Georges Maalouf

Georges was born in late 1987 in Sin El Fil, but he moved with his family to Ablah – Bekaa, when he was seven years old. He went to Collège Notre Dame de l’Assomption, where he completed middle school, then enrolled in the NCO Institute – Lebanese Army for the next three years.

Georges was passionate about literature and creative writing. He was also a talented painter. He always preferred the books rather than the conversations. He was charismatic, witty, and always smiling.

He was his mother’s darling. Rita, his mom, remembers how loving he was, and how he used to help her with house chores ever since he was six years old. Georges was a proud, responsible young man.

In fact, he carried too much responsibility from a very young age, he worked at a bakery when he was just a 12-year old teenager.

In 2006, during the July 2006 war on Lebanon, Georges enlisted with the Lebanese Army, and moved from one post to another, including Bab Al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen in the heat of the conflict. He finally settled, four years ago, at the Port of Beirut, as a warehouse keeper, and an administrative assistant to Brigadier General Amin Salloum. He was also responsible to follow up on, and pay, daily workers at the port. He checked all import and export containers as well. Georges performed at the job with utmost conscience and integrity, qualities that have become really scarce nowadays.

Georges was very brave, his courage led him to his death. When the first fire erupted he approached to investigate the reason behind the fireworks like sounds, but what happened next was beyond anyone’s imagination.

At 5:00 PM, Georges was sitting for lunch with his coworker Nizar Abdo when they heard the sound of fireworks. Georges rushed to see what was happening. He was helping firefighters open the door to warehouse number 12, when a first explosion blew their bodies away.

At 6:15 PM, the family realized there was an explosion at the Port of Beirut. Georges’ dad rushed to the port and looked for him on-site, he searched for him in hospitals, but he could not find him. For six long days, the family was wondering about the fate of Georges, whose body was lying in Al-Zahraa Hospital’s morgue. They were called to receive his body in a closed casket, and no one could lay the final look on him. According to the coroner’s report, Georges’ head was cut open, and his body sustained extreme physical injuries.