic – Part 4: Two Men from Toula & Zahle

For part 1, click here. Part 2, click here. Part 3, click here.

Toula is a small town in the Batroun region which had only one person aboard the Titanic, named Fahim el Zeanny. Seeing as his name is difficult for foreigners to pronounce, it was changed in Cherbourg to Fahim Kini before it changed, yet again, once he got to New York, to Philip el Zeanny.

Philip left Toula at the age of 23, leaving in Marseille his wife whom he married 4 months prior so he can settle down and start his own business in Cincinnati before she follows him. Philip wrote down what he went through on the Titanic.

Philip, 2 years before his death.

On the night the ship hit the iceberg, he was fast asleep. One of the passengers woke him up hastily and told him what was happening. So Philip started panicking, as was everyone around him. He then ran to the deck where, still panicking because of what he had heard moments ago, he got into a rescue boat. The officer, though, forced him off and threatened him with his gun, saying: women only.

Philip then used the chaos around deck to his favor and got into a second rescue boat. That same officer, however, saw him and forced him off again. Moments later, Philip got past that officer and hid under the seating flanks of one of the boats. That boat was lowered into the water. It only had two men who couldn’t row it away from the ship fast enough with more than twenty women on it. So Philip made his presence known and helped them take the boat away from the Titanic.

Then they waited and watched as the ship sank. The shrieks coming from the passengers who were thrown in the water were deafening.  Philip urged them go back but no one agreed. More lives could have been saved. As he looked around his rescue boat, Philip was apalled by one woman who brought her pet dog with her. The dog was big enough for another person to take its place.

Once the Carpathia arrived, the woman said sternly to Philip, whom she thought shouldn’t have been on board with them, to help her carry the dog as she got on the Carpathia. Philip refused, telling her that the souls of people are more important than those of animals.

Philip ended up passing away on 1927, fifteen years later, leaving a family of four children behind.

The descendants of Philip

On the other side of Lebanon, Zahle had the only Lebanese passenger not in third class. Nqoula Nasrallah and his wife, Adele, were both second class passengers. Nqoula left Zahle at the age of 28, to go to San Francisco where his uncle had started a successful movie franchise.

Seeking the fame and fortune that his uncle had already found, Nqoula took his wife and got on the Titanic. On the night the ship sank, Nqoula got his wife on a rescue boat while he jumped into the water and started swimming away, hoping like other swimmers, that the vests they were wearing would keep them afloat until the rescue boats arrived. His hope was out of place.

As Adele’s rescue boat moved away from the ship, she saw her husband swimming away. So she stood up and started shouting with every bit of strength she had for him to come on board. But amid all the chaos of all the people in the water around her, Nqoula never heard her. He kept swimming and swimming until he could swim no more.

On April 24 th, 1912, the MacKay-Bennett found Nqoula’s body which was thought to belong to the millionaire John Jacob Astor. The following description of the body was given:

Nqoula’s mother, Wardeh, was devastated by the untimely passing of her son. So she went out on Zahle’s very cold winters outside and sat, as snow piled up on her, so she can have a taste of what her son went through in the freezing water of the Atlantic. Wardeh’s granddaughter Emily told how her grandmother used to go outside and put her hands in a frozen pond just so she can feel closer to her son.

Adele was pregnant when she was rescued. She gave birth to a baby boy on December 9th, 1912. The boy died soon afterwards. Adele remarried and had a family of four children. She died on January 20th, 1970.

Part 5 will be coming tomorrow.

The Church Explosion Derivation

On Sunday morning, an explosion rocked the Syriac church of Saydit Al Najat (Our Lady of Salvation) in Zahle. Every Lebanese official denounced the explosion, naturally, as a barbaric act, against the “example” of coexistence that is Lebanon, bla bla bla.

Now let us start our derivation of who is responsible for this attack.

Naturally, it can’t be a non-Lebanese because most Lebanese barely know of the existence of the targeted sect, let alone those who are foreigners and don’t know Lebanon has Maronites or any other major Christian sect to begin with.

Now that the non-Lebanese people have been taken out of the equation, this leaves us with those who hold the beloved and cherished citizenship. Of those, say 50% are Muslims and 50% are Christians. Now since we’d like to be optimistic, let us assume that our fellow Muslims would not do such a thing because it would break this example of coexistence.

Of the remaining 50% of Christians, no one would act except upon an act issued by their correspondent political leader. You have a bunch of irrelevant leaders who can’t get their followers to hurt a fly and then you have the big quartet.

Michel Aoun was probably still sleeping, long dreaming about him being Lebanon’s president, a dream that doesn’t seem to let him go. Add to that the fact that his supporters don’t know what a bomb is and you rule him out of the equation as well.

Sleiman Frangieh’s followers know very well what a bomb is. But Zahle is just too far away from his radar that you can’t make him a serious contender for the top prize. Add to it him being clueless most of the time and you definitely take his name off the list.

Amin Gemayel was still probably mourning his son. Or in the midst of the conversation that started on Friday evening. Either way, I don’t see him as someone who would issue the bombing as well.

Samir Geagea, however, *evil smile*, this man can definitely blow up a church. I mean, out of the whole bunch of politicians today, he is the only criminal, right? And he has blown up a church before. Granted, he was exonerated, but he did blow it up, no? His party is also made up of a bunch of high school dropouts who don’t know how to write their names, so naturally, they know how to handle bombs. Also, as a wise person from Bsharri would say: If Geagea thinks a church needs to be blown up, then the church needs to be blown up.

Meanwhile, the seven Estonians are still missing. Telecom minister Charbel Nahas is still in his cat-fight with Ogero CEO, Abdel Menhem, and the country is more prosperous than ever. Some Lebanese stupidheads took the headlines with their pro-Syria protests… why would anyone care about a silly Church getting blown up?

PS: In case you didn’t notice, let me hashtag it for you: #sarcasm.