In the middle of the bloody Lebanese civil war, Cyril Kanaan was born in Achrafieh, on May 31, 1989.
In fear for her children’s safety, Cyril’s mother moved with him and his brother to France. A year and a half later, they returned to Lebanon, and Cyril started school at International College (IC). After his graduation, Cyril enrolled at Saint joseph University to study Economics. He then pursued a master’s degree in Finance in Lebanon, and then in France, where he stayed for a year post-graduation.
Cyril came back to Lebanon and worked at BLOM Bank. Two years ago, he started a new job at a wealth management agency in Annahar building, Downtown Beirut.
Cyril was a calm, rational young man; he was polite and caring, beyond words. On a professional level, he was very dedicated. His work schedule would typically start at 9:00 AM, and end at7:00 PM. However, he rarely left at 7:00 PM and often worked overtime to complete any pending tasks, and sometimes even worked from home.
In addition to being a dedicated workaholic, Cyril was also athletic, passionate about football, and a huge fan of French football team Olympique de Marseille (OM). The latter’s management was shocked with the news of the blast and deeply saddened to hear about Cyril’s death. The team’s manager called Cyril’s brother, Patrice, and offered his condolences on behalf of OM. Moreover, OM paid tribute to Cyril and all the victims of the horrific Beirut blast, by placing the Lebanese flag on its jersey during a football game. Jerseys were sold in auction, and Cyril’s mother received a custom-made jersey for her late son.
On the 4th of August, Cyril was still at the office when the explosion was heard all over Beirut. His family could not reach him. His mother and brother tried to call him for the next half hour, but to no avail. They went to his office, and they were informed by his manager that he was wounded and evacuated by ambulance to a nearby hospital.
The family tried to contact the Lebanese Red Cross about his whereabouts, they searched for him in all hospitals across Lebanon, until 4:00 AM. The next morning, they started searching for him among unidentified dead bodies, and found his corpse at the American University of Beirut Medical Center. He had succumbed to his injuries.
Cyril’s father died from cancer on April 12, 2020, but August 4 turned out to be even more malignant than the disease. Cyril could not celebrate his brother’s wedding set for the 6th of August, just two days after the explosion. He was supposed to be his brother’s best man; instead, he was dressed in his suit to be buried. August stole the dreams and joys of all of the Lebanese people.