Kazem Chamseddine
Kazem was a man of knowledge, with a great literary talent. He had a sense of humor, and truthfully worked hard to succeed on the professional level. He was fascinated by his uncle Nasri Chamseddine, the iconic singer and actor.
Kazem was the second-born child in a large family of nine children, in the Lebanese village Joun. He was the only one among his peers to pass the official brevet examination at the time.
He was creative and ambitious, he traveled to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to work in electrical contracting. He dreamed of earning a degree in electrical engineering from the United States of America, but his father's worsening financial situation killed off his dream. However, he never let that crisis stand in his way, and he decided to change his family's quality of life.
Kazem had a brush with death multiple times before losing his life to a dramatic explosion. He used to say that he was alive by pure coincidence and luck. He fell from high altitude at work, during his first month in the Kingdom, but he survived, and was back on his feet six months later, despite his severe injuries.
Kazem also survived a stroke two years earlier. He was unconscious for twenty-one hours, and the doctors were not sure he would make it. Yet again, he came back to life, completely healthy.
On August 4. 2020, Kazem was with his wife at their daughter's in Monot. An hour before the deadly explosion, he received a call from a friend in Joun, inviting him for tea. He was about to leave, but his daughter convinced him to stay home and stay safe from the coronavirus.
Moments before the explosion, his 6-year old grandchild -Ricardo- was running around him convincing him to play with him. He pushed him on the couch and said "I will bury you here", when his grandmother called for him. As soon as Ricardo arrived in the kitchen, a huge explosion rocked their home, and Kazem died on the couch, days before his 67th birthday.